Facebook Instagram Linkedin
Donate to JHR

Author: Amanda Sharp, PT, DPT, PhD

Dr. Sharp is the Associate Program Director, Director of Student Affairs, and an Associate Professor in the Division of Physical Therapy at the University of Minnesota. There, she directs a series of courses related to professional development with an emphasis on historical and contemporary issues related to practice. She emphasizes self-awareness, reflection, and advocacy, striving to ensure students consider the complex role of clinical practice, seeing beyond a diagnosis or treatment plan to truly engage with their clients. Dr. Sharp is an educational researcher with a PhD in Higher Education from the University of Minnesota. Her research centers on disability diversity in physical therapy education and she is a regular consultant to students, colleagues, and other professionals on ways to support disability diverse learners in healthcare education. She further retains an active role as a research collaborator with a team focused on the long-term development of clinical educators.

The Advancing Accessibility and Disability Equity Summit: An Introduction and Reflection on Key Take-Aways

In her introduction to this special issue, Amanda Sharp, PT, DPT, PhD, presents a detailed report of how the Advancing Accessibility and Disability Equity Summit was envisioned and then brought to fruition. Sharp presents a day-by-day account of the Summit’s presentations, panel discussions, roundtables, and more. Her detailed recounting of the event offers a blueprint for other educators and practitioners seeking to develop their own forums on disability and inclusion. “All are invited to reconsider disability within and external to physical therapy,” she states.

Running Before I Could Walk

Physical therapists who fulfill a clinical rotation abroad often quickly gain new cultural and medical insights. The experience can be particularly intense for students. In this soul-searching account, SPT Mitchel Fenrich describes his day-by-day enlightenments while seeking to help a child with cerebral palsy in Tanzania. He notes the new perspectives he gained on clinical assessments, treatments, cultural mores—and on himself as a practitioner.