As she nears retirement from the 91福利社 College of Health Professions, Dr. Martha (Marty) Hinman reflected on how the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program became a reality.
The first graduates received their degrees in December 2021, but it took well over a decade for the program to get where it is today.
Discovering Physical Therapy
When she was a freshman in college, Dr. Hinman was trying to decide on a major. She knew she wanted to study biology and anatomy, but she also enjoyed playing sports. She considered a career path that would combine both of those interests.
鈥淎thletic training was a brand new career at the time I was in college. I was thinking about applying to those programs, but there weren鈥檛 many at the time,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淢y advisor suggested physical therapy and occupational therapy. I originally applied to occupational therapy school and decided physical therapy was more what I was interested in. I switched my application over and went to the Medical College of Georgia (currently Augusta University).
Dr. Hinman went on to earn her master鈥檚 in Health Education, then earned her Ed.D. in Allied Health Education and Administration from the University of Houston and her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University.
Journey to Anderson
鈥淚t was a very nontraditional route,鈥� Dr. Hinman said of her journey from Abilene, a city in the West Texas prairie, to Anderson, in Upstate South Carolina. Hardin-Simmons University, where she was on the faculty, was the first private college in Texas to establish a doctoral program in physical therapy.
She recalled when 91福利社 President, Dr. Evans Whitaker and then-provost Dr. Danny Parker visited Hardin-Simmons. Whitaker had a vision for a new physical therapy program for Anderson and was interested in what was going on in Texas. They approached Dr. Hinman about consulting for a new program at Anderson.
What happened next wasn鈥檛 what she imagined.
Later that year they met again at a SACS conference in San Antonio. She was prepared to share with them her assessment for the proposed program. Dr. Parker asked her if she鈥檇 consider coming to Anderson to run the program.
鈥淚 politely said 鈥榥o鈥� because my husband and I had just built a brand new house in Abilene,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淲e were pretty settled where we were鈥� so I agreed to continue as a consultant.鈥�
Dr. Hinman kept in touch with 91福利社 for the next few years. In 2016 she was introduced to Dr. Donald Peace, dean of the 91福利社 College of Health Professions. Dr. Peace had some prospects for running the Physical Therapy program and wanted Dr. Hinman鈥檚 feedback on the candidates.
She said, 鈥淭his is something I would love to do myself; I鈥檓 just not movable.鈥� Anderson鈥檚 Provost Office and College of Health Professions believed Dr. Hinman was the right person to lead the physical therapy program. Together with Dr. Hinman they would figure out how to make it work.
鈥淚 went ahead and signed a contract and was planning to start the next June after my other faculty contract ran out,鈥� said Dr. Hinman. She was able to have the best of both worlds and divide her time between Anderson and Abilene. Through her dedication came an accredited Physical Therapy program at 91福利社.
Connecting With Community
From the beginning, Dr. Hinman stressed that physical therapy students should be actively involved in the surrounding community. Ongoing projects include working with AnMed to retrofit commercially available ride-on toys for children with mobility disabilities. The initiative was successful, as evidenced by the smiling faces of youngsters who received their new 鈥渨heels.鈥� Students have also been involved in Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day, helping with First Baptist Church in Greenville鈥檚 huge garage sale, whose proceeds benefit the Neighborhood Partnership Missions. Many students have also volunteered with GAPS (Greenville Area Parkinsons Society).
Several students were paired with retired senior citizens, part of the SPICE (Senior Partners in Clinical Education) of Life mentoring program. The students received practical experience and formed lasting friendships.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice for them to practice on someone who might have some problems and not move as easily and not understand the lingo. This way they鈥檙e more prepared when they go out in the clinic,鈥� said Dr. Hinman, adding that students have lunch with seniors and even in one case ran a marathon with an active senior who was into running.
Accomplishments
鈥淥ur program went through both the candidacy process, which is the pre-accreditation phase, and its initial accreditation without a single citation; that鈥檚 extremely rare,鈥� Dr. Hinman said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 recall any other program that has accomplished that.鈥�
She pointed out that developing the program hasn鈥檛 been without its challenges.
鈥淵ou always expect there鈥檚 going to be unexpected things happening, but whoever thought we were going to have a pandemic while I was trying to develop this program? Then right as the pandemic started, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, so I was out for a while trying to keep things going while I was having surgery and being treated. Then about a year ago I fell down a flight of stairs at a friend鈥檚 house and shattered my elbow. I was sidelined for a few months with that,鈥� Dr. Hinman said. 鈥淚f you look at all those unexpected obstacles and challenges and we were still able to graduate a class on time, I think that just overcoming those obstacles is probably what I鈥檓 proudest of. Obviously I had a lot of help – my faculty really deserves the credit for achieving that final goal.鈥�
Dr. Hinman has an impressive record of peer-reviewed publications and presentations, but a labor of love for her was writing her book Amazing Grays. She wrote Amazing Grays for a lay audience. A play on words (Gray鈥檚 Anatomy), the book beautifully describes human anatomy from a biblical perspective.
Retirement Next Steps
Upon retirement, Dr. Hinman plans to continue consulting and hopes to write some more.
鈥淚鈥檝e thought about writing a children鈥檚 book. I like to write. I鈥檓 thinking of doing something a little different with that,鈥� she said. Dr. Hinman looks forward to retirement at their home in Abilene, Texas, with her husband, a retired chemical engineer for Gulf Oil Company.
She quips, 鈥淚鈥檝e always enjoyed developing things, so perhaps a garden will be next on my agenda!鈥�