Dr. Laura Hagan is the Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Touro University in Manhattan, is a licensed physical therapist in the state of New York, and a board-certified health and wellness coach.

For more than two decades, Dr. Hagan has been committed to advancing excellence in physical therapy education. An experienced qualitative and mixed-methods researcher, her scholarship explores clinical education, professional formation, and the lived experiences of DPT students. Dr. Hagan also played a pivotal role in bringing simulation-based learning to Touro’s DPT program integrating teaching approach that uses structured cases, trained actors, and digital platforms to strengthen clinical reasoning, communication, and decision-making skills across the curriculum.

She has served on the Board of the APTA Research Academy’s Qualitative and Mixed Methods SIG, is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Physical Therapy Clinical Education and is a peer reviewer for multiple publications. Dr. Hagan has shared her work nationally, including presentations at the Kay Shepard Qualitative Symposium at the APTA Combined Sections Meetings in 2024 and 2022.

Education

• MS in Physical Therapy, Hunter College
• Advanced Master in Orthopedic Physical Therapy, Touro College Bay Shore
• T-DPT, Touro College Bay Shore
• PhD, Nova Southeastern University

Areas of Expertise

Integrating wellness factors such as nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle into rehabilitation
Qualitative Research 

Research

Methods of teaching and learning in a DPT curriculum - how students are prepared for the clinical environment during their didactic coursework as well as methods of teaching employed during clinical experiences.

Recent Publications

Hagan, L., Casimiro, C., Hsieh, J., & Tovin, M. (2025). Where are they now? A longitudinal qualitative study of exemplary physical therapist students five years after graduation. Physiotherapy theory and practice, 1–14. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2025.2589274

Tovin, M. M., Hagan, L., Cook, J. E., Baehr, L. A., & Wormley, M. E. (2025). Development of a resource toolkit to integrate qualitative methodology into physical therapy education, research, and practice: a descriptive case report. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2025.2517400

Hagan, L., & Tovin, M. (2024). The lived experience of exemplary physical therapist students in clinical education: a phenomenological study. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 41(5), 968–980. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2024.2376677

Hagan, L., Thakkar, R., & Weiner, S. (2023). A model for remote remediation to address communication deficits identified during clinical placement. The Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy, 5. https://doi.org/10.52214/jcept.v5.9032

Weiner, S. S., Hagan, L., & Kardachi, J. F. (2020). A pilot study exploring the impact of interprofessional simulation on role clarity and student readiness for collaborative clinical practice. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 18(4), Article 18. https://doi.org/10.46743/1540-580X/2020.1934

Hagan, L., Schecter Weiner, S., & Rosen, Z. (2020). The impact of low-cost, optimal-fidelity simulation on physical therapy students’ clinical performance and self-efficacy: a pilot study. The Journal of Clinical Education in Physical Therapy, 2. https://doi.org/10.7916/jcept.v2.1894

Additional Publication can be found here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0875-7000

 

Memberships and Affiliations

• American Physical Therapy Association
  • Education Section
  • Research Section
    • Board Member of the Qualitative and Mixed Methods SIG
• New York Physical Therapy Association, Education Section

Teaching Responsibilities

• DPT 609: PT Interventions II Therapeutic Agents
• DPT 604: PT Examination
• DPTN 745: Ethics

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