DPT Students Win Award From CPTA For Original Video

Two West Coast University graduate students have won the 2016 California Physical Therapy Association student video contest.

Chris DuCray and Cara Kahm, doctor of physical therapy students at West Coast University’s Center for Graduate Studies in Los Angeles, will share the $1,000 prize. Their video will also be featured on the CPTA’s YouTube channel in October for National Physical Therapy Month. This year’s theme was “Physical Therapists Improve the Way You Move.”

Kahm and DuCray said they both have a background in the arts — he was a film major and she studied dance in college — and it was exciting to combine that with their love for physical therapy.

“Our goal was to show people going from a state of immobility to mobility, and on top of that, that anyone might need PT to help them get back to where they needed to be,” Kahm said.

The idea of using a few different “stories” in the video came from Kahm’s mother, who had just had a knee replacement the week before, and her 90-year-old grandmother.

“Two very different situations both improved by participating in PT,” Kahm said. “After that it was perfect to bring in my friend Andy and his kayaking, and a classmate to show a few other perspectives.”

DuCray said it’s important to spread the message of living healthy beyond the walls of the clinic to help future generations lead better lives.

“Making this video helped me realize the important task that we all have as physical therapists of educating society,” he said. “All too often, people try to find quick fixes to their problems, such as recreational drugs, medications or cosmetic surgeries, when all they had to do was move more.”


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