Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Student Faculty Interviews

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2023): Magnified and In Focus

Physical Therapy, Magnified: An Interview With Rupal Patel, PT, PhD

  • Sarah Snyder
Submitted
August 4, 2023
Published
09/29/2023

Abstract

Dr. Patel is an Associate Professor at the School of Physical Therapy at Texas Woman’s University located within the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. I had the privilege of taking several classes from her. She was always a positive influence, upbeat and energetic, even when teaching the drier topics, such as Ethics and Health Policy. The reason I chose to interview her is because of her passion for advocating for the profession—embodying an awareness of what physical therapists provide to their patients. Although I am now in my fourth year of medical school, I frequently fall back upon my knowledge and the foundations of patient care that I learned while obtaining my clinical Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) degree: where I learned to emphasize the patient’s goals, the healing power of movement, and a foundational understanding that quality of life can be just as important as quantity of life.