As a teenager, Jennah Harvey ’26, ’29DPT, currently a senior in the Health and Exercise Science + Physical Therapy DPT (4+3) program, witnessed the transformative effects of physical therapy.
As a high school soccer player, she started seeing a physical therapist (PT) for a back injury. At the time, Harvey shared the space with a younger boy and his PT. She noticed that the boy was a wheelchair user and an amputee.
“The PT worked with him and got him back to walking,” Harvey recalls. “Seeing this young boy running upstairs with a new prosthetic on was so inspiring to me. I knew I wanted to do that for someone, so that is part of my drive to be a PT.”
Community and Diversity at Simmons
Harvey is from Jaffrey, New Hampshire, which is a small, rural area. “When I was looking into college, I wanted to be somewhere where I could grow as a person and live somewhere that is diverse I also wanted to be in an area where there is a lot to do,” she recalls.
While scrolling through a college application portal, Simmons caught her eye, so she applied. Once she set foot on campus during Admitted Students Day, Harvey was enamored. “I loved the campus and found the community diverse and welcoming,” she says. Additionally, she appreciates the many comfortable study spaces on campus. “Even a little hometown country girl like me fits in here,” she adds.
For her studies, the Boston location is of pivotal importance. “There are so many opportunities at Simmons. The hospitals nearby have such a high respect for Simmons and I think that [hands-on learning] really transforms students who wish to work in healthcare,” she says.
Harvey finds Simmons faculty intellectually inspiring and down to earth. “The professors here at Simmons are well-known and know their stuff. …. And they are always learning [and are intellectually curious alongside the students],” she notes.
Some of Harvey’s most influential professors include Becky Thompson, professor of sociology; Jyl Collins, professor of biology/anatomy; Michael Welch, assistant teaching professor and director of the Health and Exercise Science program; and Tim Hanway, assistant professor of practice in health and exercise science. She loves how many of her professors begin the class in a disarmingly friendly way, often providing an anecdote about their kids and family. “When we are away from our parents, all we want to do is call them … so at Simmons the professors make us feel at home in a way, and they are so smart … and so supportive,” she says.
Moreover, Harvey adds, “[Having caring professors] was a constant reminder that I am not alone, and that I belong here. And this is probably not the case at bigger schools.” As she finds, “Simmons is a beautiful community ... and the resources they give us allow us to succeed in what we do Simmons is a place to find your passion, community, and voice.”
Internship and Research
As part of her senior capstone project, Harvey must complete 100 hours per semester at an internship site. This fall, she is interning at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a position that Professor Welch helped her procure. For this hands-on learning opportunity, Harvey works alongside an exercise physiologist who tests patients for cardiac abnormalities.
For example, EKGs can test for arrhythmia or heart failure. Harvey also witnesses stress tests, during which patients exercise on an ever-accelerating and inclining treadmill, as well as echocardiograms, or ultrasounds that show heart activity.
“I have been enjoying learning more about the heart,” Harvey says. “And it’s been awesome to get to know the facility there [at Beth Israel] and its world-renowned doctors.”
Harvey’s work at Beth Israel’s cardiology unit is related to her current research. For her senior capstone project, she is researching the effects of caffeine on the heart. She is now compiling a literature analysis on this topic.
In particular, Harvey desires to understand any links between increased consumption of caffeine in energy drinks and the cardiovascular system. “Right now, I am also interested in how caffeine intake affects young adults,” Harvey says, noting that younger patients are presenting cardiac abnormalities. “When you sit in a college campus, you see energy drinks and coffee in every row of students,” she says. Harvey has found that athletes who take caffeine often have higher resting heart rates than those who do not.
“I wanted to learn more about how caffeine affects the heart,” Harvey says. From an exercise science/physical therapy perspective, heart function is crucial. “Without your heart, you don’t have blood flow to any part of your body And when your heart is in failure, you lose a lot of ability to do daily things, like your ability to do exercise or perform other activities,” she explains.
Rewards of the Profession
While Harvey, an aspiring physical therapist, has not yet decided on what specialization she will pursue — though she is interested in pediatrics, military veterans, and geriatrics — she believes that Simmons is providing superb career preparation.
“The Simmons DPT program is so well organized and ensures that we succeed in our future careers,” she says.
Regarding the rewarding aspect of being a physical therapist, “it’s definitely helping others transform their lives to love their bodies,” Harvey says. “We have been learning about the biological-psychological-sociological model, which says that a patient is not just numbers. They are part of a family or community, so it’s more than just surface level.”
Ultimately, Harvey wishes to become an empathetic and compassionate physical therapist whom patients trust. “We are not just our injuries or our ailments. We are humans, and we deserve love and respect.”