P2. Philosophy
At MGH Institute of Health Professions, we believe that physical therapists are an integral part of an interprofessional health care team and should be prepared to serve as the entry-point into the health care system with a concomitant responsibility to collaborate and consult with other health care professionals, patients, caregivers, and the community.
Physical therapists must interact with and value a complex and diverse society in a compassionate, humanistic, professional, and sensitive way. Physical therapists have a responsibility to understand how a physical therapist’s clinical decision-making interacts with the ethical/fiscal management of the setting within which they work while also advocating for patients and for the greater good of society.
A physical therapist’s goal is to optimize an individual’s ability to function within society by addressing prevention, wellness and rehabilitation across the lifespan and in a variety of settings.
The Physical Therapy Program at the Institute prepares clinicians who recognize that physical therapist practice is centered on the human movement system.
The faculty embraces the view that active adult learning is a process by which students employ an ongoing interpretive and reflective process that synthesizes prior and current experiences into new learning. This best happens within a learning community that continually strives for clinical excellence and professionalism among faculty, students and graduates.
The program is structured to be fluid, proactive and responsive in meeting the present and future needs of its students and of health care, including the incorporation of modern technology and innovation into education and practice.
Recognizing the responsibility to prepare members of a doctoring profession, the program prepares self-directed, life-long, collaborative learners who are able to use scientific and analytic approaches to clinical decision-making to achieve optimal patient care through evidenced-based practice.