01/12/2026
Seven Mercer DPT students (Classes of 2026 and 2027), along with Dr. Deborah Wendland and Dr. Tami Phillips, recently participated in an international service-learning trip to Vietnam in December 2025. As part of the inaugural elective PT 747: Vietnam Service Learning Initiative, students explored cultural competence, navigated language differences, and provided physical therapy services within an international health system.
This initiative partnered with the Mercer on Mission Engineering program, which delivers prosthetic limbs to individuals with upper and lower extremity amputations in South Vietnam. Our DPT students contributed by offering:
• Vital sign and diabetic foot screenings
• Health promotion education
• Wound care
• Gait training and home exercise programs for individuals with amputations
• Interventions for a variety of orthopedic and neurologic conditions in a hospital-based outpatient clinic
Throughout the seven-day clinic, students collaborated with Vietnamese clinicians and health professions students, exchanging knowledge and sharing U.S.-taught physical therapy techniques.
We are deeply grateful to the Vietnamese clinicians, students, and clients for their hospitality and for creating this unique learning opportunity. Special thanks to our donors whose generosity helped provide medical supplies and offset student costs.
