At a key transition point in their studies, occupational therapy students across all USAHS campuses participate in a meaningful ritual, witnessed by family and friends. The OT pinning ceremony marks the end of the classroom portion of their studies and the beginning of their fieldwork. For Residential MOT and OTD students, this happens in their fourth term, and for Flex, in the seventh term.
A longstanding tradition in OT practice, the pin celebrates the diversity of practice areas, the client-centered nature of our practice and the values of our profession.
“It’s an opportunity for faculty to acknowledge our students’ transition from classroom learning to clinical learning,” says Mary Zadnik, ScD, MEd, OTR/L, director of the entry-level OT programs on Read more
BS in Exercise Science, Harding University
MPT, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
MS in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville
PhD in Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville
Research Interests
Sensorimotor Function following Neurological Injury
spinal electrical stimulation
Activity-based Therapeutic Interventions
Neurologic Recovery
Dr. Atkinson is a physical therapist, researcher, and educator focused on improving the lives of individuals with neurological injuries and their families. He began his career in 2005 as a physical therapist specializing in spinal cord injury rehabilitation at TIRR/Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas. In 2010, Dr. Atkinson joined the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, earning his PhD in anatomical sciences and neurobiology in 2016. He subsequently completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Kosair Charities Center for Pediatric Neurorecovery, also at the University of Louisville. Dr. Atkinson’s clinical and research interests center on promoting neurologic recovery after adult and pediatric spinal cord injury through the development and refinement of neuromodulation strategies that can augment current activity-based therapies. Dr. Atkinson’s teaching experience includes 2 years as an instructor/course coordinator of the human biomechanics course at the University of Louisville. In addition, he is a consultant and senior instructor in post-professional courses and on the topics of recovery-based interventions for adult and pediatric neurological populations. Dr. Atkinson joined the core DPT program faculty at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences at the Austin, Texas Campus in 2019 and teaches within the neurological course components of the program.
