From Pediatric PT to Program Director: A Conversation on Leadership, Learning, and Belonging

After more than two decades in physical therapist education, Kendra Gagnon, PhD, PT, brings a student-centered approach and a forward-looking vision to her role as program director of the Tufts Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program in Boston. Drawing on her experience as a clinician, educator, researcher, and leader, she is focused on building a culture of excellence, belonging, and innovation while preparing graduates to meet the evolving needs of the profession. In this Q&A, she discusses the experiences that shaped her career, the future of physical therapy education, and what prospective students should look for in a DPT program.

What inspired you to pursue a career in physical therapy education, and what led you to take on the role of Director of the Tufts DPT-Boston program?

"I started my career as a pediatric physical therapist. I never thought I'd end up back in higher ed—I planned on practicing my entire career. As an early intervention and school-based PT, a big part of my job was teaching and coaching families, teachers, and other members of a child's education team on how to support their development and participation. That was the part I loved most, and I was really good at it. Then I had my first student as a clinical instructor, and I fell in love with teaching. Given my passion for coaching and teaching others, I started getting this nagging feeling that I should explore moving into a faculty role. So about three years into my PT career, I saw a faculty position posted at my local university. I was completely unqualified...but I applied anyway. I didn't get the job. But what I did get was a call from the program director, who scheduled a meeting to talk me through the path to becoming faculty. I started my PhD about a year later and have been in a faculty role in DPT education ever since.

I think I'm drawn to education because I'm future-focused and inherently hopeful—I believe today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. I'm truly inspired by young people—they're funny and interesting, they keep me (re)thinking all the time, and they keep me tied to the future of our profession.

What led me to Tufts specifically was the team. Tufts School of Medicine is an incredible institution with strong values around excellence, humanism, collaboration, and social responsibility, and the Tufts DPT-Boston team exemplifies that. I believe in an abundance mindset toward higher education, and this program is abundance in action. The world needs more PTs, and we're delivering on that need."

After more than 20 years in physical therapist education, what lessons have most shaped your approach to leadership and student success?

"My personal core values are courage and connection, and that lines up with my whole philosophy on leadership and student success: high standards, high support. We must have the courage to hold our students, our faculty, and our profession to a high standard. And we must be just as committed to building the systems and structures that provide real support and connection so that those standards can be reached. One without the other doesn't work. I've learned there's a lot of power in sending a specific message: I have high expectations for you because I care about you and believe in you. And I'm here to walk alongside you as you build the skills you need to achieve them. That's really it. I want that to come through in how I lead faculty and how I engage with students."

As the Boston program director, what is your vision for the future of the Tufts DPT program and the student experience?

"Tufts DPT-Boston is at an exciting stage of its development. We're a relatively young program but we've been around long enough to know what works (and what doesn't), who we are, and where we want to go. We have an incredibly strong foundation—the people are the key part of that—but we also have a lot of room to evolve, and the motivation and flexibility to actually do it.

Since stepping into this role, I've worked to organize the program's priorities around four strategic pillars: Educational Excellence; Professional Leadership & Impact; Community, Culture & Belonging; and Network & Stewardship. My vision is for these to work together as one system, not four separate initiatives. Rigorous, evidence-based education gets reinforced by a culture where faculty and students genuinely belong. That combination attracts strong faculty and produces graduates who build our national reputation; and it builds a network that keeps supporting our students long after they graduate.

For the student experience, that means continuing to strengthen our accelerated, hybrid model, evidence-based active learning, strong clinical partnerships, early and systematic support for students who are struggling, while making sure our culture actually matches our academic ambitions."

What innovations in physical therapy education are you most excited about, and how do you see them shaping the future of DPT programs?

"I'm cautiously optimistic about AI. We're in a time of real uncertainty and disruption; the challenges and the pain are real. But if we don't let fear overtake our vision for the future, I think higher education and the PT profession can come out of this stronger than ever.

Hybrid education has been the primary disrupter in health professions education over the last decade, and is delivering on its promise to increase accessibility and flexibility. But that's just scratching the surface. The real disruption is going to be the marriage of time-variable, competency-based education (CBE) with hybrid learning. There's a lot of people doing great work on CBE, and a lot of people doing great work on hybrid PT, but no one has figured out the time-variable piece yet. I think the flexibility that's inherent to the hybrid model is poised to be the unlock for truly time-variable education.

There's a lot of work to do, a lot of dogma to push against, and a lot of deeply held beliefs about the 'value' of lock-step, cohorted, in-person-only education. But we are learning that those narrow models serve a narrow population. Whoever figures out a real time-variable model in PT education, with stackable credentials and on- and off-ramps for the physical therapist assistant, is going to completely change the game. I hope that happens during my career."

What advice would you give prospective students considering a Doctor of Physical Therapy program, and what should they look for when evaluating DPT programs?

"The reality is that there is one path to becoming a PT. At the end of the day, every accredited DPT program gives you the same fundamental product: a credential that lets you sit for the licensure exam and practice. It's tempting to look at that in a really transactional way, and simply find a program that is cheap and easy. But I don't think that's actually what most people are looking for. I think they're looking for something transformational.

So the real question isn't what a program delivers, it's 'how will it change me?' Consider culture, not just curriculum. Find out how a program identifies and supports students who are struggling, and how it celebrates the ones who are succeeding. And don't just look at a program's outcomes—look at how transparently they communicate them, and what they're actually doing to keep improving.

At the end of the day, any DPT program is going to be rigorous. You're getting a doctoral education in a health profession where you need to be highly skilled and competent. There's no easy button, and you can't do it alone. Make sure you're ready to commit to that, wherever you go, and that you have a plan for support, and for getting back on track when you need to."
 

Related Links:

Tufts DPT Overview
Student Stories
Tufts Faculty