SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Lori Tuttle, PT, PhD

SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Lori Tuttle, PT, PhD

Assistant Professor

San Diego State University

Hometown: Springfield, IL

Current City: San Diego, CA

SLU PT Class of 2004

Interests, Activities, Clubs, and Professional Organizations: 

Women's Health, Acute Care, APTA, American Urogynecology Association

If you could come back to SLU and teach a class, which class would you like to teach?

Probably Exercise Physiology--it had such an impact on my patient care when I practiced in Acute Care.

What was the most valuable lesson — inside or outside the classroom — you learned at SLU?

I learned that getting every question right on an exam isn't what makes you a good PT; your ability to connect with your patients and communicate with them is what will be more important than book knowledge.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

Being chosen as the Most Influential Faculty Member for the DPT graduating class of 2016 at San Diego State has been the highlight so far. It made me feel like I had made a connection with my students and that I would ultimately have an impact on clinical practice through them.

What advice do you have for students getting ready to graduate with their DPT?

I think it's important to be open to new opportunities that evolve in your practice--when I started out in PT school, I never would have predicted that I would love both Acute Care and Women's Health. Had I been closed-minded, I would have missed out on work that I love.

You can learn more about Dr. Tuttle's accomplishments here. Lori just received a fantastic score on an NIH R01 grant (score = 21, 9th percentile -- better than 91% of the applications submitted). This means it is very likely to get funded. Her project is called "An Innovative Rehabilitation Approach for Women with Anal Incontinence". It's a 5-year study with a $2.5 million budget. We couldn't be more proud of her. This is VERY hard to do!

This is one of several posts featuring SLU PT Alumni experiences. The Saint Louis University Program in Physical Therapy wants to recognize the exciting and innovative things our alumni are doing, here in St. Louis and around the world. For more information for and about SLU alumni experiences go to: http://www.slu.edu/alumni-and-donors/.