Aspiring physical therapists at a Boston college are set to help wounded members of the U.S. military with their recovery from injuries they received at war, according to a published report.
The new partnership between Northeastern University and military hospitals allows the students who are driving toward filling physical therapy jobs to complete rotations at the military medical centers, according to the school's news office. One of those students is Katie Osterman, who was commissioned this past spring as a second lieutenant in the ROTC program.
"After these clinical rotations, I'll be going into my career with all this background and experience so many people won’t have," Osterman said, also noting that her parents are veterans of the U.S. Marine Corps.
The opportunity to help veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan is large but there also is a shortage of physical therapists who can immediately be of assistance for those in need of the service.
Physical therapists are particularly valuable when helping patients' rehabilitation and treatment from injuries or conditions that are chronic, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.