The Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy division has a 75-year history of educating many of the nation’s best clinicians, leaders, and researchers in the profession of physical therapy. This long history of success is no accident: we believe that it is a product of decades of careful planning, engagement of faculty, and hands-on assimilation of top-level students into the profession. In 2016, the Division engaged its faculty and shareholders in developing a new strategic plan. The initial stages involved to the identification of the division’s core values and goals.
After the development of the values and goals, the faculty provided input on the focus criteria that were imperative to the division. Using thematic coding, their input was assimilated into five distinct criteria. The five criteria: 1) education, 2) research, 3) global health, 4) diversity/inclusion and 5) leadership, reflect the interests and strengths of the program but most importantly, the needs of an ever-changing profession.
The 2017-2022 strategic plan reflects our passionate efforts in our continued contribution to the 75-year legacy of Duke DPT. This plan is a road map on how we plan to meet our own high expectations and will serve as an external symbol as to how we aspire to be among the best doctor of physical therapy programs in the United States.
Click here for audio regarding the development and meaning of the strategic plan
Focus Area: Education
Theme: Preparing the Next Generation of Clinicians, Leaders, and Teachers, through Innovative Education
Executive Sponsor: Tiffany Hilton PhD, PT and Kyle Covington PhD, PT
2017 to 2022 Priority Strategies
- Developing/Continued Adaptation of a Modern, Innovative, Disruptive Curriculum
- Fostering Optimal, Novel, Clinical Education Partnerships and Opportunities
- Collaborating in Meaningful, Clinically-Focused, Interprofessional Education
- Developing Teachers in our Faculty Residency Training Program
Click here to listen to the audio from Dr. Hilton and Dr. Covington
Focus Area: Research
Theme: Nationally Recognized Leaders in Elevating Rehabilitation Research
Executive Sponsor: Chad Cook PhD, PT
2017 to 2022 Priority Strategies
- Optimizing University Partnerships to Improve Research Symbiosis
- Developing Duke into a Training Site for Research
- Fostering Innovation Research Models to Optimize Success
- Improving Visibility of Scholarship at Duke DPT
- Increasing External Levels of Funding
Click here to listen to the audio from Dr. Cook
Focus Area: Global Health
Theme: Establish Duke DPT as a globally recognized role model for university programs engaged in ethically appropriate, programmatically effective, and mutually participatory global health initiatives
Executive Sponsor: Michel Landry BSc PT, PhD
2017 to 2022 Priority Strategies
- Enhance existing partnerships to build a strong foundation for rehabilitation and disability within the context of Duke’s growing and complex global health strategy.
- Establish formal and informal mechanisms for the DPT community to explore our collective and individual perceptions and biases related to cultural norms differences.
- Develop, implement and measure the outcomes from the new Global Health Advanced Practice Course Series at Duke DPT
- Improve the depth and breadth of rehabilitation and disability related opportunities for students, alumni, clinicians and faculty to be meaningfully engaged in global health education, research and service initiatives
Focus Area: Diversity and Inclusion
Theme: Recognizing Everyone’s Worthy Contributions to the Care of all of our Patients
Executive Sponsor: Kai Kennedy, DPT
2017 to 2022 Priority Strategies
- Creating Educational Conduit Programs to engage Traditionally Underserved Students with the Profession of Physical Therapy
- Create and foster Articulation Agreements with Regional Universities to Improve Recruitment of Traditionally Underserved Students
- Exploring Novel Admissions Strategies to Identify the Best Future Clinicians
- Increasing Diversity and Leadership Scholarships
- Making Duke a Destination Site for Faculty and Researchers
Click here to listen to the audio from Dr. Kennedy
Focus Area: Leadership and Service to the Profession of Physical Therapy
Theme: Creating the Next Generation of Leaders through Service and Service Learning
Executive Sponsor: Katie Myers DPT, Carol Figuers PT, Ed.D.
2017 to 2022 Priority Strategies
- Engaging Students in Service Opportunities within the Profession, both Nationally and Locally
- Developing Service Learning Opportunities
- Creating a Leadership Training Institute (with dedicated mentorship) within the Division of Physical Therapy