USD School of Health Sciences Success Spotlight: Aaron Harstein

Degree: PhD in Health Sciences

Current Position: Associate Professor, Division of Physical Therapy, Shenandoah University

Physical therapist Aaron Harstein already had a faculty position as an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at Virginia's Shenandoah University when he found the USD School of Health Sciences interprofessional PhD program in Health Sciences.

"Because I had been through both a residency and a fellowship program to hone my skill as a PT and had achieved a level of clinical proficiency, I assumed that it would be no problem to teach students in the classroom," he says.

But after a few years of teaching, he realized that it required a different skillset - one that he had not yet mastered. 

"I had a lot of depth in my profession, but not a lot of breadth," he says. "I could treat mechanical back pain very well, but I didn't have the breadth to understand things like how healthcare works in a larger organization."

Harstein says USD's program was not only flexible enough to meet his needs as an adult learner, but also offered the breadth of curriculum he was looking for. 

"I was very attracted to the way USD splits credits between teaching, research, leadership, dissertation and discipline-specific things," says Harstein, who says being a part of a cohort of people in different disciplines also made for a richer experience. 

"I can't say enough good things about the PhD in Health Sciences," he says. "I not only understand what works and what doesn't in the classroom, but I'm also a better clinician now. At the end of the day, we are educating our patients. Early in my career, I overemphasized skill and mechanics. Thanks to this program, I realize that those joints live inside of a person with beliefs, ideas, and experiences and all of that matters." 

Congratulations to this USD School of Health Sciences success story!