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Author: Christina Thomas, PT, DPT

Christina Thomas, PT, DPT is currently the neurologic physical therapy resident at Memorial Rehabilitation Institute and Nova Southeastern University (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida). She received her undergraduate degree in neuroscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Georgia) and her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska). During her PT education, Christina was deeply struck by the unique experiences of the patients she learned from and by how physical therapists could impact their patients far beyond the physical aspects of rehabilitation. She sees ongoing reflection as an essential component of her development as a clinician and is dedicated to being a neurorehabilitation professional that consistently integrates clinical research findings with the humanities for the good of her patients.

Advocating for Palliative Care Is Our Role: A Physical Therapist Perspective

This insightful and moving article argues for wider use of palliative care in end-of-life situations. Written from her personal experience with terminal patients, the author notes how, ironically, a focus on positivity can deny the much-needed comfort that palliative care provides. Contrasting a rural southern hospital and a top urban neurorehabilitation facility, she notes how her patients received more end-of-life comfort in the former. She calls for physical therapists to “advocate for better integration of palliative care principles into PT practice.”