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OT students simulate telehealth therapy sessions
By Kate Hunger
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.
Speech-language pathology program gains new faculty member
The Speech-Language Pathology master’s program welcomed a new faculty member in June.
Assistant Professor Casey Taliancich-Klinger, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, grew up bilingual in South Texas.
“I’ve always had an interest in language and communication, so I felt this was the right field for me,” she said.
Taliancich-Klinger earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, as well as bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Communication Sciences & Disorders, all from The University of Texas at Austin.
Inspired to help others, SLP student receives immunology scholarship
Second-year Speech-Language Pathology graduate student Joy-Alexandra Sabattus was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at the age of 17.
“I wanted nothing to do with this disease,” she said of her initial response to her diagnosis. “I was very hard-headed and would push myself harder in a lot of ways.”
PT faculty and alumnae publish article in national journal
Two UT Health San Antonio physical therapy professors and two alumnae of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program have published an article in a national journal on the attitudes of students toward the homeless.
The article, “Attitudes of Physical Therapy Students Toward the Population Currently Experiencing Homelessness,” appeared in the fall issue of the Journal of Allied Health.
Surgical resident found passion for patient care in the EHS program
Raised in a military family, Michael Sippel moved frequently growing up. When he graduated high school, he wasn’t enthused about jumping into a four-year college setting.
So he took his dad’s advice and enrolled in an emergency medical technician program at UT Health San Antonio. When he realized he was interested in studying medicine, he enrolled in the paramedic program. That training led him to apply to the Emergency Health Sciences bachelor’s program, which he attended while working full-time as a paramedic.
EHS faculty member seeks to identify victims of human trafficking
Emergency Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor and Civilian Training Officer Matt Short is leading a project to create a validated tool to identify victims of human trafficking encountered by emergency responders.
Short, the continuing education instructor for the San Antonio Fire Department, saw the need for such a tool after noticing gaps in several continuing education conferences he attended to renew his paramedic license.
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.
Two OT faculty members appointed to national leadership positions
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.’”
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.
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