Congratulations to Doctor of Physical Therapy graduate student Mason Trauger (DeSales University), SPT, winner of the annual CHEP-JHR Student Essay Contest, co-sponsored by the ACAPT Consortium for the Humanities, Ethics, and Professionalism (CHEP) and the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation (JHR). This writing competition is designed to encourage deep thinking by students about the role and value of humanities, ethics, and professionalism in academic training and professional life.

The sixth in an annual series, the CHEP-JHR Student Essay Contest offers a creative opportunity to ignite critical reflection in Physical Therapy students across the nation, to support holistic approaches to patient care.

This year’s essay prompt was:

“The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) recently added the core value of inclusion to our profession’s Core Values, as efforts have increased to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in clinical and educational environments. However, people with disabilities often remain in the margins during DEI-related discussions, and little consideration is given to the importance of the representation of individuals living with disability in our educational programs and professional clinical settings.

“Given our professional training and overdue efforts to address DEI across professional settings, what perspectives and/or key strategies could shape our profession to be more inclusive of individuals with disabilities? What can be done, both collectively and individually, to promote a culture of inclusion, belonging, and respect for persons living with disabilities within the field of physical therapy? Why do you believe these efforts will be effective? How will this effort pay off with improved patient care?