The DMV Regional Health System has awarded five $20,000 scholarships to Marymount University physical therapy students to address the current physical therapist shortage.
“Sometimes I come early, I always stay late, I meet people over lunch. [and] Just trying to be there as a support to our community,” said Katie Bryson, a physical therapist at MedStar Health.
Marymount University physical therapy student Jenna Nicely is one of the students who received $20,000 from MedStar Health as part of the initiative.
“My mother is a nurse, so I knew I wanted to go into the medical field. It seemed like a very natural thing to do,” Nicely said.
The program also provides students with educational workshops and shadowing opportunities, according to a news release from Marymount University.
The DMV is facing a physical therapist shortage, but it's also a national problem.
Approximately 22,000 physical therapists left their jobs in 2021, according to a report from Definitive Healthcare.
However, the future of physical therapist work may begin to grow.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the projected change in employment from 2022 to 2032 is 15%, well above the average growth rate of 3% for all occupations.
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Five of these $20,000 scholarships will be awarded to Marymount University students, bringing MedStar Health's gift total to $100,000.
“The national shortage of health care workers, including physical therapists, is real,” MedStar Health Physical Therapy Vice President John Brickley said in a university statement. “And in the future, unless we address that need now by attracting future PT students to our region with unique curricula and financial aid, patients in need of physical therapy in our region will continue to suffer from this. You will start to see negative trends.”
This program could be a local solution to the shortage.
