It was a sunny morning, full of promise on July 14, 2026, and the class of 2028 had an experience that few others get to do. Split into small groups, students from the George Washington University (GW) Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, went to the United States Capitol to meet with their legislators and advocate for the biggest issues facing the profession: student loans, access to pelvic health PT, and fall prevention assessments for older adults.
Claire Weigand (DPT’ 28) didn’t know what to expect, but was surprised at how engaged and passionate the staffers were at Lisa McClain’s office (MI-10). “It was rewarding to see how much they really did care and how they wanted to help and make a change and listen to what we had to say,” she said. Weigand had not done any formal advocacy before, but saw similarities in the work she had done at school. “Learning about the topics and explaining it to another person is similar to the education we give to our future patients. It’s important for the other person to know why this matters.” She was able to pull through the knowledge and expertise from her schooling into this vital work.
Daniel Millan (DPT ‘28) had previously done advocacy work for the profession with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as part of their Capitol Hill Day. He was excited for his classmates to join, saying "students don’t realize the power that they have as advocates.” He met with the offices of Congressional representative Darrel Issa (CA-48) and Senator Adam Schiff (CA). He recognizes that not every meeting will be an emphatic yes, but he is prepared to take on that challenge and “fight for what we think is right and what is important for our patients.”
Ethan Davis (DPT ‘28), who joined Millan in their meeting, had previously done advocacy work, however his experience centered on environment protection policy. Still, he was able to bring in the skills he learned prior to this event. He acknowledges that “no one is going to advocate for you, but yourself and physical therapy is often underrepresented at these kinds of conversations.” He enjoyed being a representative for the field and is interested in pursuing the advocacy past this opportunity.
Rachel Johansen Bracken, PT, DPT, joined the students for the day. She has worked as an advocate for over three years in addition to her clinical work as an orthopedic and pelvic health board certified physical therapist. Seeing the GW DPT students make connections in the offices of their representatives was “one of the most fulfilling parts of the day.” She was excited to see the commitment that the students brought to the issues, even before they had finished school.
Nikesh Patel, PT, DPT, the Executive Director for Alliance for Physical Therapy Quality and Innovation (APTQI) echoed this point. He says that “people want to get involved; they just need a little bit of background and advice on connecting the dots.” Patel spoke to the cohort before the advocacy day to prepare the students with best practices for advocacy. However, this was the first student group he had spoken to that went on to actually advocate for those issues. As Patel put it, “GW DPT is not just creating future advocates, but current advocates which is what the profession needs.”
Continuing the advocacy is imperative to push the physical therapy professions’ issues into the spotlight, but the class of 2028 is ready to take on that challenge. “We are very lucky to be going to school in the capital of the US and have these opportunities to do something that will benefit us in our future careers and the current and future patients
