Among all of the amazing George Washington University (GW) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) faculty, there are a handful who know exactly what it’s like to be in their student’s shoes.
Joanna Hsu, PT, DPT, is a Northern Virginia local and a 2021 graduate of the GW DPT program. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she hadn’t imagined herself returning to the Washington D.C. area. However, once she finished her entrance interview into the program, she knew she was here to stay. After successfully completing the program, she was approached by faculty to assist with guest lecturing in Clinical Conference I to share the expertise she had gained from her work in the GWU outpatient clinic and as a Clinical Instructor (CI). During that experience, she learned that teaching and having students “teaches clinicians a lot about themselves and keeps [their] skills fresh.” As she became more and more involved in the program, she “recognized the value of molding a student into a future clinician.” Currently, Hsu works as an adjunct professor in Foundations of Interventions and the Clinical Conference I and II courses.
Erica Hwang, PT, DPT, is a 2017 graduate who first returned to the program as part of the Research in Practice course. She decided to take on her teaching role initially as a way to gain a deeper understanding of research through her work as TA in the Research in practice course. Similar to Hsu, Hwang began dabbling in different courses until she found her niche. She realized how powerful teaching could be. She “can make a bigger impact than just one patient at a time…by spreading her knowledge base” to the next generation of clinicians. Hwang is currently an adjunct professor in Foundations of Examinations, Clinical Conference IV and V, and Management of Individuals with Cardiopulmonary Dysfunction.
Dhinakar Jayaseelan, PT, DPT, DHSc, never fully left the program, despite graduating in 2010. As he began practicing at the GWU Hospital outpatient clinic, he found himself filling in as a clinical instructor, mentoring GW DPT students just a few days into the job. Jayaseelan enjoyed the process of “working with others to help fill gaps” so much it led him to spearhead the clinical education program at the clinic. While working with students in the clinic, he was also helping in the classroom. In the same year of his graduation, Jayaseelan was asked to return to the Foundational Anatomy course as a teaching assistant. Other than a year away to complete his fellowship in Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jayaseelan has remained a consistent instructor within the GW DPT program. Upon his return from fellowship, he took a full-time faculty role. Jayaseelan is currently an Associate Professor and also serves as the Associate Program Director of Academic Affairs, and Academic Director of the GW Orthopedic Residency, held in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Jason Dring, PT, DPT, like Jayaseelan, initially returned to the GW DPT program as an adjunct professor in the Management of Cardiopulmonary Dysfunction course. Having graduated in 2008, he remembers choosing the program in part because of his initial interaction with Ellen Costello, PT, PhD, who is now chair of the Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences Department and professor of the Functional Anatomy course. He was excited at the prospect of teaching alongside her, having once been her student. Dring now serves as an assistant professor; his teaching includes Functional Anatomy, Clinical Medicine in Pharmacology, and Management of the Aging Adult.
Each of these graduates turned faculty remembers the struggles of being a student in a high-performance doctoral program. They can empathize more acutely with what that felt like, having been in their student’s shoes. Hsu wants to serve as “a testament to [her] students, that [they] can get through to the other side. It was through individual hard work and dedication, but equally as much as relying on their fellow students and faculty.
Though each graduate has had their own unique journey, they all noted it was the sense of community within the GW DPT program that brought them back as faculty. Jayaseelan says that “the community and the support from the faculty was the impetus for my attending the program.” All four alumni noted that they hope the same bond and feeling of belonging is instilled in current students and future students yet to come.