When Wichita State physical therapy students strapped on sunglasses smeared with petroleum jelly, ankle weights and a stiff neck collar, the laughter came quickly. They shuffled around the room, testing their balance in flip-flops to mimic neuropathy and difficulty with walking, while leaning on friends as they struggled through simple tasks.
But as the exercises wore on, the fun gave way to frustration. Hearing became muffled under earmuffs. Vision blurred. Knees stiffened. Students who had just been joking about their new look began to feel something else: the physical and social isolation many older adults live with every day.
That shift — from amusement to awareness — is exactly what Dr. Justin Smith, assistant professor and board-certified geriatric clinical specialist, hoped for when he built a homemade geriatric-simulation suit and launched a pilot study to measure its effect on empathy in physical therapy students.
