A PT Pioneer Sails the High Seas

When Janice Rinkel '97 received her master's degree in physical therapy, she knew she was headed for adventure. She didn't know she would play a pioneering role on the high seas.

She figured that joining the Navy after graduation would allow her to combine her new profession with the chance to serve her country and see the world.

"I was a big explorer and not ready to settle down, and I always wanted to work near water," she said.

Rinkel applied and was one of only two physical therapists the Navy accepted in 1997. She served her first two years in the hospital at the Portsmouth Naval base in VIrginia. In 1999 she was asked to serve as Battle Group Physical Therapist on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington CVN-72, to set up a physical therapy program. It was the first program of its kind, and part of a five-year project to determine the benefits of on-board therapy.

With 6,000 people living on the carrier when it's out to sea, injuries are not uncommon.

"Each individual has a key position they serve in," Rinkel said. "Having them unavailable is detrimental to the ship as a whole. And it's much safer to be able to treat personnel on board rather than dealing with transportation and health care systems in other countries."

The field of physical therapy began with military nurses in World War II. Rinkel saw her opportunity as not only an exciting challenge, but also a chance to continue that tradition of pioneering. Within a month she had the on-board PT program ready to go. As the 1,094-foot-long carrier traveled for 280 days through the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea, Rinkel worked seven days a week.

She felt ready for the challenge.

Her education at St. Scholastica, with its "diversity of learning, the mentorship and teamwork, as well as one-on-one attention, prepared me very well... St. Scholastica taught you how to be a good manager and to have good team skills. The PT program made me very well rounded; the curriculum exposed you to a little bit of everything."

Her tour ended in January 2001. But Rinkel returned to the aircraft carrier briefly after last fall's World Trade Center attacks, when the George Washington was sent to the New York City harbor, at first in possible defense, then to offer assistance and provide a reassuring presence. "I never in this world thought we'd be protecting our own country," she said.

Rinkel is now finishing her five-year Navy tour of duty at a new medical facility in Portsmouth.

In January she was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for her accomplishments on the carrier.