 |
|
||
Topics:
PTs Blast Alternative Caregivers Cover
As a 1964 graduate of the Ithaca College PT program, I found the article as well as the cover photo portraying a chiropractor rather offensive. Today we, the physical therapist graduates of Ithaca, are trying hard to disassociate ourselves from chiropractic. We are proud of our scientific beliefs and concepts that we learned from one of the best schools through hard work and research using traditional ways with scrutiny and ethics. I, along with the majority of the medical community, believe very strongly in our traditional Western ways based on the Aristotelian laws of empirical studies and research. Without such scientific studies and research of the past based on proven principles, today we would be back in the Dark Ages. If we continue to believe in our politically correct methods and the psychobabble of "alternative healing," our caliber of education will continue to drop only to meet the demands of the incompetent. We cannot any longer proceed to place patches and Band-Aids on a system that is already decaying as we do with alternative healers. The purpose of professionally caring for people is to educate them in scrutinizing and accepting that which is really necessary and not to inspire them to buy perpetual treatments that they neither want nor need. Alternatively, you will have a health care system of illusion, delusion, and collusion. Analyzing your article "The Healers" from a professional perspective, one cannot help to perceive it as an advertising stunt or as a joke. All five healers have one thing in common -- they're Ithaca graduates with diplomas, not necessarily in the arts of healing -- but nevertheless called miracle workers. Discussing lupus, fibromyalgia, and increased fatigue syndromes, it became evident that all were successfully treated with "bone cracking," hypnosis, and energy-inducing techniques. Therefore, our health care problems have been resolved cheaper with alternative health methods. What a joke! Ithaca College had and continues to have one of the most, if not the most, efficient and well-known physical therapy programs in the United States; its success derived from graduates like yours truly and others like me who made sure throughout the years that our alma mater received the credit it deserves. We are practicing a very noble profession. Every other so-called health care professional has attempted to practice [their profession] not necessarily for its nobility but mostly for its financial rewards -- rewards dispersed to everyone except to the physical therapist. During your entire article, in fact in the entire Quarterly, I did not see any mention of the Department of Physical Therapy. Perhaps profiling a physical therapist who excelled as a professional, as a research scientist, as a professor, and as an inventor would be a much better choice. Such a person would be easy to find if you research through the PT Journal looking for articles written by Ithaca graduates. Your choice of the cover story was disappointingly poor at the least. However, as the adage goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and in this case you happened to have a condition of astigmatism, myopia, and/or a combination of both. Harry Nafpliotis '64, Ph.D., PT I enjoyed attending Ithaca College and still get a lot of satisfaction in receiving the ICQ. I was interested in your recent edition in the cover stories titled "The Healers: Alternative Health Care Practitioners." However, I'm surprised that with physical therapy/ occupational therapy/ speech departments of the size and quality of IC's, you did not discuss this article with them. Although PT/ OT/ speech therapists and pathologists are considered basically mainstream, not every treatment technique we use is mainstream. For example, many of us use elements of craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and somato/ emotional unwinding as part of our treatments. Other practitioners use transfer of energy, therapeutic touch, and other non-mainstream techniques. Many PTs use forms of manual therapy, including mobilization in various strengths and manipulation, despite chiropractors' vigorous attempts to limit PTs' use of these modalities. Sensory integrative techniques are used by many of us to promote proper sensory function, yet this is not considered mainstream. I suggest you interview several faculty in your own departments and get a follow-up story. I'll bet you will get more than you can print! Thank you. Julet Goodwin Dinan '81 Park Alumni KudosSince I rarely see personal acquaintances from IC showcased in the Quarterly, I was thrilled to get a double shot in the 2003/2 issue.As a nationally syndicated writer for Tribune Media Services on TV programs and personalities, I have known CBS media relations manager Beth Haiken '94 for years. Yet neither of us knew the other was a "former Bomber," as Beth puts it, until I saw the article on the Los Angeles communications program and its graduates. Not only can I vouch for how well Beth does her job, but from attending annual press conventions in Hollywood I also know how genuinely beloved she is by the nation's television writers. And some can be pretty tough to please. I also appreciated seeing the same issue's story on my good friend Peter Steinhaus '78 -- aka Peter King -- and his work in covering the Columbia space shuttle tragedy for CBS Radio last February. Peter and I started out together at WICB-AM; he, too, deserves credit for fully investing himself in a job that he always does well, particularly with instant assignments that require thinking on your feet. Lastly, I mourn the passing of another fellow communications graduate, Jeff Scheidecker '76. There was never a question that Jeff was destined for great things in broadcasting. I'm glad he got to experience them, if for far too short a time. Jay Bobbin '78 Leftist Bias? ReduxMy daughter (Killashandra Cancel '05) is currently attending Ithaca and thoroughly loves it. I was very pleased to see the letter from Richard Jadick ("Letters," ICQ, 2003/2), as we are also a military family with two deployed and Daddy on a remote right now.I, like Tim Fischer, was incredibly shocked with the lack of diversity and incredible bias in your Quarterly! I have always expected more of higher institutions no matter what their leanings. I am a product of the 1960s and had hoped for such anyway. I have heard of your one pretty well-known conservative professor, but what is the ratio? I would be fascinated to see the statistics on the diversity of the faculty through the years. More importantly, I do hope that someone might take the initiative and check out those stats, and prove me out of line -- really, that would so please me! I would be thrilled to hear that you are one of the unique colleges striving for a balance in outlook with a balance in your faculty. I would be bragging to everyone. Is diversity only ethnicity? Do you really feel that a few ethnic inserts in your campus will achieve diversity? Do you have strong young Democrats and young Republicans groups? Are you promoting students who understand our beautiful democracy and the voting procedure? Are you promoting the techniques of true compromise and debate? Please show us that you are. We are a Hispanic conservative military family. Mary Cancel Kudos to Tim Fischer '81 for expressing so simply the frustration held by some alumni. Too often I experienced in class, see in the Quarterly, or hear in speaking with other alumni that valid but differing (read: not socially left) ideas are shut out. It's sad how Ithaca opened us to new ideas yet won't do so for itself. Our college, like society at large, works best when we respect ideas we dislike. Unfortunately, IC's dogmatism is the antithesis of this concept . . . which costs it in both reputation and forgone contributions. My wallet is safely in my pocket. Ron Sklaver '85 Irish Music FirsthandI know the ICQ has done several stories about the School of Music's relationship with the University of Limerick in Ireland. I wanted to let you know about the wonderful time I had this summer at the Blas International Festival of Music at the University of Limerick, as part of the exchange program between the Irish World Music Centre and IC. I wish to thank both the University of Limerick and Ithaca College for making my trip possible. The Blas program was an incredible experience for me, both as a student of Western music and as an aspiring ethnomusicologist.The two-week program had an intense schedule of lessons, workshops, lectures, sessions, and excursions. I studied with voice instructors for the majority of the program. We had the good fortune of getting to work one-on-one with four talented, passionate singers, including Karan Casey and Brian Harte. I sat in on a very interesting bodhrán [pronounced BOWrun; a traditional Irish drum] session where the instructor brought in a musician from Pakistan to show how the techniques of the tabla could be applied to the bodhran. I enjoyed a lecture on the blind harpist and composer [Turlough] O'Carolan [1670-1738]. Every morning we had lessons in Irish language for beginners. One of the most exciting aspects of the program was getting to know students from around the world who share a common interest in traditional Irish music. About half of the 30 participants in Blas were from either Ireland or the United States. There were also students from Canada, England, Scotland, Denmark, Japan, and South Africa. I thought it was incredible how close we all became within the course of the program. I want to thank Ithaca College again for the opportunity to participate in the Blas program. It was my first experience outside of the United States, and it is one I won't soon forget. James Napoli '05 |
|||
