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Inaugural TSAHP student leadership development program kicks off
By Kate Hunger
Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs David Henzi, Ed.D., is co-directing the first student leadership program offered by the Texas Society of Allied Health Professions (TSAHP).
“The goal is to train future leaders in different health profession programs,” Henzi said, noting that the program is interprofessional by design.
Henzi’s co-director is fellow TSAHP board member Lynette Watts, Ph.D., RT(R), associate professor at The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences at Midwestern State University.
School’s new Ph.D. program to launch in Fall 2020
The School of Health Professions is adding a Ph.D. in Health Sciences to help meet the demand for allied health faculty and researchers with doctoral degrees.
The program also will help support evidence-based practice and outcomes research in allied health, said School of Health Professions Dean David C. Shelledy, Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, FASAHP.
“This will be helpful for our school, other schools of allied health in Texas and for colleges and universities around the country,” Shelledy said.
PA and OT departments host graduations
The Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies held their graduation ceremonies on Dec. 13.
The Occupational Therapy master’s students represented the final class of MOT students to graduate from the Department of Occupational Therapy, which has transitioned from a master’s program to a doctoral program. The ceremony represented a “culmination and a close to our MOT program,” said Associate Professor and Department Chair Bridgette Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR.
OT alumna receives award from TOTA
Kathryn Crane, OTR, (MOT ’17) received the 2019 Horizon Award from the Texas Occupational Therapy Association at its annual conference on Nov. 2.
The award acknowledges outstanding contributions to the profession by an occupational therapy practitioner who has been in the profession for fewer than five years.
OT students simulate telehealth therapy sessions
Occupational Therapy doctoral students this summer learned how to use telehealth to deliver therapy services.
Occupational Therapy Associate Professor Karin Barnes, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA, created the telehealth assignment as part of the Pediatric Service Delivery course she teaches for second-year OTD students. Forty-two students participated in the assignment.
Telehealth can help address challenges to providing occupational therapy services, such as transportation, work schedules and remote home or school locations.
SHP to host Frontera de Salud volunteer information session
Janna Roberts wants students in the School of Health Professions to know they are welcome to volunteer with Frontera de Salud, an interprofessional, student-run organization that provides preventive health services and education to the medically underserved in San Antonio and South Texas.
Virtual dissection tables are fully integrated into PA and OT curriculum
Students in the Departments of Physician Assistant Studies and Occupational Therapy have recently augmented their study of anatomy by using digital dissection tables as part of their curriculum.
SHP commencement includes first SLP class
For the first time ever, the School of Health Professions commencement was held at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
About 150 students from Emergency Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Care and Speech-Language Pathology participated in the May 18 ceremony, said David Henzi, Ed.D., Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies graduations were held in December.
Meet the new library liaison for the School of Health Professions
The School of Health Professions has a new library liaison: Rebecca Ajtai, MLIS.
Ajtai, an experienced and enthusiastic medical librarian who has always loved science, joined the Library Liaison Services team in March. The primary point of contact for the School of Health Professions, Ajtai most recently spent seven years as a research librarian at the Texas Heart Institute Library in Houston. She also has worked at Rice University’s Bioscience Research Collaborative.
Students and faculty inducted to Alpha ETA Society
The School of Health Professions Alpha ETA Society inducted new student and faculty members in April.
To be eligible for membership in the society, undergraduates must earn at least a 3.5 GPA and show a capacity of leadership and achievement to be eligible for membership, while graduate students must have a 3.8 GPA and demonstrate the same leadership and achievement qualities.
Annual Allied Health Games included official Fiesta event
This year’s annual Allied Health Games activities lineup included something different: an official Fiesta event.
The opportunity to participate in the Chromosome 18 Starfish Dash 5K during the games on April 27 made the annual competition among teams of School of Health Professions students particularly exciting because it also helped raise awareness of chromosome 18 abnormalities, said organizer and second-year MOT student Tori Villarreal.
Students recognized for leadership, research and more
When Carolyn Perez first began the Speech-Language Pathology master’s program, she had not yet felt the pull of research. But after observing the research passion of her mentor, Rocío Norman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, and working on a research project involving traumatic brain injury, Perez was hooked.
“Research is where it’s at,” she said of the potential of research to make a difference.
Students travel to Mexico to learn about occupational therapy
Kate Hunger
Seven occupational therapy students traveled in March to Mérida in Yucatán, Mexico, to expand their understanding of the practice of the profession.
The trip was hosted by the founders of the only bachelor’s and master’s degree occupational therapy program in Yucatan, the Instituto Interamericano de la Salud (INTSA), said Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR., Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy.
Students celebrate OT Month and attend AOTA conference
Occupational therapy students tried something new this year to mark Occupational Therapy Month: a social media takeover to help educate others about their future profession during the month of April.
The takeover of the School’s Instagram and the Facebook page of the School’s Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) was designed to share information and raise awareness about occupational therapy, said students Victoria Alejandro and Allanah Gallagher, who are president and vice president of the School’s SOTA chapter, respectively.
Students visit India over spring break
When a group of UT Health San Antonio students traveled to India in March, they engaged in academic and clinical experiences during their time at the Manipal College of Health Professions—but the learning didn’t stop there.
OT student selected as a Presidential Ambassador Scholar
First-year occupational therapy doctoral student Janna Roberts is the 2019 Presidential Ambassador Scholar for the School of Health Professions.
Roberts is one of five Presidential Ambassador Scholars to receive the award, which recognizes a future leader in each of UT Health San Antonio’s schools. In addition to receiving a $5,000 scholarship, students also may be called on to represent their schools during visits by distinguished guests or at presidential events. The Scholars received their awards at a ceremony on April 1.
OT professor receives Presidential Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching
By the time Occupational Therapy Assistant Professor Ricky Joseph, Ph.D., M.A.-H.R.M., OTR, Occupational Therapy Assistant Professor joined the School of Health Professions faculty in 2013, he had retired from the U.S. Army—twice.
OT faculty member elected to chair AESIS
Bridgette Piernik-Yoder, Ph.D., OTR, Occupational Therapy Associate Professor and Department Chair was elected this winter as chair of the Academic Education Special Interest Section (AESIS) for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
Department of Occupational Therapy co-sponsors summit on neonatal evaluation and outcomes
The fifth annual Neonatal Evaluation and Outcomes Network (NEON) Summit was held Feb. 8 at the new Department of Occupational Therapy facility.
Caregiver skills workshops offer practical skills for taking care of loved ones with dementia
A series of multidisciplinary workshops at UT Health San Antonio trains caregivers of people with dementia on a range of skills, including how to communicate with their loved ones.
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