UCA faculty and students attend Occupational Therapy National Conference

Occupational therapy students, professors, and clinicians from across the country attended the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Annual Conference and Expo in Baltimore, Maryland on April 2-4, 2014. Eight professors and 19 students (three first-year students, 14 second-year students, and two third-year students) represented UCA by attending the conference.

Hannah Colvin, Chandler Graham, Sarah Holloway and Josh Krolikowski were selected to participate in the 40th Annual Maddak Awards. The Maddak Awards are held every year at the AOTA Conference to acknowledge the creativity, ingenuity and dedication of occupational therapy professionals and students who continually look for new ways to enhance the lives of their clients. Our students competed with original innovations and inventions that could be used as a rehabilitative or adaptive device. Chandler Graham, a second-year student, won 3rd place with her hands-free fishing pole.

Dr. Lorrie George-Paschal, associate professor, Dr. Cathy Acre, assistant professor, Veronica Rowe, clinical instructor, and second-year student Hannah Colvin, along with professors in occupational therapy assistant programs at Baptist Health and Arkansas Tech University, presented on the outcomes of an intraprofessional experience among a group of occupational therapy students and occupational therapy assistant students. The significant results of the study were shared among OT practitioners and students during a research session at the national conference.

Tina Mankey, associate professor of Occupational Therapy, provided a research platform presentation entitled, “Building Evidence in Transition Services: Qualitative Inquiry of Transition Teams regarding Occupational Therapy Services”. Second-year student Stephanie Warner and third-year students Caitlin Krehel and Lacie Canizares were research assistants for the project and attended the 2014 AOTA conference to present the findings alongside Mankey.

Jennifer Moore, associate professor and interim chair, and Brittany Saviers, adjunct faculty, gave a research poster presentation on the effects of an occupation-based program among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Moore attended the program director meeting prior to conference to learn more about emerging themes in occupational therapy education and the impact of healthcare reform.

Elizabeth LeQuieu, clinical instructor II, attended the Academic Fieldwork Coordinators Forum. Forum topics included emerging issues in higher education and practice impacting fieldwork, identifying strategies to address challenges, and increased demand on fieldwork sites due to the growth of OT and OTA programs.

Rowe attended the AOTF doctoral networking reception and annual meeting. In this meeting, strategies were discussed for successful mentoring.

Major Erik Johnson, also known as the “Army OT guy”, made the introduction of the keynote speakers for the opening ceremonies of the AOTA Annual Conference and Expo. Major Johnson was a 2005 graduate of the Occupational Therapy Department at UCA. He has been deployed as an occupational therapist and is currently practicing at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The keynote address was made by three of his clients who had sustained multiple amputations from trauma while serving overseas. They depicted the success that can come through occupational therapy. Major Johnson had nothing but praise for the education he received while at UCA and his clients had nothing but praise for the services they had received while in his care.