Help prepare the next generation of physical therapists to better care for the growing population of people living with Parkinson’s disease (PD) through the Parkinson's Foundation’s Physical Therapy Faculty Program. Designed to improve physical therapy care in Parkinson’s, the train the trainer program teaches faculty leaders who can, in turn, educate physical therapy students.

The intensive program allows physical therapy educators, who may not be up-to-date on Parkinson’s, immerse themselves in learning the latest evidence-based findings in Parkinson's research and care. Physical therapy educators can make a great impact on the lives of people with PD by bringing this knowledge back to their students, our future practitioners.

Goals:

• Enhance the knowledge and confidence of physical therapy faculty in developing course content, delivering lectures and offering clinical mentorship on Parkinson’s within undergraduate and graduate-level physical therapy programs nationwide.
• Develop a long-term relationship between physical therapy faculty who complete the program and Parkinson’s experts at nationally recognized movement disorder centers.
• Prepare physical therapy graduates to care for people living with Parkinson’s, their caregivers and families.

Participants receive a stipend after completing all requirements, including an independent project. The program includes the independent project as a requirement to provide faculty with opportunities for self-directed learning and to contribute to a topic of their own interest to the field. The topic should be related to physical therapy education on Parkinson’s and/or care for people with Parkinson’s and their families. The program director and experts at the host sites will discuss projects with faculty and guide/mentor as needed.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)