Academic
MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to advance a healthy, sustainable future within physical therapy, healthcare and society by building a culture of movement spanning all the interdependent systems that support human well-being. PHILOSOPHY "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein To maximize human well-being in the present and the future, it is vital build awareness of, educate about and implement sustainable systems. Our philosophy is to build off the triple bottom line, and apply a systems thinking approach to the following four major systems of sustainability. 1. Maximize Positive Health Outcomes 2. Promote Intelligent Business Practices 3. Foster Social Equity and Healthy Communities 4. Cultivate Healthy Environments and Ecosystems As professionals and leaders, physical therapists play a role in all of these systems that support human well-being. VALUES Kindness: We believe in kindness: kindness in our personal and professional relationships, kindness to our bodies, and kindness to the world we live in. We believe that for humanity to achieve a healthy and stable future, our purpose must be rooted in the ability to treat each other well, and to build systems that are kind to human well-being across lifespans, generations, communities and cultures. Systems Thinking: We believe in systems thinking. "Systems thinking is a perspective or a way of understanding that emphasizes whole systems and the relationships between system parts rather than the parts themselves. Systems thinking is a structured way of thinking about the world that is based on the principle that the components of a system are best understood in the context of their relationships to each other, rather than in isolation."(1) We must grow in our awareness of the complex dynamic systems that we are a part of to advance human well-being. Mindful Awareness: We believe in mindful awareness. “Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”(2) To effectively live well, and solve the many challenging problems that we face, we must act with increased attention, concentration and emotional awareness toward other people, our businesses and our world. BACKGROUND Sustainability is generally defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations (3). In particular to healthcare, climate change has been designated as the “biggest global health threat of the 21st century” (4). Recognizing our progressive global health role and commitment to society, the physical therapy profession must learn skills to effectively balance economic, social and environmental priorities to meet the demands of the world’s population. The American Physical Therapy Association Vision Statement (2013) specifically identifies innovation as a guiding principle to foster “creative and proactive solutions to transform heath-services delivery” and forward thinking to cultivate new educational models to anticipate the needs of society. (5) While traditional physical therapy curricula incorporate health wellness and prevention strategies and emphasize service learning, few institutions actively integrate concepts of sustainability in their educational content. Voted the “Best Higher Education Institution – Green Schools” in 2013 by the National Center for Green Schools, Emory University has identified sustainability as one of its top priorities.(3) Evolving out of this initiative, the Piedmont Project was developed to train faculty in curriculum development and has become a national model in providing a community for intellectual dialogue around sustainability issues in both local and global arenas. The goal of this website is to be a dynamic platform to share ideas and illustrate strategies that
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Keywords :
# Service
# Philanthropy
# and Civic Engagement
# Multi - cultural
# Academic
# wellness
# Graduate Student Life
