Description
Reference code
RG007
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Physical Therapy Program Records
Date(s)
Extent
32.25 Linear Feet
Name of creator
Administrative history
Founded in 1941 as the Barnes Hospital School for Physical Therapy Technicians, the Program in Physical Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine began the following year as a six-month program directed by an orthopedic surgeon to train therapists to treat soldiers in World War II. Starting with a class size of only seven, the Program embarked upon training students dedicated to the care of patients exhibiting movement dysfunction and, through the research of its faculty, new understanding of human movement and the conditions that affect human performance.
In 1948, the school began educating physical therapists at the baccalaureate level as part of Washington University School of Medicine. By 1980, the educational vision of the Program expanded to include post-professional education for graduate students possessing a baccalaureate degree in physical therapy. With the development of the Master of Health Science degree, practicing clinicians pursued advanced education to enhance their knowledge and skills in clinical practice, and to apply the research process to questions of professional interest. In response to continuous change in health care and higher education, the faculty began educating professional, entry-level physical therapists at the post-baccalaureate (master's degree) level in 1988. The Doctor of Philosophy was inaugurated in 1989, fulfilling the faculty's long-range goal of serving the profession with an interdisciplinary program to train researchers in movement science. During the 1980s, the Program assumed the direction of the Irene Walter Johnson Institute of Rehabilitation and in the 1990s expanded to run other physical therapy clinics of the Medical Center.
In 1999, the Program was granted approval by Washington University to offer a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) at both the professional and post-professional levels. The two new clinical doctorate programs replaced the Master of Science in Physical Therapy and the Master of Health Science (MHS). With the transition to the DPT, the Program equipped students to manage the changing needs of the healthcare environment and the growing responsibilities of the profession. In its first sixty years, more than 1500 students graduated from the Program.
Scope and content
System of arrangement
Conditions governing access
The collection is open and accessible for research.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Users of the collection should read and abide by the Rights and Permissions guidelines at the Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives.
Users of the collection who wish to cite items from this collection, in whole or in part, in any form of publication must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Archives.
For detailed information regarding use of this collection, contact the Archives and Rare Book Department of the Becker Library (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Preferred Citation:
Item description, Reference Code, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
- Beatrice F. Schulz Papers
- Lorraine Lake Papers
- Physical Therapy Students Group Portrait and Composite Class Photographs
- Carolyn M. Baum Oral History, 2016
- Dave Sinacore Oral History
- Jennifer Stith Oral History
- Debbie Strobach Oral History
- Patty Scheets Oral History
- Anthony Delitto Oral History
- Ruth Clark Oral History
- Marybeth Brown Oral History
- Suzy Cornbleet Oral History
- Denise McCartney Oral History
- Karen Federiksen, Richard Roettger, and Donna Roettger Oral History
- Robert Deusinger, Dave Sinacore, Greg Holtzman, and Ryan DeGeeter Oral History
- Robert Hickock Oral History
- Shirley Sahrmann Oral History
- Isabelle Bohman Oral History
- D. LaVonne Jaeger Oral History
- Barbara Nash Oral History
- Sven Eliasson Oral History
- Helen Bartlett Oral History
- Joye Baumann Oral History
- Doris Ann Brydon Oral History
- William M. Landau Oral History (OH090)
- William Peck Oral History
- Barbara J. Norton Oral History
- Donna Vickery Oral History
- Lee Fetter Oral History
- Jean Matthews Oral History
- Anne Brown Short Oral History
- Anne Stewart Spitzmiller Oral History
- Janet Prior Oral History
- Myrtle Higdon Oral History
- Dorothy Devendorf Thomas Oral History
- Carolyn M. Baum Oral History, 2010
- Nancy Bloom Oral History
- Cheryl Caldwell Oral History
- Bob Deusinger Oral History
- Julaine Florence Oral History
- Debbie McDonnell Oral History
- Mary Kate McDonnell Oral History
- Marilyn Moffat Oral History
- Michael Mueller Oral History
- Shirley Sahrmann, Tammy Burlis, Mary Hastings, and Lesley Turner Oral History
- Physical Therapy, WUSM Program in, Vertical File
- Physical Therapy Photographs
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Rules or conventions
"Describing Archives: A Content Standard, Second Edition (DACS), 2013."
Sources used
Archivist's note
© Copyright 2019 Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives. All rights reserved.