Is a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree Worth It? If you’re dreaming about helping patients restore their mobility and quality of life, and you’re exploring what it would take to become a physical therapist, you may be wondering, “Is a degree in physical therapy worth it?” The answer to this question depends, of course, on your personal career goals. Some people choose to become physical therapist assistants because only a two-year associate degree is required. It’s true that pursuing a doctorate takes time and effort; however, there are countless advantages to earning a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. To that end, let’s look at some of the factors that make a Doctor in Physical Therapy (DPT) degree the best first step on an exceptional career Read more
January Faculty Achievements
2019 NHF Grant Awarded to Dr. Lena Volland
Dr. Lena Volland, PT, DPT, OCS, was selected as the recipient of the 2019 National Hemophilia Foundation Physical Therapy Excellence Fellowship grant, which is a very prestigious award within the bleeding disorder community given out once per year. It was awarded for her research project “Analysis of Joint Characteristics, Biomechanics, and Neuromotor Control during Gait in Persons with Hemophilia,” for which she recently received IRB approval. She will begin data collection as soon as the research lab renovation is completed.
Faculty to Present at World Congress for Physical Therapy
Dr. Jordan Utley (MHS) and Dr. Karen Snyder (PPOTD), and Dr. Judi Schack-Dugré (Post-professional contributing faculty member) were accepted to present three manuscripts at the upcoming World Congress for Physical Therapy in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference is referred to as “the profession’s leading global meeting it is where the world of physical therapy meets.”
The topic of these manuscripts is Interprofessional Education (IPE). One of the papers was accepted as “State of the Art” which is a high honor. “The state of the art sessions include 12-minute presentations from a small number of the highest quality cutting edge abstracts that are likely to influence practice, followed by a 30-minute moderated discussion led by a leader in the field,” 
according to the acceptance letter. The other two manuscripts will be oral presentations at this international event.
All three manuscripts are co-authored and will be presented by Dr. Snyder, Dr. Utley and Dr. Schack-Dugré. The talks are listed here, and the formats in which they will be presented:
1. FORGING THE PATH TO GLOBALIZE INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTHCARE EDUCATION: A COMPARISON OF HYBRID AND TRADITIONAL ONLINE DELIVERIES
Session format: Platform: State of the Art (PLSoA)
2. IS COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION EFFECTIVE IN THE DELIVERY OF INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION?
Session format: Platform: Rapid 5 (PLR5)
3. CONTEMPORIZING HEALTHCARE EDUCATION: CHANGING KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES THROUGH ONLINE INTERPROFESSIONAL CURRICULA
Session format: Poster displays (PO)
St. Augustine Student and Faculty Co-publish Article 
Dr. Bonnie Rogulj and DPT student DeAnn Taylor from the St. Augustine campus co-authored “A Multi-disciplinary Event to Celebrate Fall Prevention Awareness,” an article that was published by the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy’s Geri Note. The article shared the results of the successful Don’t Be Trippin’ event held last fall. READ THE ARTICLE
Congratulations go to Dr. Amy Walters, PT, DPT, SCS, GCS and Dr. Germaine Ferreira, PT, MSPT, DPT for their publication in the Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation Journal (Jan-Mar 2019 issue) titled, “The Therapist’s Role in the Medical and Pharmacological Management of Heart Failure.”
2019 Faculty Retreat
The topic of this year’s Faculty Retreat was Fostering Innovation at Enterpreneurship at USAHS. The panelists were:
* Ranu Jung, PhD, Wallace Coulter Eminent Scholars Chair of Biomefical Engineering at FIU. Her topic was “Fostering Research-Driven Enterpreneurial Ideas: Neurotechnology in Neurodisability.”
* Guy Romain, PT, DPT, Founder and Owner, Neurofit 360. His topic was “Cultivating Innovation in Clinical Practice: Challenging the Status Quo.”
– He was the PT for the quadriplegiv student who walked across the stage using an exoskeleton in the recent video clip that went viral.
* Craig Maxey, MHA, VP of Customer Success at Illumicare. His topic was “Value-Based Care in Heakthcare Startups.”
* Jason Hopper, Chief Commercial Officer at ProctorU. His topic was “Building an Enterpreneurial Framework for Healthcare in the Classroom.”
USAHS Faculty Published in Online Journal of Distance Education
A group of USAHS faculty recently had an article published in a peer reviewed journal. The article was published in the Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, which is a peer reviewed online journal. The article is titled “Asynchronous video and the development of instructor social presence and student engagement”. The authors are Kayla Collins, Shannon Groff, Cindy Mathena, and Lori Kupczynski. This work is based on Kayla Collins’ dissertation that was completed in 2018. The article can be accessed here: http://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/current-issue.html
