Welcome to PT School: Why Anatomy and Physiology are so critical
Stats4PT|Lesson 6: Beyond Data: Mechanisms and Structures in Evidence
This post is for the incoming PSU DPT students. It turns out the latest Stats4PT lesson from the Clinical Inquiry Fellowship lines up perfectly with two of your core summer courses: Clinical & Functional Anatomy and Clinical Physiology.
The Stats4PT Lesson is Beyond Data: Mechanisms and Structures in Evidence
Dear Incoming PSU DPT Students,
As you begin your journey into the DPT program this summer, you’ve probably heard that it’s going to be intense. Long hours. Dense anatomy. Complex physiology. There will be days when it feels like your only job is to memorize.
But I want to offer you a reason to do more than just memorize.
Physical therapy isn’t about memorizing muscles or recalling pathways. It’s about making sense of what’s happening in human bodies—why function emerges, why it fails, and what can be done about it. In this program, we don’t treat symptoms. We work with systems. And that requires more than techniques. It requires reasoning.
That reasoning often hinges on your understanding of anatomy and physiology.
You are not just learning what structures exist or how systems operate. You are building the foundation for a way of thinking—one that allows you to interpret messy data, fill in gaps in the evidence, and make defensible decisions for complex patients. The goal isn’t just to know where the sciatic nerve runs or how ATP is regenerated. The goal is to understand how mechanisms create movement, sustain function, and recover from disruption.
To show you where this is headed, I want to share something I wrote recently:
➡️ Lesson 6: Beyond Data – Mechanisms and Structures in Evidence
It’s part of a series I call Stats4PT, which is all about helping clinicians become better thinkers—not just better test-takers. This particular lesson explores:
Why clinical judgment depends on understanding mechanisms, not just outcomes
How to balance external models with internal reasoning
Why your work in foundational science shapes your future clinical voice
And how great PTs aren’t defined by having the “right” answer, but by knowing how to pursue one
You won’t understand it all yet. That’s expected. But read it anyway. Let it stretch you.
This summer’s courses—Clinical Physiology, Clinical & Functional Anatomy, and more—aren’t just hurdles. They’re the scaffolding for the kind of professional thinking you’ll carry throughout your career. You’re not just learning facts; you’re learning how to see.
Welcome to the profession. I’m excited to see how you begin!