News

The Department of Physical Therapy is continuing our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the PT Program at the University of Central Arkansas.  Please join us as we welcome the community, students and guests to the Physical Therapy Center on Friday, April 28th from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM for a drop-in Open House.  We have a special guest scheduled to visit campus on Friday. Dr. Susan Appling, ’87 graduate and current Vice President of the American Physical Therapy Association will be available to meet and greet and will give brief comments at 5:30.  Guests will be able to receive tours of the PT Center as well as the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences newly opened Integrated Health Sciences building, home to the Interprofessional Teaching Center.

The Department of Physical Therapy will host an Open House on Saturday, April 15th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM for prospective students interested in the DPT Program.  The event will be held in person at the PT Center in a drop-in, come and go format.  Guests will tour the PT Center and visit with current students, PT faculty and the DPT Program Advisor.

 

Dr. Lori Mize serves as the Chief Education Officer with the PHreedom Foundation for Pelvic Health, a 501(c)(3) organization.  The Foundation has recently released a Podcast on YouTube that features Darryl Strawberry (MLB fame) as well as a world renowned colo-rectal surgeon.  This is released just in time for March which is colorectal cancer awareness month.

Congratulations to Dr. Mize who represents UCA so well on the national and international stage with her expertise in pelvic floor physical therapy!

Congratulations to Dr. Bandy and team who recently published a research article entitled “Survey on Knowledge, Use, and Diagnostic Applicability of Special Tests for Rotator Cuff Involvement in Clinical Practice”.  The research article completed by Dr. Bandy, Dr. Forbush and recent UCA DPT 2022 graduates Dr. Gabrielle Back-Kremers and Dr. Mollie Renfroe and third year DPT student Haley F. Downey was just released in volume 18 of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.  Here is the link to the article.

 

The UCA Department of Physical Therapy is seeking nominations for the Joe Finnell Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes graduates who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their professional careers. The honoree(s) will be recognized at a ceremony on Saturday, April 29, 2023 on the UCA campus.

Past Recipients:
Susan Appling, Mary Anne Hart, James A. Hoyme, Cecile W. Kimmer, Barbara J. Lovett, William S. Quillen, Nancy Reese, Chris Throneberry, Mala H. Waller, Glenda Winborn

Criteria for Selection:
The award is open to any alumna or alumnus of the UCA Physical Therapy program who graduated 10 or more years ago. This individual is or was a licensed physical therapist (PT) or physical therapist assistant (PTA) and has earned a PTA or PT degree from UCA (ie. AS, BS, MS, DPT, or PhD degree).

Recipients of the award will have made exceptional contributions and impact to the profession or community. Award recipients will be determined based their contributions and achievements in one or more of the following:
– Clinical practice
– Education, academic or clinical
– Leadership, service and advocacy in the profession
– Leadership, service and advocacy in the community, including distinguished service to the UCA Department of Physical Therapy or the University
– Scholarship & research
– Greater consideration will be given to nominees whose contributions and accomplishments directly support the mission and goals of the UCA Physical Therapy Department.

Nomination Process and Deadline:
Nominations are made by sending an e-mail to pt@uca.edu with the subject line: Alumni Award Nomination. The email should include the name and contact information of the nominator and the following attachments:
– Detailed resume or curriculum vitae for the nominee; OR a detailed biographical sketch of the nominee in the form of a cover letter.
– Two letters of recommendations for the nominee focusing on the nominee’s contributions and achievements in the areas of the award criteria listed above.

Deadline for submission is Monday, March 13, 2023.

Visit:  https://uca.edu/pt/jfdaa

Third-year students met for their class portrait in front of Main Hall recently.  Pictured here are DPT 2023 Class Officers.  We appreciate their continued service and leadership to their class as they finish their third Fall semester of coursework on campus.  Wishing the DPT Class of 2023 the very best as they move on to clinical experiences.   Looking forward to graduation!!

First-year DPT students have elected class officers.  Congratulations to these students and we applaud their interest in leadership and service for their peers.  Class President: Rob Hogue, Vice President: Jayson Allen, Historians: Emily Blanchard, Collette Lavoi, and Austin Fortinberry, and APTA student liaison: Elysian Majeske.  These students will lead their class over the three-year program.  We wish them the best as they move through the program and look forward to working with them alongside their classmates.

Special thanks to the third year, DPT Class of 2023, Teaching Assistants in Gross Anatomy this semester.  These students were able to come back from clinic to assist in the final weeks of Gross Anatomy for DPT2025 students ending the Fall 2022 semester.  The Department would like to thank them for the awesome job and nice work while also navigating a very busy third year of DPT school.  Thank you to Haden Bunderson, Dylan Alexander, Destinee Marvel, Caressa Wilson, Tyler Futrell, and Colton Wise.  Dr. Davis and Dr. Garrison appreciate your mentorship to first year students.

UCA Legacy of Success was the theme of the recent UCA Foundation Scholarship Reception held on September 29th at UCA. DPT students receiving UCA Foundation scholarships in 2022 and Dr. Kevin Garrison, Chairperson of the PT Department, attended the evening event held at the Farris Center.  Ten physical therapy student scholarships were awarded this year to eight DPT students including: third year students Erin Woodward and Mack Pharr recipients of the Madeline Ann Grubbs Scholarship; third year students Haley Dingler, Mack Pharr and Daniel Symons, and second year student Cross Reames recipients of the Joe Finnell PT Scholarship; third year student Haden Bunderson and second-year student Kevin French recipients of the Thomas M. Meadows Memorial Scholarship; first-year students Anne Moellers and Shelby Ramsey recipients of the Charlotte Mills Fant Memorial Scholarship.

During the event, UCA President Houston Davis led a panel discussion attesting to the positive impact scholarships have for students. Panelists included current donors and recipients of UCA Foundation Scholarships.  The event allowed for donors and scholarship recipients to connect and network.  The UCA Department of Physical Therapy is thankful for the continuing generosity from alumni of the UCA Physical Therapy program for making these scholarships a reality!  See article at UCA News – UCA Foundation celebrates donors, students at scholarship reception.

Information about UCA Foundation Scholarships can be found at Foundation Scholarships (uca.edu).  Applications open on November 1, 2022.  UCA Foundation scholarship application deadline to apply is January 23, 2023.

Special Lecture November 3rd.  Pain Science Education:  How science is changing our approach to pain.

The Department of Physical Therapy is hosting a special lecture on pain science that is open to the campus and community in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the first graduating class of physical therapists from UCA in 1972. The lecture entitled, Pain Science Education: How science is changing our approach to pain, is planned for Thursday, November 3rd during X-Period (1:40 PM to 2:30 PM) in Ida Waldron Auditorium. This lecture will be free to the public and suggested for all healthcare and basic science faculty as well as students. Incorporating pain science in undergraduate and graduate education will be the focus. This lecture will be presented by an international speaker, Dr. Adriaan Louw, a physical therapist and Vice President at Evidence in Motion. With degrees from the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. Louw has taught throughout the US and internationally for 20 years. He completed his PhD on pain neuroscience education, is a Certified Spinal Manual Therapist, Certified Pain Specialist and has authored and co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles related to spinal disorders and pain science.