Sarah Consiglio wanted to become a physical therapist because of her grandfather.

Growing up, she went to a lot of his doctor’s appointments with him since he had cancer.

“At one point, he did have to become hospitalized, and I remember he got so much better after seeing physical therapy, and it was great watching him go from not being able to walk to being able to walk again,” said the 26-year-old Consiglio, who will realize her dream Sunday. “That really made an impact on me as a kid.”

As one of 44 graduates in the Oregon State University-Cascades‘ first group of physical therapists, Consiglio said Central Oregon is a perfect place for young physical therapists to start. There are numerous outdoor activities, along with all the injuries that come with them.

The physical therapy program was created to address a nationwide need, which is especially acute in rural areas, the university has said. Forty percent of graduates have already accepted job offers.

“I feel like this last year I’ve been really trying to slow down a little bit, take it all in, but I’m excited to see what’s next for me and my classmates,” she said.

Clinical experiences

Consiglio sought opportunities to shadow physical therapists in high school, with a goal of going to school for it herself. She was originally drawn in by administrators Christine Pollard and Erin Jobst and felt inspired by the promise of a new program led by strong women.

“I wanted to be a part of creating that culture and community,” Consiglio said. “The faculty was really supportive and encouraged us to make great friendships within the cohort, and I think that really made it worthwhile.”

Her experience was fun and challenging, she said. She enjoyed that faculty brought in volunteers for hands-on experience and students got the chance to connect with the community.

Consiglio participated in outpatient clinical rotations in Prineville, Redmond and Grants Pass. She also worked at Oregon Health & Science University and Shriners Children’s Portland and West Valley Hospital in Dallas, Oregon. She saw complex orthopedic cases at OHSU and pediatric cases at Shriners hospital.

“Their class sizes, the connections that they’ve made in the community are really what makes it stand out,” she said. “They have really strong orthopedics coursework. Throughout all of my rotations I’ve always had great feedback from my clinical instructors, saying, ‘I can tell your school provides really great orthopedic foundational skills.’”

She is planning to look for employment in orthopedic pediatrics.

Rural and research focus

Sunday will be the first time OSU-Cascades graduates doctoral students of any discipline. OSU-Cascades is the only public university in Oregon with a doctor of physical therapy program. Pollard, the founding director behind the program and senior associate dean for the university, began developing the program when she joined OSU-Cascades in 2011.

The program runs for three years and has 203 credit hours. In their first year, students are already undergoing part-time clinical experiences, while the third year is exclusively for full-time clinic work.

One of the students’ longer clinical rotations needs to be in a rural setting, and as a result the program has attracted more rural students, said Pollard. The university has developed partnerships with physical therapy clinics throughout the United States.

“Our goal is to train them to be leaders, and they’re already starting to do leadership activities in the community,” she said. “I’m so grateful that we get to provide students with this education.”

The program was also accredited at the end of April, which Pollard is thrilled about.

Working on skills

Julia Smith-Harrington, 26, worked different kinds of clinical rotations in Bend, Medford, Seattle and La Grande. She has a job lined up in Corvallis at an outpatient orthopedic clinic.

She grew up playing sports and often needed physical therapy for injuries. Growing up near Corvallis, she’s actually going to be working at the same clinic where she received therapy. She’s excited to have a more active career while also helping other people.

“I have grown personally so much in the last three years,” she said. “It’s really cool to be this pioneering force for the program itself.”

Emmanuel Macias, 26, is looking forward to Sunday’s graduation. He already has a job lined up in Redmond in an outpatient orthopedic clinic and is excited to stick around the Central Oregon area.

In high school, Macias thought he might want to be a personal trainer, until he realized he was more interested in helping people with rehab.

“I really enjoyed this concept of helping a person through a physical injury to get their physical function back,” he said.

He loved talking with the faculty to learn more about the campus, and said the faculty has remained his favorite part of the program.

“You get really, really close to your classmates since you’re all on the exact same schedule, five, even seven days a week,” he said. “I felt like I was able to get through it a little bit better than undergrad at least because I had my cohort and because the student to faculty ratio was much better.”

Now studying for the board exam, Macias said he feels like he’s learned so much.

“Having two clinical experiences in the field that I want to work in was really great for me and my confidence,” said Macias. “I can graduate and actually begin to really work on my skillset.”