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Harsimran Baweja, director of Auburns Doctor of Physical Therapy program

Harsimran Baweja, director of Auburn’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program

With the fewest number of physical therapists in the nation per capita, the state of Alabama has health care needs that current resources can’t meet — particularly in rural areas. That’s just one reason Auburn University’s new Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program is poised to change Alabama’s health care landscape. Auburn’s DPT program will not only provide more physical therapists, but will also produce practitioners who are clinically trained to serve communities throughout the state.

“There are five physical therapy education programs in the state right now and, together, they graduate around 162 new physical therapists each year,” said Harsimran Baweja, director of Auburn’s DPT program. “So, we have less than 3,000 physical therapists in the state serving more than five million Alabamians. That is a health care disparity issue.”

It’s personal for Baweja. He and his family moved to the Plains from San Diego, California, seizing the opportunity to create this program. He chose Auburn because of the state’s health care needs — particularly in southeast Alabama. He sees Auburn’s unique potential to provide solutions. He also recognizes what sets the university apart from any other — the Auburn Family.

“Creating a Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Auburn will mean generational change in our region and state,” he said. “We know the responsibility we have and what this will require. But we also know we aren’t doing it alone. Led by our land-grant mission, inspired by The Auburn Creed and supported by the Auburn Family — we can do anything.”

 

The Physical Therapy Solution

Physical therapists provide holistic care including every part of the body from the brain and muscles to skin, lungs and heart. Describing the profession as service oriented, Baweja said practitioners have a mindset devoted to improving the human condition.

“By default, physical therapists are thinking, ‘How can I help you and what can I do to make your quality of life better?’” he said. “This is what floats my boat, and it is how we look at the field as we are building this program.”

As a crucial component of basic health care, physical therapy improves movement and pain management and assists with medical conditions including cardiopulmonary, neurological, musculoskeletal, pediatric, traumatic brain injuries and more. Auburn’s program will also focus research and clinical training on women’s health issues and needs of military populations.

Baweja and his team of faculty clinicians will launch Auburn’s DPT program, housed in the College of Education’s School of Kinesiology, in summer 2025. Applications for the charter cohort of 38 student physical therapists will close Oct. 31. Since its inception in 2021, the DPT team has been working on accreditation, classroom and lab space renovations, finalizing curricula and hiring faculty.

“We are the only research-oriented program in the state. The scientists and clinicians we are hiring share our research vision and expertise. They want to advance the mission of the university, the unit, the program and the profession through life-changing discovery.”

Dr. Harsimran Baweja

The Auburn Advantage

Auburn’s program will have a robust research focus, discovering science that informs practice throughout the field. But the program will also prepare future physical therapists who will serve communities and live out Auburn’s land-grant mission as students.

“Our program’s orientation will be toward serving our communities,” Baweja said. “Whether in our research, student-learning experiences or outreach through future mobile and faculty practice clinics, we’re not only educating future health care leaders, but also building a teaching clinic that creates active stakeholders in the education of the students who treat them.”

Setting it apart from other programs in the state, Auburn has a distinctive approach to physical therapy education — grounded by experiential learning and meaningful community impact but fueled by real-world research.

“We are the only research-oriented program in the state,” Baweja said. “The scientists and clinicians we are hiring share our research vision and expertise. They want to advance the mission of the university, the unit, the program and the profession through life-changing discovery.”

Baweja describes his goals as ambitious, but Auburn students, faculty and graduates are no strangers to big dreams. He knows the DPT program’s most powerful distinguishing factors will be rooted in the more intangible, distinctively Auburn elements — culture, values, mission and the Auburn Family.

A rendering of the new physical therapy education space

The new physical therapy education room will provide hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for students in a space that mimics a physical therapy clinic.

The Philanthropy Factor

Even before the first physical therapy student applied for the program, the Auburn Family demonstrated a belief in the new DPT program.

During 2024 Tiger Giving Day, more than 178 donors made gifts to the DPT project that raised funds to purchase equipment for the program, providing access to cutting-edge technology in the classroom.

“So many people recognize the tremendous impact possible with creating a DPT program at Auburn,” Baweja said.

His primary focus is on funding scholarships and assistantships to remove financial barriers for potential students who might not see Auburn or a medical career as an option.

“So many students throughout the state, particularly those in rural areas, can be intimidated by Auburn because it’s not familiar to them,” he said. “So, they miss out on the Auburn experience. But we miss out on recruiting a robust field of high-achieving students from all backgrounds who would be exceptional clinicians and also diversify the field.”

Donor support will help close the access gap for potential physical therapy students. Philanthropy will also be crucial in creating hands-on learning for students through resources such as a mobile clinic and potentially, an anatomy lab for use by all health care related programs at Auburn.

“Support from every level of leadership, colleagues in the field and those who love Auburn is making this dream come true,” he said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, determination and collaboration but it will all be worth it. Ten years from now, we’ll look back at this moment and marvel at what we’ve created, but even more, we’ll celebrate the lives we’ve changed.”

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