April 12, 2013

Terri Skirven is the Director of Therapy at the Philadelphia Hand Center, the Director of the Hand Rehabilitation Foundation, and a guest lecturer in the Drexel Certificate in Hand Therapy Program on the topics of wrist examination and the treatment of wrist injuries and conditions. There is no doubt in Skirven’s mind that hand therapists who have completed the Drexel program tend to have a significant leg up in the competitive job market for certified hand therapists.

“I can speak from direct knowledge,” she began, “I have hired several of the students from the program and as we are branching out at the Hand Center in many geographic areas, many of these students have been able to go to our far-flung clinics and basically head those up and develop them. They have done quite well and there’s no doubt in my mind that their training here at Drexel has been instrumental in allowing them to be successful in those roles.”

Skirven explained that someone who chooses to go through this program has opportunities that others would not. “As an employer with thirty therapists that work for me at the Hand Center, if I see that someone has gotten a certificate from the Drexel program it definitely makes them a more attractive candidate to me in terms of their hiring because of the quality of the education and the clinical exposure that they’ve had.” She continued, saying that the academic work, including readings, interactive discussions and experiential learning during several residencies gives clinicians “a level of insight into conditions that they’re faced with that will allow them to provide a level of care that’s a cut above what they would have been able to provide otherwise.”