Faculty win awards for presentation on diversity in recruiting

Dr. Rodney Weir and Dr. Stacie Fruth won two awards for their poster, "Strategies for DPT Program Recruitment in High Schools in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Areas," which they presented in Denver, Colorado, at the Combined Section Meeting for American Physical Therapy Association.

Their poster documents a case study focused on targeted outreach and recruitment in Berrien County – an area with varied socioeconomic status and access to health. The program has the potential to serve as a model to improve diversity efforts in physical therapy academic institutions nationwide.

"The current PT workforce doesn't really reflect the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic demographics of the national population," says Weir. "Increasing diversity in the PT profession is necessary to better address health disparities, better serve our communities and improve overall health outcomes."

Awards were from Global Health Special Interest Group and Physical Therapy Learning Institute.