CSUB alumna accepted into prestigious physical therapy residency

Kinesiology grad Kristyn Walker starts Duke University program this month

By California State University, Bakersfield

August 15^th, 2024

Bakersfield native Kristyn Walker was a dancer for most of her childhood, which resulted in multiple injuries that required physical therapy treatment.

One such injury during her teenage years led her to Physical Therapist Linda Gutcher. After working with Gutcher and forming a bond, Walker came to the realization that the occupation would be a good fit for her.

“It was the empathy she showed, the passion she showed for the whole process. I knew it was something I could see myself doing one day,” Walker said. “To me, it’s sort of like a puzzle that needs to be solved. I like figuring out what’s wrong and helping people get better.”

Walker decided to pursue a kinesiology degree at California State University, Bakersfield and graduated in 2019 with a concentration in allied health. She went on to receive her license as a physical therapist earlier this year after receiving her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Campbell University in North Carolina.

Walker is now about to embark upon a new journey. She is the only student in the nation to be selected by Duke University for its Oncologic Physical Therapy Residency this academic year.

As part of the yearlong residency, Walker will work 30 hours a week as a salaried employee. She will be working in an outpatient setting for the first half of the program before switching to inpatient care. The residency begins on Aug. 26.

“Now it feels real. I’m so excited and ready to start,” Walker said. “I was hopeful, but I wasn’t really expecting I would get it. It was such a happy day when I found out.”

Walker developed an interest in working with cancer patients after attending a guest lecture at Campbell University about lymphedema, a condition involving swelling due to a buildup of lymph fluids in the body that can be caused by cancer or cancer treatment.

“I got really interested in that and the process of treating it,” she said. “The whole care and treatment of that condition really drew me in for some reason, and the more I looked into oncology and cancer rehabilitation, the more interested I became in it. I figured out that’s what I’m actually passionate about.”

Walker said she has had several friends and family members who have been diagnosed with cancer, most of whom never received physical therapy treatment, either because it wasn’t recommended by their doctors or because they didn’t know it was an option.

That has encouraged her to pursue the Duke residency and become certified as a oncology physical therapy specialist.

“There was that feeling like something could be done for them, but I didn’t know what it was at the time,” she said. “Now I can be that person in their corner. That’s what really motivates me.”

What Walker enjoys most about physical therapy is helping people not only be physically able to achieve basic functions such as getting out of a chair, standing and walking, but also regain their self-esteem.

“I want to help these patients really get their lives back and be able to do what we might consider to be the little things, but they really are the big things to those patients,” she said. “Not only are you treating this very physical thing, it’s also cosmetic — you’re helping someone get their life back and their look back.”

'It felt like home'

It has taken Walker the better part of a decade to get to this point in her career. After receiving her associate degree in kinesiology from Bakersfield College in 2017, she transferred to CSUB from Bakersfield College and hit the ground running toward her goal of obtaining her degree. She was able to develop great relationships with a lot of the faculty and her fellow students.

“All the faculty are so passionate about helping you reach your goals. And the other kinesiology majors — we were a close-knit group. I made a lot of friends,” Walker said. “It felt like such a cool community of people. Having that community was really important. It felt like home.”

One of the faculty members who she developed a close relationship with is Faculty Director of Academic Programs Kris Grappendorf, who used to be the chair of the Kinesiology Department and was Walker’s adviser.

Grappendorf has kept in touch with Walker since her graduation and said she’s proud of what Walker has been able to achieve since leaving the university, including being selected for the Duke University residency.

“Kristyn was an all-around outstanding student while at CSUB. She was determined to reach her goal of becoming a physical therapist from the start,” she said. “I think this is a great example of the quality education the Kinesiology Department provides with its allied health concentration in serving students to move into health-related careers like physical therapy. Motivated students like Kristyn — combined with dedicated, engaged and quality faculty — leads to success.”

While Walker appreciates her two years at CSUB, she was so focused on her classes that she didn’t take enough time to get involved on campus, which she said is her biggest regret. She encourages current students to avoid making the same mistake.

“I know there were a lot of things I could have been a part of that would have enriched my experience. I wish someone had told me to slow down and enjoy it more,” she said. “I realized that nothing is so important or time-sensitive you can’t take a break. Everything you want to do will still be there and available to you.”

Walker’s next step after graduating from CSUB was to attend physical therapy school at Campbell University, which marked the first time she left home to live on her own. Walker said the workload was significant and proved to be very challenging. She sometimes wondered if she would be able to make it to the finish line.

“It was so different from anything you would expect as an undergrad,” she said. “The chances of you continuing get smaller and smaller, realizing at each step there’s a chance you don’t continue. That’s why building a community there was so important for me. Having people to support me helped me keep going.”

'I worked hard for this'

Walker persevered to graduate from the university with her degree in 2023. After becoming licensed by the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners this March, she was finally able to start working as a therapist.

After receiving her license, Walker worked as a travel physical therapist for the CarolinaEast Health System, mostly working with patients recovering from surgery. She said it was a great way to gain experience and help develop her own style of patient care.

“I really take pride in sitting down with patients, listening to them,” Walker said. “Sometimes just having a conversation with a patient is more valuable than just the exercises you could have done with them in that time. It’s important to understand their motivations, their personal situations that are interfering with things, and helping them work through those.”

Walker enjoyed forging connections with her patients and seeing them take her advice to heart. She believes one of the biggest motivators for patients is seeing that their physical therapist is listening to them and being supportive.

“It’s such a special moment when you have that conversation with a patient and tell them why they have pain, this is what I’m going to do to solve that problem and help you feel better,” she said. “Seeing that click in their mind, especially when no one has sat down with them to have that conversation, is a really special moment.”

Walker said it’s rewarding to see patients reach their fitness and health goals after working hard to achieve them.

“The whole goal is to help patients get to their prior level of function or better. Seeing them do those things and being able to attribute it to my care is such an amazing feeling,” she said.

One of her most memorable experiences on the job involved a patient who came in for physical therapy after undergoing a knee replacement. She was suffering from frequent falls and balance issues.

“I remember her sitting down with me and crying one time she came to treatment because friends and family were telling her she wasn’t working hard enough, that she wasn’t trying,” Walker said. “That was very discouraging for her, because she was trying — it was just a slow process. I saw her come in every day and work so hard toward her goals.”

Over the course of several weeks, Walker tried to motivate the patient and pushed her keep working on her exercises. By the end of the sessions, the patient was in a much better condition than when she began physical therapy.

“She got so much better, so much stronger by the end of my time with her, it was amazing,” Walker said. “In those final moments, when she realized she’d gotten so much stronger and could easily do exercises she couldn’t do at the start, I was almost tearful. It was such a special thing.”

What Walker learned from her experience was that while the exercises helped strengthen the patient’s body, it was also their conversations that helped them stay committed to the regimen.

“The exercises helped strengthen her, but me taking the time to sit down with her and motivate her, that was one of the most important things in her case. The physical is only one part of being a physical therapist,” she said.

Walker is excited about the opportunity to continue working with patients at Duke University, even though she’s little nervous about this next step in her journey.

“I think it’s getting better, but I’ve always kind of had that imposter syndrome,” she said. “I’m starting to sit with that and realize that I worked hard for this, that I earned this. This is really the culmination of all my academics. Now I just have to go do my best.”