Quicklinks
School of Health Professions
Results: 525 news stories
Two OT faculty members appointed to national leadership positions
By Kate Hunger
Two faculty members in the Department of Occupational Therapy recently were appointed to leadership positions within national professional organizations.
Respiratory Care students have preclinical competencies ahead of ICU internships
Second-year Respiratory Care students practiced their preclinical competencies this summer before beginning internships in intensive care settings this fall.
The purpose of the preclinical competency checks is to ensure students are familiar with various types of ventilators and other equipment.
PA students are trained on how to stop the bleed
The Department of Physician Assistant Studies trains students how to stop uncontrolled bleeding during trauma situations before the arrival of emergency responders.
The Stop the Bleed campaign, part of a national initiative, aims to give people with the skills to effectively apply tourniquets to stop bleeding resulting from trauma such as car accidents or mass violence, said Physician Assistant Studies Assistant Professor–Clinical Roland Paquette, PA-C.
Physical Therapy Assistant Professor Gustavo Almeida, PT, Ph.D., found his passion all because of a knee injury.
“I was a swimmer and triathlete for years and my knee got bad,†he said. “I went to do physical therapy myself after knee surgery and I just fell in love with the profession. Then, I went to investigate what the students do, what they have to go through, and I said, ‘That’s it.’â€
Almeida joined the Department of Physical Therapy in June. He is course director for Exercise Physiology in the coming fall semester and will co-teach Movement Science in the spring.
Professor attends signing of bill allowing patients access to PT services
Patients in Texas soon will be able to receive physical therapy treatment without a physician referral.
Signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on June 14, HB 29 allows patient access to physical therapy without a physician referral. Michael Geelhoed, D.P.T., OCS, MTC, associate professor and director of clinical education, attended the bill signing on July 14.
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.
PT and PA students provide health care services in the Dominican Republic
Riley Morgan was stressed out during his first day providing physical therapy services at a clinic in the Dominican Republic this summer. Then a man who came in complaining of shoulder pain walked in.
Speech-language pathology hosts its first free summer clinic and a free childhood apraxia of speech workshop
The Speech-Language Pathology program is holding its first free pediatric summer clinic.
The clinic began in early July with individual diagnostic evaluations for children ages 3 to 13 in the areas of speech-language delays and disorders, speech sound disorders and social communication disorders. The evaluations were followed by the following clinics:
PA white coat ceremony marks entry into the profession
The Department of Physician Assistant Studies held its annual white coat ceremony on May 16, with 48 students receiving their short white coats.
The Frank M. Tejeda Ceremony for the Class of 2021 represented a milestone for students, who also received their pins from the president of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA) and recited the PA professional oath.
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.
Deputy medical director and EHS professor receives award
When C.J. Winckler was growing up, first in South Dakota and then Southeast Texas, he had no plans for a career in medicine, but after four years of college, he knew he wasn’t suited for an office job.
“I graduated UT undergrad in psychology on Sunday and started paramedic school on Monday,†he said.
Interprofessional project to study teen vaping intervention
After her teenage son was caught vaping twice last school year, Physician Assistant Studies Assistant Professor/Clinical Tammy Harris, MPAS, PA-C, spent a lot of time thinking about ways to address the increasing use of e-cigarettes among youth.
“They are so influenced by their peers,†she said.
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.
Pilot project to study the impact of a holistic intervention on cancer survivors
A new pilot study involving the Department of Physical Therapy in collaboration with the Institute for Health Promotion Research will gauge the impact of a holistic intervention program on the overall wellbeing of cancer survivors.
“We are finding out that if physical therapists just take care of the physical aspects of health by itself, we are pretty much just scraping the surface,†said co-principal investigator Alexis Ortiz, PT, Ph.D., SCS, CSCS, FACSM, professor and chair of the physical therapy department.
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.
PT students hold health fair at senior center
Melinda Fountain was one of 35 third-year physical therapy students who ran a health fair for seniors last month. Her team ran the nutrition booth for the event that drew about 75 attendees.
“We educated the participants on proper nutrition—specifically protein, carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables—and we questioned them about what they typically eat,†she said.
Fountain’s team took their job pretty seriously.
“We dressed up as fruits and vegetables,†she said. “I was a carrot.â€
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, RocÃo 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 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 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.
Subscribe to receive a monthly email newsletter with information on academic programs, events and campus news from the School of Health Professions.
First Name
Last Name
Email
