The European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched the ‘School of the physical therapist of the future’ initiative. The tailored-made educational course is designed to equip health care professionals to address the growing need for rehabilitation services.

The first five-day school, recently held in Ivano-Frankivsk, is the first in a series of planned events. The event brought together 24 physical therapists from the Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv oblasts. This programme was designed to equip them with the latest knowledge and skills to effectively support the recovery of people affected by the war.

Led by a team of leading experts in physical therapy and rehabilitation, the programme combined theoretical and practical sessions, covering various vital topics. These included the competencies of a physical therapist, evidence-based practice, Ukraine’s rehabilitation system, leadership in rehabilitation, legal and regulatory frameworks, critical and clinical thinking, effective communication, and physical therapy for musculoskeletal disorders.

The school was organised by UNDP in Ukraine, with financial support from the European Union, as a part of the ‘EU4Recovery – Empowering Communities in Ukraine’ (EU4Recovery) project. The school is conducted in partnership with the War Trauma Rehabilitation initiative implemented by the Charitable Foundation ‘Patients of Ukraine’, with the All-Ukrainian Association of Physical Therapists, Lviv State University of Physical Culture and the Institute of Vertebrology and Rehabilitation.

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Press release