81st MDG adds new physical therapy internship

Published Nov. 21, 2012
By Steve Pivnick
81st Medical Group Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 81st Medical Group has added to its training platform with a program for physical therapy interns. The current class of six interns completes their training in December.

Physical therapists Kevin Wait and Brett Beuning, both members of the 81st Surgical Operations Squadron Physical Therapy Clinic staff, serve as the faculty.

Wait explained, "We are doing something brand new for PT education -- it's currently taking place at only five other clinics around the country. Our interns are working in a collaborative model of five interns and two clinical faculty using a standardized curriculum. Traditional PT education calls for a single intern trained by a single provider. As a result, we not only are improving the way PTs are trained, we are having a significant impact on the quality and volume of care at Keesler Air Force Base. The number of patients our clinic is capturing instead of being sent off-base for treatment is staggering."

He noted, "The collaborative model has allowed our clinic to absorb significant numbers of the physical therapy referral base that otherwise would be lost to the (TRICARE) network. As a result of the internship, patient 'leakage' has decreased the monthly funding from about $150,000 to approximately $50,000 in a matter of months. This obviously results in significant savings for the Air Force. Even greater savings are possible if implemented on a larger scale."

Wait continued, "In physical therapy education, the traditional model is highly variable and calls for a non-standardized series of two 12-week clinical experiences without a curriculum, completed at a variety of locations and clinical settings. The Keesler Hospital's internship is 45 weeks, using a standardized clinical education curriculum to systematically progress an intern through essential evidence-based training while treating patients in the clinic.

"Our collaborative model allows for more peer-to-peer interaction and learning. The interns feel more comfortable working and learning with other interns in a similar academic position."

The current interns are here for 45 weeks from Rocky Mountain University in Provo, Utah. They are Will Sykes, Gilbert, Ariz.; Stewart Smith, Holbrook, Ariz.; Jimmy Pajuheshfar, Las Vegas; Vance Shurtliff, Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Matthew Mitchell, Akron, Ohio. A sixth intern from the Army-Baylor University program, Air Force 2nd Lt. Bridgette Griffiths from Perry, Mich., joined the class for eight weeks. She returns to Army-Baylor for the final two years of her doctoral training while the five RMU interns return to school for their Dec. 14 graduation when they receive their doctor of physical therapy degrees.

"Next year, we expect six interns here in this same model," Wait said. "Five from RMU will be here for 45 weeks and one from the University of Colorado for 24 weeks."

Surgical services flight commander Maj. Brian Katen remarked, "It was a pleasure having our PT interns at Keesler over the past year. Not only have they significantly increased our clinic productivity, but their ongoing evidence-based training program has elevated our entire PT staff training program. Over the past year, the increased productivity has helped decrease our network leakage by 78 percent, saving the Air Force $1.1 million. Our current interns have integrated well with our flight and the base community -- they have become a significant part of our Keesler team. We wish them well in their future careers and look forward to having our new interns here in January."