What is the most difficult aspect of teaching DPT students today? Currently, I would say the pandemic has brought some challenges. The students have had less experience with hands-on skill time. Some of their learning had to be done online, where usually it would have been done in a classroom with a chance to experience modalities or have the chance to try something out. Describe your best professional development experience. I would say my level 1 NAIOMT course was by far the most beneficial course I have taken. Learning the “scan” gives you the ability to quickly yet effectively evaluate your patient, rule out serious pathologies, and work through selective tissue testing. It really helped me take all that I had learned in PT school and condense it to make it feel more manageable and specific while doing patient evaluation. I would also say my first boss had a huge positive effect on my career. Steve Allen was a fellow of the NAIOMT, so I was able to have him as my mentor and learned so much from him with hands on experience and having him be someone I could bounce ideas off of. What are your five-year goals? In five years I would like to have obtained my OCS as well as my Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certificate. I would also like to provide free monthly community education classes for prenatal and postnatal women in order to improve the awareness/need for pelvic floor physical therapy. Thank you so much, LaRyn, for all you do to educate our students in the clinic — we are grateful! Congratulations to other clinical instructors who were nominated this year: Luke Steiner, nominated by second-year student Talon Staudinger Laci Donnelly, nominated by second-year student Jaylen Henderson Jen Dunn, nominated by second-year student Kalia Miller Josh Henderson, nominated by third-year student Spencer Schaefbauer
Seeking Clinical Placement Attention alumni and 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 Director of Clinical Education Lauren Emmel, PT, DPT, at laemmel@umary.edu. A word of gratitude to our clinical partners for their ongoing commitment to educating our students: Thank you for your generosity in supporting clinical education for University of Mary DPT students in 2021, 2022, and moving forward — we are grateful!
Physical Therapy Newsletter 2022 | 8
