Skip to main content

Feature-CAPracticeSettings-800x300.png

Twelve years ago, Chukwuemeka Nwigwe, PT, DPT, was just starting his first semester as a physical therapist student at what now is Rutgers University in New Jersey. At the time, he was — like most of his classmates — excited to launch this next chapter in his life that would culminate in graduation and a promising career. "It was sort of this singular mindset," Nwigwe recalls. "Like all I had to do was study hard and get good grades, and I'd become a PT and be helping patients."

That attitude carried Nwigwe, a board-certified clinical specialist in orthopaedic physical therapy, through the first few months of school and certainly would have led him to his DPT, but then he "stumbled upon" APTA's National Student Conclave, and that changed everything, he says. "I saw what it meant to network and get involved. I saw that there was something more important than doing well on my exams to get my degree."

Log in or create a free account to keep reading.


Join APTA to get unlimited access to content.


You Might Also Like...

News

New APTA Report Details Performance Outcomes for PT Entrance Into Practice

Jul 15, 2025

Outcomes in the Competency-Based Education in Physical Therapy report informed by iterative, national consensus-based process.

News

CMS Conference Highlights Avenues for Physical Therapy in Advancing Quality Care

Jul 14, 2025

APTA underscores the need to transform health care toward quality and value-based care with a focus on function.

News

Senate Introduces Companion Legislation To Help Patients Avoid Interruptions

Jul 10, 2025

If enacted, PTs across the country would be allowed to secure substitute care for patients during an absence.