Looking to the Future by Recognizing Our Roots

Abstract

As you will read from our esteemed editor's message, the Rehabilitation Oncology journal is evolving with an increased emphasis on even more high-quality scientific research. As the incoming president of the Academy, it is my honor to author the last President's Perspective in this journal and it will be my honor to also author one of the first President's Perspectives in our forthcoming new publication that has yet to receive its final name when it is unveiled in 2024. Rest assured, you will receive much more information on this new publication as it is prepared for its debut. This evolution of our journal is an excellent analogue for our area of practice, oncology physical therapy. We are so fortunate to have the privilege to “stand on the shoulders of giants”—those clinicians, researchers, and leaders who have built this area of practice from the ground up—that have set us up for success. During your reading of this issue, please take a few minutes to reflect on those national leaders who helped develop the Oncology Section of the APTA and set the visionary wheels in motion to allow us to become a scientific Academy of Oncologic Physical Therapy with a distinct area of specialization and an ever-growing body of literature. In addition, please also reflect upon (and perhaps even find time to personally thank) your own personal mentors. None of us would be where we are now without those professionals who took us under their wing and showed us that we could be more than we were. Just as you reflect on your mentors, I think about my personal mentors Reyna Colombo, Kris Thompson, Deb Doherty, and Janet Seidell. Their generous words and acts supporting us as we evolved into our future professional selves can never be fully repaid. Our job is to now pay it forward. As incoming president, I have the opportunity to thank and recognize Laura Sheridan, our president who will end her term of office at CSM 2024 in Boston. Although Dr. Sheridan has guided the Academy on many important initiatives and programs, it is extra notable that she was accomplishing these achievements during a global pandemic that shook health care to its foundations! No small feat, but she navigated us through these stormy waters with poise and confidence. One of the most notable achievements of Dr. Sheridan's term of service is that concrete steps were taken to grow our Academy's impact and influence beyond just our own physical therapy organization. During her tenure, we solidified or gained official representation on several national organizations including the Commission on Cancer, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, American College of Sports Medicine, World Physiotherapy, and Lymphology Association of North America, to name a few. Our representation as physical therapists within these organizations is essential to not only advancing the science of oncologic physical therapy but also positively influencing the policy that will directly impact our practice and the lives of our patients. Thank you, Laura, for all you have done for the Academy and our patients. We are eternally grateful. One of my personal aims for this role as president of the Academy is to always focus our efforts on bettering patient care and empowering our clinicians to provide high-quality, evidence-based care. Even the best of us may occasionally get distracted by irrelevant minutiae or get frustrated at the administrative barriers to providing our care; we must always be vigilant to remember the absolute privilege and duty that we have to our patients and clients. They look to us to help them navigate one of the hardest times in their lives. Indeed, we are now prepared to do so because of the training, mentoring, and advocacy of those who came before us. Chris