Supporting PT Students in Singapore
School of Medicine and Health Sciences faculty member Kenneth J. Harwood, PT, Ph.D., CIE, recently returned from an educational initiative in Singapore. Harwood, director of health care quality initiatives and director of research for Clinical Research and Leadership, was a member of an international team of experts visiting the Republic of Singapore to teach management and leadership to physical therapy (PT) students, as well as address topics such as public policy as it relates to PT.
“The purpose of our trip was to develop a higher education level for PT students in Singapore,” said Harwood.
During the week-long academic exchange, the team met with health care and government representatives of the Southeast Asian city-state, including the Associate Minister of Education who even sat in on one of the team's classes.
Harwood, who joined the Health Science programs faculty at the start of the academic year, is also a member of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) taskforce to develop national standards for Safe Patient Handling and Movement. According to the ANA, each year errors involving improper patient handling results in more than $7 billion in losses from workers compensation costs, medical bills, and staff replacement.
Prior to joining GW, Harwood served as the Vice President of the Practice and Education Division for the American Physical Therapy Association, where he oversaw efforts and activities designed to improve and enhance the state of physical therapy education and practice. In addition, Harwood was a full-time faculty member at Columbia University, New York University, and SUNY, Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn. His research interests include ergonomics, low back pain care, health care policy and quality, and his is a founding member of editorial board for the American Journal of Safe Patient Handling and Movement.
