When Malia Lauer was 24, she wanted to become a physical therapist. Born and raised in Pupukea, Lauer would have applied to a Doctor of Physical Therapy program in Hawaii, but not a single one existed, so she left for San Diego. She eventually came back, helping rehabilitate injured surfers on Maui and treating patients in rural Hana who sometimes had left more complex issues unchecked without consistent visits to a doctor.
“I needed to be a bit more informed than an average outpatient P.T., because it’s such a rural place,” she said. So Lauer, now 32, sought out a bigger hospital and took a job as a senior physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, in the inpatient setting. “The thought was, ‘I’m just going to get as much experience that I can on the mainland that will be helpful to bring back,’” she said.
Aspiring physical therapists have always had to leave Hawaii to get trained, but a new program at Hawaii Pacific University is working to change that.
The university admitted about 100 students into its inaugural Doctor of Physical Therapy program this year in a bid to train and retain more physical therapists in the islands.
“Anyone who wants to pursue this profession has to leave Hawaii for a minimum of two to three years,” HPU Provost Jennifer Walsh said. “And often that means then they don’t return because when they’re on the mainland, they’re getting internships, clinical placements, job offers. It makes it difficult for them to return.”
The program’s first year saw high demand, taking only 110 of about 1,000 applicants, Walsh said. About a quarter of the students already lived in Hawaii when they applied, another quarter moved here after being admitted and the remaining half are on the mainland, said Tricia Catalino, the program’s director.
The trick to making it work: The two-year program is mostly remote, and because many similar programs take three years, HPU can be more affordable. Each eight-week term starts with six remote weeks and ends with two weeks in person.
“That way we can serve neighbor island students that don’t have to move to Oahu, and we can also serve local residents,” Walsh said. Remote teaching also allows the program to draw from a national pool of faculty, Catalino said.
Cody Maltezo, a 25-year-old from Mililani, enrolled in this year’s first class at HPU. “If there was no physical therapy program here, I would have left,” Maltezo said. But he’s happy he could stay, because he wants to eventually treat people in Hawaii. “My grandma is on Lanai, and they don’t really have physical therapists there. So that’s something I wanted to help out with,” he said.
Another student, 23-year-old Alyssa Eva, from Waianae, wants to use her physical therapy degree on Oahu. “I think it’s the best way to help people get better, and it’s empowering patients to help themselves,” she said.
Having more physical therapists in the islands who are from the islands might bring an unexpected benefit.
“I think a lot of people who end up as P.T.s in Hawaii are from the mainland and then come over for something else. Usually it’s because Hawaii is beautiful and they want to wind-surf or surf more,” Lauer said. “If you’re coming back to the place you’re born and raised, even if it is beautiful, you’re not coming back for that reason in particular. You’re coming back because you probably feel you have some duty to fulfill and passion to serve the community.”
In addition to spotlighting the physical therapy program at a media event held Friday in HPU facilities at Waterfront Plaza, Walsh announced two new health sciences programs in the works: a Doctor of Occupational Therapy program, slated to launch in January 2024; and a Master of Medical Science physician assistant program, set to start in January 2025. The private university’s enrollment includes nearly 6,000 students.
