At the crossroads of artificial intelligence and patient-centered care, Kaelee Brockway, PT, DPT, EdD, GCS, assistant professor of physical therapy programs at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) Dallas campus, is charting a new course.
With her clinical experience and passion for preparing aspiring physical therapists (PTs), Dr. Brockway is a thought leader in effectively integrating AI into healthcare education.
“We’re on a parallel learning timeline with our students and AI,” Dr. Brockway says. “It’s influencing teaching and learning in a real, bidirectional way.”
Dr. Brockway leads initiatives at USAHS that explore the responsible and meaningful use of AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini in the classroom. While some might view AI as a shortcut, Dr. Brockway believes the human touch remains irreplaceable.
She educates students about what large language models (LLMs) can and cannot do. “This is a language prediction tool, not an omnipotent being,” she emphasizes. “Knowing the limitations is as important as understanding the potential.”
Humanizing the AI experience
Dr. Brockway asserts that while AI can’t replace the core of physical therapy, which depends on physical interaction and individual empathy, it can enhance and personalize educational experiences. USAHS has developed AI-powered virtual patients into the learning management system, allowing students to practice communication, critical thinking and clinical decision-making in safe, simulated environments.
Take Mr. George, a virtual patient modeled after Dr. Brockway’s clinical experience. Students interact with Mr. George through a chatbot, practicing how to validate his pain, educate and apply pain management strategies. If rapport is successfully built, Mr. George agrees to engage in therapy, such as getting out of bed to walk.
“It’s about helping students work on soft skills and understanding patient narratives,” Dr. Brockway says. “These virtual patients are windows into real-world complexity.”
Another scenario includes Bart, an EMT with implicit biases, arriving at the home of a confused patient. Students in the role of PTs must advocate for patient needs, often challenging assumptions and asserting their professional autonomy.
“It’s a powerful way for students to practice advocacy and collaboration,” she explains. “They have to step into their role as healthcare leaders.”
Empowering students to use AI thoughtfully
A major part of Dr. Brockway’s instruction revolves around how to prompt AI tools effectively. “Understanding audience, purpose and intent is critical. If you don’t know how to ask the right question, you won’t get the answer you need,” she says.
Students leverage AI to create study tools such as flashcards and case scenarios. However, Dr. Brockway stresses that AI is not yet advanced enough to handle tasks that require nuance and ethical responsibility, like clinical documentation. “We can’t cut corners when it comes to evidence-informed care, effectiveness and patient privacy,” she warns.
Students are also introduced to key technological concepts like open-loop vs. closed-loop systems and the difference between proprietary and non-proprietary platforms—critical knowledge for navigating modern healthcare systems.
Ethical questions and co-learnership
“We’re all on a co-learning curve,” Dr. Brockway says. She’s co-authoring a paper that explores this collective learning phenomenon, drawing on the Dunning-Kruger Effect and how comfort and competence evolve with emerging technologies. The paper is expected to be published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Education later this year.
Planning for the future of healthcare
Despite AI’s rapid evolution and growing presence in healthcare, Dr. Brockway stresses that patient care cannot be fully automated.
“Patient care is still provided by human beings. In PT, we touch people—we assess them, we treat them. AI can’t replicate that,” she says. Without that contact, she explains that we lose something essential and can’t perform diagnostics or develop effective treatment plans.
Though there are no formal AI competencies yet for physical therapy, Dr. Brockway believes awareness is key. “If aspiring PTs understand that AI exists, how it works and its potential and limits, that’s a solid foundation for now,” she says.
An innovator in AI-enhanced learning
Dr. Brockway continues to share her insights nationally. She will present on using AI as a faculty member and custom GPT building for faculty support at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting (CSM).
An AI-focused TED-style talk she dreams of delivering one day? It would be called The Human in the Loop Always Matters. The core message is clear: while we can use AI, we must remember who we’re doing it for.
At the heart of her work is not technology for technology’s sake, but a mission to prepare students for the real world, where critical thinking, compassion and confidence matter just as much as the tools they carry.
Follow Dr. Brockway’s work at doctorbthept.com.
