PHYSICAL THERAPY

Graduated in 1987
Team Medical Director, WNBA Las Vegas Aces
Director, APTA Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program, Rehab Institute of Michigan

Q: Why did you choose to attend Wayne State University?

A: Two factors influenced my decision to attend Wayne State University:  1. I had a scholarship to play fast pitch softball at Wayne State University. 2. Wayne State University offered one of the few Physical Therapy programs in Michigan in 1987 and it had an excellent reputation.

Q: What inspired you to become a physical therapist?

A: I was first introduced to the profession of physical therapy because I was a three-sport high school athlete. Fortunately for me, it was not MY injury, but instead a volleyball teammate of mine who suffered what they called a knee sprain in 1980. She attended physical therapy and told me all about it. I went to a session with her and immediately knew that was the profession I wanted to pursue. I was a junior in high school at that time and was told by my high school counselor that it would be difficult for me. That comment inspired me further to pursue my dream of becoming a physical therapist.

Q: Who was your most memorable instructor? 

A: Mable B. Sharpe was my most memorable professor in the PT program because she helped develop the mindset and approach I currently use in Health & Performance — an ECLECTIC approach to patient/athlete care. She embraced open-minded approaches and challenged us to think outside the box.

Q: What was your most challenging class?

A: Pharmacology! I'm not one who likes to strictly memorize material and I felt that's all we really did in that class.

Q: Where was your favorite place to study?

A: At home with my older brother, who was going through WSU’s Medical School at the same time I was in physical therapy school. We would quiz each other on the topics we were studying. We both had slightly different insights whether it was anatomy, physiology, or neurology. It was enormously helpful for both of us.

Q: Tell us more about your college years. 

A: My time at Wayne State (5 years) was broken into two distinct timespans:

1. My prerequisite classwork as I played fast-pitch softball for the Wayne State University Tartars. This was an intense time as I worked to play as a freshman and sophomore on a softball team full of All Americans. While at the same time studied hard to maintain a 4.0 in the hopes this would help me earn acceptance into the Wayne State University PT program.

2. The second phase at Wayne State was intense but fun, as I was in the Physical Therapy program (36 of us total in the class of 1987). This group of PT students became my new teammates as I gave up softball to focus on my PT career. The PT program was intense, but I loved it. My time at Wayne State laid the foundation for my now 36-year career.

Q: What do you feel has changed the most in your profession since graduation?

A: Anatomy, physiology, neurology and so on have not changed since graduating from PT school in 1987, but the technologies that we use for treatments and assessments have changed enormously. So many in sports medicine advancements; from motion analysis, force plates, diagnostic ultrasound use for precise clinical treatments, load monitoring just to mention a few, that now allow us to apply many of our previous learned techniques more precisely.

Q: Please share some of your career highlights:

A: I have many favorite career highlights that include working the 1996 Olympic Games, working on Venus Williams to winning 5 WNBA Championships (the most of any WNBA medical staff)! Here are a few additional highlights:

• I had to complete truck driving school to earn a commercial driver’s license to drive one of the largest mobile sports medicine semitrucks in the USA for Henry Ford Hospital. I worked sports medicine events around the country including: Detroit Tigers Spring Trainings, FIFA World Cup Soccer in Dallas Texas and USA Paralympic TeamTrials in New York.
• As Assistant Director of Outpatient Physical Therapy Services for St. John Health System, I worked with a team to build a Sports Medicine Program utilizing the outpatient physical therapy sites of St. John Health for 12 high schools.
• I served as an Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist for the Paralympic USA Swim Team at the World Championships in Italy.
• I served as an Athletic Trainer/Physical Therapist at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• I was the first physical therapist hired by the WNBA  (Detroit Shock franchise). 
• I was part of three WNBA Championships with Detroit Shock as their lead medical provider: Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainer and Strength Coach.
• I served as the head physical therapist, athletic trainer and strength coach for the WNBA New York Liberty.
• I traveled the world with the women's professional tennis tour as the Physical Therapist / Athletic Trainer for the WTA (Women’s Professional Tennis Association).

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Physical therapists are dynamic health professionals who develop, coordinate and utilize select knowledge, skills and techniques in planning, organizing and directing programs for the care of individuals whose ability to function is impaired or threatened by disease or injury. The goal of PT is to enhance a person’s quality of life and their ability to participate in activities. The Doctor of Physical Therapy program application process opens July 1 and the deadline is Oct. 15. WSU Applebaum information meetings for prospective students take place at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month.

An anchor in urban health care

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is built on more than 100 years of tradition and innovation in the heart of Detroit. We have grown deep roots in our city, harnessing its powerhouse hospital systems and community service organizations as vibrant, real-world training grounds for students, with an ongoing focus on social justice in health care. And our research at all levels – from undergraduates to veteran faculty members – translates into creative solutions for healthier communities.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering approximately 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 24,000 students.