School of Health Professions

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School of Health Professions

Results: 517 news stories

EHS faculty member receives recognition for emergency response aid to shooting victim

By Kate Hunger 

Emergency Health Sciences faculty member Robert Moya III was on a routine quality assurance/quality inspection visit on Oct. 4 when he was dispatched to respond to a shooting with multiple victims in far west Bexar County.

Moya, who serves as Bexar County first responder organization coordinator, was just two blocks away from the shooting when the call came in. The patient he treated was a semi-conscious 15-year-old male with three gunshot wounds. 

EHS

Respiratory Care students teach PA students about mechanical ventilators

By Kate Hunger 

Physician Assistant Studies students recently had a hands-on opportunity to learn about mechanical ventilators. What made the experience especially interesting? Their teachers were second-year respiratory care students.

“We reached out to the experts,” said Leticia Bland, MPAS, PA-C, assistant professor and clinical coordinator for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. “It’s a great opportunity for them to share their knowledge, and it was a great opportunity for our students.”

PA and RTs

New OT clinical faculty is working to establish OT services for people with dementia and their caregivers at the Biggs Institute

By Kate Hunger 

New Department of Occupational Therapy clinical faculty member Laura Novak, OTR, is developing the new occupational therapy services program at the UT Health San Antonio Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Laura Novak

Student receives top recognition by the Texas Occupational Therapy Association

Amy Honeck, a MOTIII student, was awarded the Student Leadership Award by the Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA) at the Annual TOTA Mountain Central Conference held in Sugarland, Texas on November 2 – 4, 2018. Amy’s talents, leadership abilities, and tireless advocacy to promote the profession of occupational therapy was recognized through the highest distinction awarded by TOTA to occupational therapy students.  
 

Amy Honek

OT Faculty Highlights

The OT faculty are engaged in many professional initiatives and endeavors. Some highlights of their accomplishments and activities this year include:

Dr. Allegretti

Respiratory Care alumna works in the NICU and mentors students

By Kate Hunger 

When Laura Martinez, MS, RRT, learned about the Respiratory Care master’s program at UT Health San Antonio, she saw an opportunity to return to the medical setting she had loved as a physician in Mexico.

“I missed being by the bedside,” she said.

After graduating in 2017, Martinez went to work as a respiratory therapist at North Central Baptist Hospital, and she also provides clinical support to students in the Respiratory Care program. 

Laura Martinez

OT faculty presented on program's demographics at national educational summit

By Kate Hunger 

School of Health Professions faculty and administrators gave four presentations at the American Occupational Therapy Association OT Educational Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky, on October 13-14.

One presentation shared the demographics of the School’s OT program as part of a cluster of presentations on the recruitment and retention of students.

OT national education summit

Former San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor discusses diversity in the health professions during campus presentation

By Kate Hunger 

Former San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor gave a presentation on diversity in the health professions at UT Health San Antonio on October 18.

Ivy Taylor

Don't miss National Allied Health Week Nov. 4-10

By Kate Hunger 

It’s that time again. The health professions will be front and center the week of Nov. 5 to celebrate Allied Health Week. 

“Every year we have an opportunity for the School of Health Professions to shine a light on all of our different programs,” said one of the week’s event organizers, Carlos Herrera, president of the Master’s in Occupational Therapy Class of 2019.

The schedule includes:

National Allied Health Week

PT students participated in Global PT Day of Service

By Kate Hunger 

On Oct. 13, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, and students around the world gave back to their communities during the Global PT Day of Service.

Thirty DPT students from the School of Health Professions volunteered their time landscaping at a Buddhist center in San Antonio. The effort was coordinated through Work Out Help Out, said second-year student and organizer Kalie Pietsch. 

Global PT Day of Service

PA Week event provided an opportunity to have fun with fellow students

By Kate Hunger 

When Hawaiian shirts are in the picture, it's usually a safe bet that fun is about to be had. 

About 40 PA studies sported the island-themed attire during an afternoon of fellowship hosted on Oct. 4 by the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. Activities included tug-of-war, a barbecue, a dunk tank, and volleyball.

PA student Caitlin Schwein enjoyed meeting students from the IPAP program. 

IPAP

PT students share insights into their field with medical students

By Kate Hunger

Physical Therapy students delivered a presentation last month during a session designed to educate medical students on physical therapy’s role in the healthcare continuum.

The Aug. 31 presentation by second-year DPT students Lisa Le, Sheena Caramba, Hannah Ramirez and Jessica Glover focused on two disorders the medical students recently had studied: muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis. The physical therapy students led the medical students in interactive demonstrations of exercises for patients with both disorders.

Interprofessional Session PT

Occupational therapy students and medical students participate in pilot project

By Kate Hunger 

Second-year occupational therapy student Carlos Herrera’s idea for an innovative interprofessional education opportunity turned into a reality this September.

Interprofessional Session

UT Health San Antonio holds Interprofessional Education Orientation

By Kate Hunger 

More than 70 students gathered last month to learn for a first-year student interprofessional orientation—the first of its kind for the University.

Anastacia Flores, a graduate student in the nurse practitioner program in the School of Nursing, said she understands the need to connect and collaborate with other health professionals. She valued the opportunity to meet students from other programs.

Interprofessinal Orientation

Respiratory Care division gains new faculty member

By Kate Hunger 

Megan Lynn Llamas, MA, BSRC, RRT, Respiratory Care Assistant Professor, always knew she wanted to teach.

Five years after graduating with a bachelor’s in respiratory care in 2013, Llamas is back at the School of Health Professions, sharing her passion with students. She joined the faculty on Aug. 20.

Llamas loves learning and helping others grow. Asked what inspires her, she didn’t hesitate.

Megan Lynn Llamas

Respiratory Care faculty and students to present at national conference

By Kate Hunger 

Faculty members and students from the Division of Respiratory Care will deliver research poster presentations at the AARC Congress 2018 in December. 

RT

Students connect through Interprofessional Leadership Scholars Program

By Kate Hunger 

One day in his future career as a medical laboratory scientist, Prit Desai hopes to collaborate with health professionals in other fields to exchange information and insights with the common goal of delivering excellent patient care.

Interprofessional Leadership Scholars Program

School of Health Professions moves into a new space

By Kate Hunger 

The School of Health Professions moved into its new space in August, bringing the Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology programs into one building on the Long (Main) Campus.

The move was at least four years in the planning stages, said Dean David Shelledy, Ph.D., RRT, FAARC, FASAHP, Dean of the School of Health Professions. 
Each program had the opportunity to design teaching labs and facilities to best fit the needs of their profession, he said. Feedback has been favorable.

School of Health Professions new space

EHS trains more than 700 students on ACLS and CPR

By Kate Hunger 

More than 700 students from various health professions learned critical lifesaving skills over the summer through training delivered by the Department of Emergency Health Sciences. 

CPR

Medical Laboratory Sciences welcomes new faculty member

By Kate Hunger 

Cordelia Kudika, MA, CHS (ABHI), discovered her passion for medical laboratory science by accident. 

Kudika, assistant professor of medical laboratory sciences, major in biology as an undergraduate but encountered a tough job market upon graduation. So she decided to apply to a Physician Assistant Studies program. She signed up for an introductory medical laboratory science class and was hooked. 

"I did a 180 on my path," said Kudika, who joined the Medical Laboratory Science faculty in August. 

Cordelia Kudika

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