Alumnus Honored at Department of Physical Therapy’s White Coat Ceremony

Dr. Jacklyn H. Brechter, Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy, delivers the Alumnus of the Year award to Dr. Tom Walters.

At the start of each academic year, the Department of Physical Therapy, in the Crean School of Health & Life Sciences, holds its White Coat Ceremony and Reception. This traditional ceremony is designed to welcome first-year students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program as professional colleagues dedicated to patient care. During the ceremony, students are presented with their white coat, a traditional symbol of clinical service. In addition, each student takes a pledge of professionalism and dedication to ethical and quality patient care.

At this year’s ceremony, held on August 23, 2013, the department honored alumnus Dr. Tom Walters (DPT, 2007). Walters has been an inspiration to students, faculty and alumni as he has advanced in his profession.  He currently works with patients as a founding partner of the ArthroKinetic Institute (AKI), a biomechanical testing and treatment facility located in Santa Barbara, California.

Additionally, Walters serves as an adjunct professor in the Kinesiology Department at Westmont College, where he teaches human physiology and biomechanics. Tom’s past clinical work includes experience in private practice, long-term care, traveling therapy and sports medicine as a physical therapist in Cirque du Soleil’s Performance Medicine Department.

Dr. Tom Walters (DPT ’07) welcomes the new DPT students to the profession at Chapman University’s Department of Physical Therapy White Coat Ceremony, August 23, 2013.