9/7 WCPT與會心得

With the theme of “health promotion through physical therapy”, the 6th Asia-Western Pacific Regional Congress of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy in conjunction with the 12th International Congress of Asia Confederation for Physical Therapy celebrated its grand opening this morning in NanShan Education & Training Center, Taichung, Taiwan. Together they attracted about 1000 delegates from over 30 countries. I was really stunned at first sight with these many participants! The diversities of the culture background and the similarities among the profession provide great opportunities for physical therapy clinicians, researchers, students and many others from interdisciplinary fields to communicate and interact.

The programs covered the entire spectrum of disciplines related to physical therapy, from original research, education development, and clinical applications. There were a total of 6 pre-conference workshops, 7 symposiums, 1 education forum, 2 hospital visits and about 750 oral and poster presentations. The enriching programs gave us a great reason to participate. This time I had two students tagging along and they will present their research works tomorrow. This is definitely an eye-opening event for students. Through this event, they get to know their peers from other universities, to present themselves to the public, and also to suit themselves in a place ready for the physical therapy career. For many of us, these couple days will be filled with knowledge and inspiration.

Another reason to participate is this is definitely a great friend- reunion occasion. Most of the time we are busy with works and families therefore attending conferences provides us a great opportunity to meet old friends and colleagues. Nothing compares to the feelings of meeting old friends! Couple universities also held an alumni get-together along with this event. As a graduate from University of Pittsburgh, it was a great joy to see a stand with the university logo. I even get a luggage nametag as a Pitt souvenir! In addition, I was also amazed by the energy and enthusiasm of couple senior professors in this profession. With their current achievement, they never stop gathering innovative knowledge and totally engaged themselves in this event. More than that, as famous as they are, they are easygoing and surprisingly humble. They serve as great role models for us young researchers to learn from.

There were also a great number of exhibition in conjunction with the congress featuring the latest instrumentations, assistive devices and medical equipment for clinical rehabilitation management and research. I really enjoyed trying out the new state-of-the-art designs and linking their possible application to my research projects.

The latest development of physical therapy has opened up abundant opportunities for us and continues to lead to exciting promises. In Taiwan and across the world, we are facing a new frontier in healthcare calling for innovation. The advances of physical therapy lie in our present endeavors in research and education. As long as we continue to devote in this profession, the future of physical therapy would definitely make the world a better place.

(作者係本系系友,現為長庚大學早療所教師)