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1st
appeared 4 February 1999
Academic and Clinical Programs in Physical Therapy Merge
The academic program in physical therapy at UCSF has formally merged
with its clinical counterpart to form the Department of Physical Therapy and
Rehabilitation Science in the School of Medicine. The liaison, which just recently took
effect, formally unites UCSF's Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and UCSF Stanford
Health Care's Department of Rehabilitation Services.
 Professor Nancy N. Byl is serving as Interim Chair of the Department, and Rita
Arriaga, assistant clinical professor, is the Vice Chair in charge of clinical services,
which offers physical, occupational and speech therapy at UCSF and UCSF Mount Zion Medical
Centers, part of UCSF Stanford Health Care.
"It is exciting to bring all of the professionals involved in rehabilitation under a
common roof," Byl said. "Now we share a common bond, being interested in both
academic preparation of the professionals for tomorrow as well as establishing the highest
quality clinical training for students, patient care and research." Byl said that the
creation of the Department might also help to integrate students into educational and
outreach programs to better serve the community as well as allow for closer collaboration
between clinicians and researchers within UCSF's multiple health care delivery sites.
The academic program in physical therapy has offered a degree at UCSF since 1944. And in
these 55 years, the program is proud to note, 100 percent of its graduates have passed the
licensing examination. The program, which is the only academic program in physical therapy
in the UC system, started out as a certificate program, then became a baccalaureate
program before becoming a graduate program. Originally approved to offer a Masters in
Physical Therapy, it currently offers a Masters of Science degree. In 1989 the academic
program became a joint program with San Francisco State University, whose graduate program
is chaired by Marsha Melnick.
 The academic faculty and its expanded clinical faculty at UCSF
Stanford Health Care hope to collaborate in developing new approaches to the
rehabilitation of patients with disabling conditions, said Arriaga of the new enterprise.
Examples include retraining based on new concepts in neuroplasticity of the central and
peripheral nervous system, establishing new programs to improve patient access and prevent
chronic movement problems (e.g., patient education and direct access to physical
therapists in the primary care clinic), and conducting outcomes studies on efficacy of
care. The faculty also look forward to collaborating with other clinical and basic science
departments in the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry to develop
doctoral programs in physical therapy and rehabilitation science, Byl said.
"We see the challenges of managed care as an opportunity to track and validate which
changes in care can enhance quality, accessibility, and sensitivity of care to patients as
well as cost efficiency," said Arriaga. "I believe that creating the Department
enables us to be a stronger team with the rest of the School of Medicine, which also is
committed to quality education, patient care and research."
Clinical rehabilitation outpatient services will continue to be located on the first floor
of Long Hospital on the Parnassus campus and in Hellman (and eventually Medical Office
Building II on the corner of Sutter and Divisadero Streets) at Mount Zion. Rehabilitation
clinicians will also continue to serve the inpatient rehabilitative needs on acute and
postacute nursing units in both hospitals. In addition, core faculty will continue to
provide care within the academic office and teaching laboratory space, which will be
moving to 1320 7th Avenue (just north of Laguna Honda School) in February.
Byl, who praises Dean Haile Debas and UCSF Stanford Chief Operating Officer Bruce
Schroffel for facilitating the department's creation, has herself been credited with this
significant achievement. "This important academic entity would not have come into
being without Nancy Byl," said Holly Smith, associate dean in the School of Medicine.
"It was her vision and energy that brought this to fruition."
Links:
Graduate Program in Physical Therapy
Rita Arriaga: Raising the
Profile of Physical Therapy
Source: Paula Murphy, Daybreak
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