For One Student, Fishing and Physical Therapy Made a Perfect Match
Jazmin Shields DPT ’23, left, stands with other volunteers at a UPMC Gone Fishing event in 2022. (Via Jazmin Shields)
World Physical Therapy Day is observed every year on Sept. 8 to honor the life changing work of physiotherapists. This year, Pulse@ChathamU is highlighting the volunteering done by our Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Find past coverage here.
Jazmin Shields DPT ’23 read the email closely as soon as she saw the word “fishing” in her inbox.
The message: UPMC’s Gone Fishing program was looking for volunteers to kick off its inaugural Fall Fishing Classic, a fishing trip for disabled people along the Allegheny River.
It was perfect for Shields, who said the event was a confluence of her love for fishing and her passion for physical therapy.
Shields poses on a pier along the Allegheny River. (Via Jazmin Shields)
“I loved it,” she said during an interview in September.
Shields came to Chatham University to obtain her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree after learning the program offered problem-based learning, which supplements traditional lectures with case study analysis and discussion facilitated by a professor.
“I’ve always had an interest in how the body functions,” Shields said. After a shoulder injury in high school led to a monthslong recovery process, she realized how dramatically someone’s life can be upended by an injury or pain.
She decided to pursue physical therapy because it would give her a chance to work one-on-one with patients and help them redevelop their strength and mobility, just as she had to do as a teen.
“I wanted to bring people good news and help them, rather than be a doctor, who brings bad news sometimes,” she said.
The Fall Fishing Classic was a perfect way to put those values into practice. Patients were provided with rods and other gear that made fishing more accessible. It was part of the service learning aspect of Chatham’s DPT program.
Dr. Sarah Jameson, a DPT professor who oversees several of Chatham’s service learning opportunities, estimated these programs have been part of the University’s curriculum for over 20 years. She said they are a great way to give students real-world interactions with the patient populations they’ll be serving as professionals.
“People with disabilities are siloed, not by choice,” Jameson said. “We need to have opportunities to recognize the fullness of their humanity.”
Service learning is something that benefits both patients and students, Jameson added. Students often come away with a sense of appreciation and awe at their accomplishments. “When you serve, you gain more than you give,” she said.
Other programs that are part of Chatham’s service learning initiatives include a partnership with Vincentian Schenley Gardens, an assisted care facility in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood; working with athletes from the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania; and Giving It Forward Together (GIFT), where students spend one-on-one time with seniors to help reduce loneliness in aging populations.
“People with disabilities are siloed, not by choice,” Jameson said. “We need to have opportunities to recognize the fullness of their humanity.”
Patients not only get care, but service learning programs often encourage physical activity, socializing, and, with Gone Fishing, time spent outdoors, all of which contribute to a better sense of wellbeing for everyone involved.
“There were trophies and awards ... [the patients] got a bag with fishing stuff, and everyone was very happy,” said Shields, who hopes to eventually implement her own outdoor recreational programs at a skilled nursing facility after she graduates.
The experience also inspired her to volunteer with other similar programs and learn more about adaptive fishing equipment and techniques.
Seeing patients casting lines into the Allegheny River, relating to one another, and enjoying themselves participating in one of her own personal passions, Shields learned that the social aspect of these events is just as important as the activity itself.
“A lot of storytelling was going on” between patients, she said. “It was like a community experience on top of a fishing event.”
Mick Stinelli is a Writer and Digital Content Specialist at Chatham University. His writing has previously appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 90.5 WESA.