Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) offers a five-semester Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program which prepares the graduate to work under the direct supervision of a licensed physical therapist (PT). The PTA assists the PT in providing physical therapy services to individuals with changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes, and provides prevention services to promote health, wellness and fitness. Graduates have the opportunity to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, private physical therapy offices, rehabilitation facilities, schools, and skilled nursing facilities.

For many colleges and universities, it's just not possible to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology, so a student's experience is limited to what is available in the education environment. Lucky for the PTA students at the SCCC Ammerman Campus, they are just down the road from Biodex Medical Systems, Inc., a global leader in physical rehabilitation equipment. For over 60 years, Biodex has offered best-in-class medical devices for physical and nuclear medicine, and medical imaging applications.

Once a year, Biodex hosts a group of students from the SCCC PTA program. Thanks to Don Gronachan, a long-standing adjunct professor in the SCCC Fitness Specialist Program and Biodex's Physical Medicine Sales Director, who has made this opportunity available to PTA students over the last 8 years. "Biodex offers cutting-edge technology in the field of physical therapy, says Gronachan. "It just made perfect sense to make available a setting where students can get first- hand experience with products that they'll see when they're employed in the real world of Physical Therapy. We provide the students with both an educational lecture and practical hands-on experience covering various competencies including muscle and joint testing, balance and mobility, and gait training."

Leading the visit from SCCC is Kerry Hoffman, a professor in the Physical Therapist Assistant program. "We're very fortunate to have this opportunity," explains Hoffman. "The students are introduced to the latest technologies that are being used today in the field of physical therapy and sports medicine. It gives them the ability to take their classroom learning experience and apply it to the actual technology being used in the real-world."

The visit to Biodex also gives the students a broader understanding of career opportunities in the healthcare industry. Their eyes are opened up to new experiences beyond the physical therapy clinic.

"The students today are passionate and technology savvy," says Gronachan. "Once they understand how technology is applied to physical therapy, you can see the wheels turning as they come up with other ways to apply the technology. All in all, it's a great experience not only for the students, but for Biodex as well."

About Biodex Medical Systems, Inc.
Biodex Medical Systems, Inc. manufactures and distributes medical devices and related replacement parts for physical and nuclear medicine, and medical imaging applications. It also provides concussion management as well as fall screening and conditioning programs. Biodex has been providing customers with innovative products and service excellence for over 60 years.