Chad Jackson, PT, DPT, OCS, serves as an Associate Professor and the Director of Professional Practice Education at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Physical Therapy in San Antonio, Texas. He is currently pursuing an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership through Abilene Christian University. Prior to transitioning to Academia in 2012, he practiced over 11 years at a regional hospital in a semi-rural area including care to the underserved. Through his variety of clinical experiences, he experienced the importance and power of empathy and compassion in the healing process. He places a purposeful effort on students’ professional formation, allowing them to look for and reflect upon patient interactions and their role in the healing process. He and his wife, Bethann, have four children and are intentional to embrace their family purpose and God’s command to care for widows and orphans. Since May of 2013, they have fostered five children and often share with others that fostering is the most rewarding, difficult, family unifying, and faith growing experience. Today they are active in equipping and supporting those who are fostering in the San Antonio region. Chad wrote this article to display the importance of the humanities being lived out in day to day rehabilitative practice.
In this tender account of his family’s fostering and later adoption of Corinne, a physically traumatized infant born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, Chad Jackson, PT, DPT, OCS, details how a healthcare provider’s empathy, empowerment, and connection form a crucial aspect of the healing process.