Chinese Health Care Professionals Graduating from Rangos Pilot Program

Twelve health care professionals from China will be among the graduates at this week’s summer Commencement ceremony hosted by the John G. Rangos School of Health Sciences.

The 10 female and two male students participated in a unique pilot program during the last 12 months as part of a partnership between the School of Health Sciences and the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SUTCM).

The arrangement was developed, with backing from the Chinese government, to help the critical need in China for health care professionals with specialization in physical therapy and occupational therapy.

“In many of China’s universities and medical schools, they only have a rehabilitation school or department, and what they offer is more comprehensive treatment, rather than a specialty like physical therapy or occupational therapy,” said Associate Professor of Speech-Language Pathology Dr. Yang Chen, who worked with Rangos Dean Dr. Greg Frazer to develop the pilot program. “Now, there is a big need for rehab, but they don’t have enough manpower to fill that need.”

Through the partnership, the SUTCM can send eligible Chinese health care professionals to Duquesne for 12 months to earn a master’s degree in rehabilitation sciences with concentrations in either physical therapy or occupational therapy.

Duquesne is the only American university involved in such an arrangement.

“In China, they recognize that this is a real issue,” Chen explained. “They want to add specialties to their rehabilitation programs, but they don’t have the faculty members to do it. And in the hospitals, they don’t have the qualified specialists.”

Since 2011, Chen and Frazer have been accompanying Rangos students to China for short-term study abroad programs centered around socialized medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Their trips have always included visits to the SUTCM, and that is how they opened up the channels for the collaborations between the two universities.

Of the students participating in the pilot, eight took classes through the Department of Physical Therapy and four through the Department of Occupational Therapy for three straight semesters of study. The students successfully dealt with both cultural and language challenges while dedicating themselves to the curriculum, according to Dr. Chris Carcia, chair and associate professor of physical therapy.

“All faculty who taught this cohort were impressed by their thirst for knowledge,” said Carcia. “They also possessed an open mind and welcomed any and all information conveyed related to traditional physical therapy practice. These graduates are now equipped not only to better address the patients they serve, but also to teach their colleagues and students.”

Occupational Therapy Chair and Associate Professor Dr. Jaime Muñoz met regularly with the visiting students and, when necessary, department faculty teaching core courses adapted content and assignments to support application in a Chinese rehabilitation context and created additional learning sessions to reinforce critical concepts.

“They learned that in the classroom, labs, clinics and in the community therapists must initiate the engagement with clients and their families; with peers and other health professional colleagues; and with facility staff,” said Muñoz. “They increasingly gained the confidence to combine their solid foundation of knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine with what they were learning at Duquesne to make important links for what occupational therapy can offer clients and their families in a Chinese context.”

The students will receive their degrees at the summer Commencement ceremony on Friday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the A.J. Palumbo Center, with five visiting SUTCM representatives in attendance.

A second cohort of 14 Chinese students arrived this week to begin their studies in the physical therapy and occupational therapy departments.

“I take great pride in the fact that our Chinese partners have such trust in our faculty and University to assist with the evolution of rehabilitation services in China,” said Frazer. “It has certainly been an enjoyable and broadening experience having such a committed and hard-working group of health care professionals with us.”