March 2021
PHYSICAL THERAPY NEWS UNIVERSITY OF MARY
GRADUATING CLASS 2021
46 graduates at their White Coat Ceremony; Summer 2019 Our first class of the pandemic experience is graduating on time. Events are: April 23 April 23 April 24
Michael G Parker Scholarship Colloquium Founder’s Hall DPT Graduation Celebration (by invitation) Butler Hall GTSB Graduation Events Center
8:00-2:30 3:00-4:00 3:00-5:30
The Future of our Program
Dr. Jody Eckert, PT, Ed.D. DPT ABPTS Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
Dr. Heather Lundeen, PT, DPT, Ed.D.(c) ABPTS Pediatric Clinical Specialist
Starting in September 2021, our physical therapy department will be led Dr. Jody Eckert https://www.umary.edu/academics/faculty-listing/jody-eckert.php and Dr. Heather Lundeen https://www.umary.edu/academics/faculty-listing/heather-lundeen.php. Due to the time commitment needed for a chair of a large-accredited department and the time commitment of having a young family, these two clinical specialists, much needed and respected for their teaching, will share this position.
Clinical Education Leadership Dr. Eckert has served the PT program as the Director and Co-Director of Clinical Education for the past 10 years. Henceforth, Dr. Lauren Emmel will assume the overall responsibilities of the Director of Clinical Education and will be capably assisted by Dr. Missy Taylor.
Dr. Lauren Emmel, PT, DPT Dr. Missy Taylor, PT, DPT ABPTS Pediatric Specialist ABPTS Neurologic Specialist https://www.umary.edu/academics/faculty-listing/lauren-emmel.php https://www.umary.edu/academics/faculty-listing/melissa-taylor.php
PROGRAM DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The University of Mary Physical Therapy Program has met the challenge of the pandemic year! When the challenges of our times do not defeat us, they instead make us stronger and more confident in what we do . With the help of God, our great clinical instructors, and their willingness to work with us, and the diligence of our directors of clinical education, Drs. Emmel and Eckert, our class of 2020 graduated on schedule as will our class of 2021! We went totally virtual in March 2020, made up labs on-campus over the summer, continued in a hybrid model last fall with virtual lectures and on-campus labs and presently, we are back to normal (albeit with masks) during spring semester.
Jodi Roller, PT, Ed.D, DPT
The reason I am re-appearing under the Program Director section of this newsletter is that I retired from the Dean’s position at the end of May 2020, which was subsequently filled by the former Chair of the PT Program, Dr. Mary Dockter. Therefore, the PT program was without a chair and since I had previous experience in this position and my dream of traveling during my retirement was severely curtailed by COVID-19, I agreed to fill in until the end of August 2021 when Drs. Eckert and Lundeen will become the 4th & 5th PT program directors since we started this program in 1996. One of the first things that happened in my interim role was another move! In August of 2020, University of Mary bought the building on 500 E. Front Street and because the PT department was renting the Rosser avenue space, economic sense dictated that we needed to move to the newly acquired building. Consequently, we ended up with more space as we have the entire 18,000 sq. ft. on the top floor of this building as well as generous storage areas on the lowest space. We share the building with Burleigh County Health. Students have a lot of nooks and crannies where they can study (or rest) and we have nice clinic rooms, as well as offices, lab, research, and Syndaver spaces. We are comfortable here, however, we cannot be too comfortable as the St. Gianna School of Health Sciences will become a reality in the foreseeable future, and eventually, we will be back home….on our campus!
First Year Lab
Classroom
Student Space
First Year Students in front of our Front Street location
Dean’s Update: DR. Mary Dockter Those of you who know me know I am a fan of Angela Duckworth’s concepts in her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. In it, Duckworth describes the characteristics of courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion as primary values needed for success. I can’t help but relate these traits to what many of us saw over this past year. As we all know, administrators were challenged with rapidly changing information and had to make an abundance of difficult decisions. Thus, we received word on March 17 that we were closing our doors to on-campus instruction. As you can imagine, this was a tremendous stressor for faculty who had not created courses meant for online learning, nor were they trained in online instruction (especially for hands-on lab classes!). Students were suddenly sent home and left wondering when they would return. Worse yet, we had year 3 physical therapist students spread throughout the country completing their final 10-week clinical education experiences in hospitals and clinics who themselves were shutting down and/or rapidly changing scope of practice. It was during this time I noted an exceptional amount of grit by faculty who painstakingly redid schedules, rapidly learned new technologies, and spent an inordinate amount of time communicating with students and clinical partners to restructure and reschedule clinical education
experiences (all while homeschooling their own children). I noted grit in our students who, while stressed and frustrated, remained respectful and trusted the process and their faculty that they would do what was in their best interest. I noted grit in our clinical partners and alumni who stepped up, in the midst of their own personal and professional challenges and continued to mentor students. I am pleased to say that all PT students in the class of 2020 graduated on time and passed the NPTE. I am hopeful that through these challenges, we have learned new technologies, some of which are here to stay, and that we have become wiser, more patient, more grateful, and grittier. Mary Dockter, PT, PhD If all of the COVID related changes weren’t enough, the PT program endured and persevered through some major personnel and location changes. On June 1 2021, I was promoted to Dean of the School of Health Sciences. Because of all the pandemic-related changes, we knew we needed some stability. Thus, I am thankful that Dr. Roller agreed to stay on in a part-time basis to serve as interim department chair until we could make some permanent decisions. She successfully led the team on a move from the Rosser (Loaf and Jug) location to a new, temporary location in downtown Bismarck (1 week before classes started in the fall) and skillfully guided the group on all COVID related changes throughout the academic year. Even though I have moved on to a new role outside of PT, I continue to maintain professional involvement in a few areas that are near and dear to my heart, and also help to inform me as an academic administrator. As senior editor of the Journal of Women’s Health PT, I am able to stay engaged in clinical practice and research (and I enjoy working with the editorial board). I also maintained my board of director’s position with the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) which allows me to be on the forefront of issues related to PT education. I strongly encourage all of you to peruse their website (acapt.org) to review the many issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion; workforce; education research; curricular development, etc. As part of ACAPT, I am also the liaison to the Education Leadership Partnership (ELP) which is comprised of representatives from the APTA, Academy of Education, and ACAPT. This group’s major focus is fulfillment of the strategies created by an Education Summit several years ago such as a movement to competency-based comprehensive education, and consistency of clinical and academic education. While there are many challenges ahead, I have found the discussions exciting and innovative and look forward to changes that will elevate physical therapist education. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of my new role and am thrilled to be working more closely with faculty/students from all of our outstanding health sciences programs and University administration. There are many exciting things happening on the hill including a major remodeling project for the School of Health Sciences which will allow us to increase our interprofessional learning in both the academic and clinical realms. I look forward to having the PT program back with us in fall 2022. Please know all alumni and friends of our program and university are welcome any time - stop by and say hello next time you are in the area!
New Faculty: Michelle Keller, PT, Geriatric Certified Specialist We are very fortunate to have hired Michelle Keller who started as a full-time faculty for us beginning in September. She is a great addition to our faculty with her background, skill, and can-do attitude. She is currently serving as the director of our pro bono clinic and ICE experiences. Michelle is a 2003 graduate of the University of Mary with a master’s in physical therapy. She has furthered her education, obtaining a certified competency in vestibular rehabilitation in 2013 from the APTA and Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which qualifies her to teach both in the neuromotor vestibular section as well as in the neuro-vestibular elective. In 2017, she became a certified exercise expert for the aging adult through the APTA and Academy of Geriatrics. She advanced this knowledge and, in 2017, became a boardcertified clinical specialist in geriatrics through the APTA. Consequently, she has the expertise to teach in the areas of exercise physiology, health promotion and wellness as well as geriatrics. A new elective in geriatrics will be added this summer. Michelle holds additional certifications, including LSVT BIG®(2013) and V2FIT® in concussion management (2019). Michelle is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), both the Academy of Geriatrics and the North Dakota Chapter. She serves as a member of the Continuing Education Committee for the NDPTA since 2020. As a physical therapist, she has experience providing care to patients in outpatient neurological rehabilitation, outpatient orthopedics, and holds a special interest in geriatrics, vestibular rehabilitation, and concussion management. Michelle is married to Chris and is the mother of Brayden and Paige. She enjoys traveling with her family, reading, fitness, and attending all activities for her children. Dr. Allen & Professor Allen “won” coin contest!
YEAR 2 STUDENT NEWS By Kiersten Sabolik, SPT Year 2 President Hello from the Class of 2022! It’s been quite the year! It has been one full year since the pandemic sent us all home to quarantine and we had full time zoom university. We were able to come back to school for a short time over the summer for condensed lab classes before getting to go on our first clinicals! We had a shortened 4 week experience, but it was so valuable to get to work with real patients, especially after only practicing on our parents for 4 months beforehand.
After rescheduling due to covid, we were able to have our white coat ceremony this past fall. It was a small ceremony as we had to limit the number of guests that we could invite, but it was great to celebrate our transition into clinical practice right after completing our first clinical experience this summer.
We have had a full two semesters of classes back in Bismarck as second year students. We navigated through many changes as we tried to learn and practice our hands-on skills while trying to keep ourselves, professors, and patients safe and heathy during the pandemic. We had hybrid style classes with lectures over zoom, 6-hour marathon orthopedics lab classes, had a day of pediatrics lab outside in the park to social distance, and completed our pediatrics baby lab and geriatric wellness plans with patients over zoom. We each had to continually replan or reschedule things as well when we were stuck in quarantine and had to miss labs or exams. We have heard and used the phrase “Thank you for your flexibility!” more times than we can count. This spring we were able to transition back to fully in person classes, and it feels so good! It feels like we are making up for lost time now and have so many lab experiences and patient interactions. Experiential learning at its best with pro bono, peds labs, ICE experiences, geriatrics community evals, exercise testing, setting up research projects and more. Many of us were able to get the vaccine as well so we are getting closer to being back to normal!
On top of everything for school, our class has also had many significant life events in the last year. We have had 4 engagements, 2 marriages and 4 new babies in our class!!! We are looking forward to our second clinicals this summer and the short 13 months we have until graduation!
First Year Student News By Patricia Martin, Year 1 President The UMary first year students have made it through the first semester and are already racing through the second. We had quite an interesting start to the year as we ventured through class virtually and in person. Through perseverance, flexibility, and diligence we made the best of it and I’m so proud to represent this class. We received great news as we returned second semester that we’d be back in person together and it was like the first day of school again! Seeing classmates that we’d only seen on Zoom in their living rooms, or from a distance in the opposite classroom! This transition has really helped grow our class community in the classroom and outside. As a class we participated in the annual UMary Day of Service, interview days, and the UMary Advocacy dinner. Soon we’ll be hosting a new event, Racetrack Hero’s, which is a track meet for kids with disabilities. In our spare time we’re a pretty active group and have a few intermural teams for basketball and volleyball. Once the weather turns warm, you’ll probably find some of us out on the golf courses, running, or biking around town too! Outside of the classroom we have been working through our clinical experiences in the OP, acute, and pro-bono settings. We’re able to apply the concepts, techniques, and knowledge we’ve been accumulating through hours of lecture and hands on labs to the field. It’s one thing to learn about special tests, MMT, and goniometer measurements, but seeing it in practice emphasizes the importance of all we’ve learned.
Monsignor Shea blessing our building.
Coming up this summer we are planning our White Coat Ceremony as we head out on our first clinical rotation in July which is something, I think we are all a bit nervous for, but also excited for the challenge. Just in the past 8 months we’ve grown and learned so much as professionals, so I’m confident we’ll be ready to expand those skills in July as well!
CLINICAL EDUCATION UPDATES By Dr. Lauren Emmel, DCE Like for most of you, 2020 and the COVID pandemic proved to be the most challenging year in clinical education in my tenure. That recognized, it afforded the University of Mary clinical education team the
opportunity to lean on our most trusted of clinical education partners—proving that our relationships with all of you were tested and found true. We are so grateful to the many of you offered to take on extra student placements and worked with us to ensure our students were provided the clinical education opportunities they needed in 2020. We are blessed and grateful to return to offering our clinical education curriculum, largely uninterrupted (with a few expected disruptions) beginning with our 3rd year, 3rd rotation in October of 2020. This has continued for our Class of 2021 final rotations, which began in early February 2021. At many Thank you for your generosity in supporting clinical education for UMary DPT students in 2020 and moving forward—we are grateful!
Clinical Educator of the Year: Denise Van Leeuwen This time of year, as we reflect on life’s greatest blessings, we are thankful to our “extended” family who work hard to serve our students in the clinical education setting. Each year, we recognize a clinical educator who has been nominated by our students or alumni and selected by the Directors of Clinical Education. This year’s recipient of the Clinical Educator of the Year award is Denise Van Leeuwen, a 2011 alumna of the University of Mary DPT program. Denise exemplified all the characteristics described above regarding generosity in accepting last-minute student placements due to clinical cancellations in 2020. What impressed the clinical education faculty most about Denise, though, is the care and compassion she demonstrated to our students who were placed under her mentorship and guidance for clinical education this year. While Denise hasn’t identified a teaching philosophy, she states, “I like open discussions with students and finding out what their learning style is and adapting to that. I very strongly believe in practicing basic skills until they feel comfortable and progressing from there. I like to allow them to come up with their own justifications for treatment. I also like when they have to do something new that they may never have thought that they would like such as pediatrics.” When asked what she enjoys most about her work as a physical therapist and clinical instructor, Denise said, “If someone offered me a chance to learn a new profession, I would not even for a million dollars! I love the healing aspect in our work, it is so rewarding to see people get better and to see how many lives you touch. Having students is rewarding because you can share that love of what you do with them. I have had students who were doubting themselves at the start of the clinical and by the time they were done, they had solidified that PT truly was the right career for them. I think with each student that finished a rotation; I feel it was a success. If I can connect with them and truly help them get comfortable with what they want to do one day, that is my biggest success/reward.” When Denise isn’t busy teaching students and treating patients, she enjoys spending time at home with her boys and husband. We go bicycling, visit parks, and try to go on at least one bigger family adventure every year.”
While Denise is just one of our many excellent, dedicated faculty, please join me in congratulating her as we honor her as the 2020 Clinical Educator of the Year!
Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP) Coming Soon! The University of Mary PT Program plans to join efforts with the University of Jamestown to offer an online CCIP course soon. APTA is not currently allowing in-person CCIP courses, but we hope to offer one of those in the near-future, as well. The course aims to equip clinical instructors to create the best possible learning experiences and environment for students in PT, OT, SLP, and other healthcare disciplines. Look for more information soon, and contact Director of Clinical Education Lauren Emmel, PT, DPT at laemmel@umary.edu or 701-355-8364 to express interest and gain more information about the course.
Seeking Clinical Placement Attention alumni & clinical partners! We are searching for additional sites to offer clinical experiences for our students. We are particularly in need of acute/inpatient, and inpatient/outpatient neurologic experiences. If you are interested in offering an experience to our students or beginning an affiliation agreement for clinical education, please contact Dr. Lauren Emmel, Director of Clinical Education, at laemmel@umary.edu
Colloquium Presentations April 23, 2021 (8:00-2:30) 4.5 contact hours Continuation of a Case Studies Series: The Effectiveness of Virtual Reality on Decreasing Disability in Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain in an Outpatient Clinic. Sarah Chyzyk, Haley Hodenfield, MiKayla Malsam, Brittany Matejka and Rebecca Valleroy. Laterality Assessment, FAB-Q, PCS, and PHQ-2 as Prognostic Indicators for the Development of Chronic Pain in Adults with Acute Onset Low Back Pain. Hayley L. Carlson, Emily J. Eliasen, Samantha M. Salh, Kaidra R. Larson, Madeline M. Moore, Danielle A. Williams. Factors Which Influence Physical Therapists' Decision to Practice in Pediatrics: A Pilot Study. Shelby Gustafson, Devery Huddleston, Yen Pham, Meghan Johnson. Effects of a Novel Prenatal Education Course in Prevention of Plagiocephaly and Torticollis. Maranda Wagner, Sofia Rabaey, Garett Schild, Michael Rowles, and Alexandra Poland. Entry Level Physical Therapist's Perceived Competence in Completing Pre-Participation Sports Screening Items. Emily K. Berdal, Benjamin J. Porter, Sean E. Wronka, Corey J. Tynan, Robert L. Sweeten, Richard A. Young.
Comfort Level of Entry-Level Occupational and Physical Therapist Students in Addressing Sexual Issues with Patients. Lauren Gebeke, Kara Scheresky, Madison Truscinski, Alexandra Tulintseff, Kyle Ver Burg. The Effects of Cognitive Demands on the Four-Square Step Test in Older Adults: A Continuation Study. Ryan Baumgartner, Kelly Bosch, Thomas Gilchrist, David Johnson, Renee Oelkers, and Brianna Rasmusson. The Effects of Standing Resisted Alternating Triceps Pull Downs© on Scapular Muscle Activation Ratios During Overhead Reaching Activity. Anna Bradner, Bennie Bradner, Kendra Cook, Emily Mundahl, Jaime Schaaf. Interrater Reliability of the Hruska Abduction Lift Test. Marchelle Bostic, Madison Vance, Raechelle Salzer, and Douglas Winzenburg.
Poverty Simulation On the evening of March 16th, the University of Mary hosted a Poverty Simulation sponsored by the Physical Therapy, the Social Work, the Occupational Therapy, the Graduate Counseling programs. The evening was run by Bethany and Noelle, students in the Social Work program with assistance from Dr. Heidi Nieuwsma, Social Work, and Dr. Donald Allen, Physical Therapy. For the Physical Therapy students, the Poverty Simulation is part of their Service Oriented Learning Experience (SOLE) course where they examine the social determinants of health. The purpose of the simulation is to foster an understanding of the realities of living in poverty in the United States. During the simulation, participants become a member of a family living in poverty, and sometimes being homeless. The simulation is four 15-minute periods that each correspond to one week. During each week, the family has to find work, pay their bills, send their children to school, and buy groceries. Sometimes unexpected events can happen, such as a raise at work, or you or your child is sick. Mary Dockter worked at the Mortgage Company, and if the families did not pay their mortgage, she evicted them by turning their house (made of chairs) upside down. Donald Allen, with his wife Alice Erling, worked at the Quik Check store, cashing pay checks and selling transportation passes, along with getting robbed at gun point. At the end of the simulation, the volunteers talked about what they observed. Later this week, the participants will discuss their perspective on the Poverty Simulation. The simulation fits in well with other components of the SOLE class where the students researched economic stability, education, health and healthcare, social and community context, and neighborhood and built environment in the Bismarck/Mandan area. During the next part of the SOLE class, the students will develop projects with local and North Dakota organizations that will address one or more of the social factors that impact people in our community.
Faculty Publications, Presentations, and Awards Taylor M, Studer M, Cometto S, Tesch J, Anderson T, Goehring G, Spiehs J. The Effect of Cognitive Demands on the Four Square Step Test in Older Adults. Poster presented virtually APTA Combined Sections Meeting; February 2021. Jody Eckert, PT, DPT, EdD: EdD University of Mary. Dissertation: “An Analysis of the Validity of the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice as Compared to the American Physical Therapy Association Physical Therapy Clinical Performance Instrument: Version 2006.” Eckert J. An Analysis of the Validity of the Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) as Compared to the American Physical Therapy Association Physical Therapy Clinical Performance Instrument: Version 2008 (APTA PT CPI: Version 2008). Platform presentation. APTA 2020 Educational Leadership Conference Meeting. October 18, 2020. Dockter M, Ulmer E, Wulf C, Gunderson M, Halvorson J, Joneson A, Abraham K, Reisch R. Comfort Level of Current Physical Therapist Students in Addressing Sexual Issues with Patients. Accepted Nov 2020 JWHPT. Dockter M. Impact of a Mentoring Program on Clinicians’ Knowledge and Motivation to Pursue an Academic Career. Accepted for poster presentation at APTA Combined Sections Meeting (virtual) Feb 2021. Emmel L. Benefits of a Pediatric Torticollis Clinic Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE): An Avenue for Achieving the Essential Competencies and an Opportunity for Knowledge Brokering. Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy Annual Conference. November 2020.
ALUMNI NEWS Josh Henderson: (2013) Twin boys born in 2013 month of graduating now almost 8. Ava Jean now 5. Certification in Vestibular Physical Therapy 2016 Started doing MSKUS 2016 Doctor of Science (ScD) 2018 Orthopedic Certified Specialist 2019 Started North 40 PT in Billings, MT in 2019 OT adjunct faculty starting spring semester 2020
Kristen Burgad (2013) married Reinhardt Weygandt July 25, 2020. Baby girl born February 18, 2020.
Kayla Willer (2018) We welcomed our second daughter, Brooklynn Joy Willer, on 2/10/2021.
Jon Heger (2016) OCS in 2020 New labradoodle puppy
Beth Guthmiller Heier (2013). New position at High Plains Physical Therapy and Aquatic Center in August 2020. We welcomed our third child on Feb. 11, 2021
Alli Gorder Slick (2013). Added Hattie Mae to our family in July 2020
Kimberly Bloms (2012) Opened kids in Motion in Mandan July 1, 2019
Bobbi Froelich (2019) Added Luka John to our family February 5, 2021.
Dakota Anderson Tweed (2017) We welcomed our first child on 8/28/20, daughter, Ada Almaree.
Sierra Steckler (2018) Going on year 3 of travel PT and was able to land a seasonal job for Howard Head Sports Medicine in Vail, CO.
Wayne Engelhard (2017) Started new job in October 2020 at Sanford Health Broadway in Fargo. Welcomed our first child, Collins Marie, a few days ago on 3/8/21!
TJ Yellow (2012) Welcomed baby Amiya June Yellow Jan 14th 2021