DCE - Last Day on the Road

Dr. Beckel finished her final clinical site visit today with Children's Hospital of New Orleans. Even though she visited this site the last time CSM was in New Orleans, it was hard to recognize as there is certainly a growth spurt in progress.

In the next 5 year, Children's will complete a parking garage, a 6 floor patient care tower, and new rehab space in that tower! Children's offers students acute, rehab, and OP pediatric opportunities.

As a regional facility, Children's Hospital of New Orleans treats all children regardless of their ability to pay. Dr. Beckel checked into her final hotel for the trip!

DCE on the Road - Baton Rouge to Kenner

Dr. Beckel completed 3 more visits on 2/20. She visited with the staff at McMains Development Center and learned about the incredible pediatric care provided at this facility since the early 1950's.

She then visited with clinicians at the Moreau Physical Therapy clinic in Central City. She learned about how different each Moreau clinic is in terms of services offered and patient conditions.

After grabbing a wonderful shrimp Po'Boy at Carlton's and visiting with some wonderful local residents, she headed east to Kenner to visit with the Center Coordinator at Concentra Medical Center.

Concentra locations are always a wonderful location to collaborate with the occupational medicine physicians, learn to care for acute injuries, and advance their manual skills.

While in Kenner, Dr. Beckel discovered the location for the first prize fight held in the U.S. She never knows what she will find along the highway in between her visits!

Notes from the DCE on the Road - Louisiana Version!

Dr. Beckel hit the road on Sunday ahead of 2018 CSM in New Orleans to visit with clinical sites in Louisiana. Oday Lavergne, owner of Agilus Health, and his family hosted Carol on Sunday night for her first ever crawfish boil. 

She then visited current PYIII students Claire Rimmele and Caity Duke as well as 2017 alum Annalise Rolfes on Monday morning. Many thanks to Claire and Caity's CIs, Oday, and Scott Kelley, for a great morning. 

Dr. Beckel then drove south to Lafayette to visit with Our Lady of Lourdes, a community hospital that offers students inpatient acute and rehab as well as outpatient services. 

On to Baton Rouge and New Orleans for visits on the 20th!

SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Timothy J. Nolan, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT

SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Timothy J. Nolan, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT


Staff Physical Therapist, NorthShore University HealthSystem
Faculty in the Fellowship of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy Program,
University of Illinois at Chicago

Hometown: Palatine, IL
Current Town/City: Chicago, IL

SLU DPT Class of 2012

Interests, Activities, Clubs, and Professional Organizations

Personal interests: traveling, running, espresso, and English bulldogs.
Professional Interests: Clinical assessment of strength performance in athletes suffering from shoulder and knee injuries prior to return to sport in the absence of isokinetic equipment. Member of APTA and American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT)

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

The Patient Management courses.
The focus on clinical reasoning and the differential diagnosis process made these courses intellectually stimulating, and I would enjoy the opportunity to teach such a fundamental component of our profession to DPT students.

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

Be comfortable with the gray. - nothing is black and white. As a PT student, I received the "it depends" answer given by the instructors, even though exam testing with multiple-choice options seemed more black and white. This valuable lesson has been instrumental in my clinical practice. As an ortho PT, I saw there were multiple ways to treat, which all arrived at the same end point: achieving the patient's goals.  Additionally, by communicating with my patients that uncertainty exists both in PT and the medical field (i.e. diagnoses or effectiveness of interventions), I build a stronger rapport with the patient, and ultimately, am better positioned to advocate for the individual's desires and goals.

What is your greatest professional accomplishment?

Shaping the minds and skills of novice and skilled practitioners.

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

Always remain teachable. Surround yourself with people who are seeking constant self improvement. In the work environment, find individuals who are attempting to advance their clinical reasoning skills and challenging their own biases. Don't conform to the notion that this is how we do it here - find your own path as a clinician and bring others, who may be stuck in their ways, with you.

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/.

SLU PT Student Enjoys Adventure Down Under During Semester Abroad

SLU PT Study Abroad Opportunity - Goldcoast, Australia
by Kelsey Bequette, DPT Class of 2021

I chose to go to Goldcoast, Australia because I love the beach, the outdoors and adventuring. I also had always wanted to go to Australia and I cannot imagine a better time or opportunity than being able to study abroad there and stay for four months. The flight from LA to Australia took 14 hours and the whole trip took an entire day. I knew if I wanted to go to Australia, due to the amount of time it takes to get there, I would want to be able to stay for an extended period of time.

I expected the weather to be perfect, the people to be friendly and the beaches to be beautiful. All of these things came true! I arrived in Australia in the middle of summer in The States, so it was the middle of the winter in Australia. Therefore, it was not hot weather like expected but the weather on campus was 70 to 80 degrees, sunny and windy almost everyday. The people I met were all great! I was told prior to leaving that I would be surrounded by the friendliest people while I was in Australia. While not everyone was head over heels friendly, the overall experience everywhere I visited deemed that to be true. As for the beaches, they were all amazing. The waves and rips were extremely strong, so you can only swim ‘between the flags’ because that is where lifeguards are watching.

There was not a lot I was nervous for when preparing for this trip. The only thing I can think of was the uncertainty of going somewhere new. However, once I arrived on campus and unpacked my bags, my nerves were gone. Many of my friends headed to Europe were nervous about getting around country to country, mainly due to the language barrier. Lucky for me, Australians speak English! This made it easy for me to communicate, whether that be to use public transportation, decipher maps, order food, etc.

Overall, I was extremely excited to head abroad. I wanted to explore Australia and experience everything it had to offer. I love the outdoors, so I was looking forward to hiking, swimming and being able to constantly be outside.

One thing that surprised me the most was how similar Australia is to America. I was mentally prepared to be thrown into a completely different culture and pace of life, but it was very easy to get used to living in Australia. The main differences that I faced daily were that cars drive on the left side of the road, so you have to look left for cars before you cross the street instead of right, when you walk on the sidewalk you stay to the left and all of the brands are different so getting used to what the grocery stores are called and the different brand names used for different foods and items took some time to get used to.

I was lucky enough to see a lot of highlights of Australia. I spent a weekend camping in the Outback and got to see three major rock structures, one being the infamous Uluru/Ayer’s Rock, and hike around the other two rocks. The indigenous culture was extremely present in the Outback, so I was able to learn a lot more about the history of Australia. It was HOT, but the views, hikes and sleeping under the stars definitely made the trip worth withstanding the heat.

I spent a few days in Sydney, Australia and there I got to see and walk across the Harbor Bridge and I saw and experienced a show in Sydney Opera House. Sitting by the Opera House and overlooking the Harbor Bridge was an experience I will never forget.

I had the opportunity to visit Melbourne and spend a day experiencing the city, followed by two days driving and camping on the great ocean road along the southeastern coast. I saw the road on a tour with twelve other people and we spent the night sleeping in a giant teepee where we had an Australian bbq for dinner with kangaroo burgers. The road was beautiful and the experience unforgettable.

The only real Australian food I had the opportunity to try was kangaroo, a variety of fish Australians eat on the regular, like barramundi, and, most importantly, Tim Tams. Tim Tams are by far the best food Australia has to offer. They are cookies and come in many flavors. When I came home I filled an entire carry on bag with every flavor of Tim Tam and some Wallaby Bites (a granola snack).

Bond University is a campus that hosts a lot of study abroad students, so I did not get to meet tons of Australian students. Study Abroad students live on or in apartments near campus while many Australian students lived at home or in apartments. SLU students live on campus in a dorm that houses mostly other American students. While I did not meet many Australian students, I did get to meet other American students from a variety of universities. If you are looking to spend time outside, seeking adventure, love the beach and want to learn more about life in Australia then Bond University is what you want!

This is one of several posts featuring SLU PT Student study abroad experiences. Because of its unique format, the SLU PT program gives students the ability to study abroad the fall of their junior year. For more information about study abroad experiences at SLU go to: http://www.slu.edu/study-abroad.

SLU PT Student Organizes Feminine Hygiene Product Drive to Benefit Homeless St. Louisans

A Wholehearted “Thank You” 
By Christina Vivit, DPT Class of 2019

To all who came to me with your empowering words, thoughts, donations, and support, THANK YOU for your incredible contribution and support to my feminine hygiene product drive for those experiencing homelessness in our city.

With your contribution, we collected over…
50 boxes of sanitary pads
23 boxes of tampons
14 packs of cleaning cloths and baby wipes
7 packs of resealable zipper bags
5 large packs of new ladies underwear
2 bottles of bath soap

The donations were brought to St. Patrick Center, a local nonprofit organization that works collaboratively within the community to transform homeless services and end chronic homelessness in the St. Louis area. St. Patrick Center provides opportunities for self-sufficiency and dignity to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. They offer resources such as an emergency shelter, safe and affordable housing assistance, employment programs, mental and physical health programs, and support services for veterans.

I would also like to thank Dr. Brooke Kalisiak, PT, DPT, WCS and Legacy Physical Therapy as a partner donor site. Legacy Physical Therapy is a privately owned physical therapy and wellness clinic that offers outpatient services in orthopedics, pelvic floor disorders, and women’s health conditions.
Although menstrual hygiene may be a stigmatized topic, your wholehearted response to the drive reveals a sense of empowerment and care for our St. Louis community. I cannot thank you all enough for your kind words, thoughts, and contribution to the feminine hygiene product drive.


To find out more about St. Patrick Center, you can locate information on their website: www.stpatrickcenter.org
To find out more about Legacy Physical Therapy, you can locate information on their website:
www.legacytherapystl.com 

College is Child's Play for these DPT Students During our Annual Baby Lab

Pediatric Seminar - Baby Lab
Primary Instructor: Mary Jo Davenport, PhD, PT
During baby lab, future doctors of physical therapy learned about typical infant and toddler development while observing children during normal play.

Students enjoyed the opportunity to examine many different questions about how infants and young children of various ages develop, learn, and master gross and fine motor skills.

As each child engaged in various play and movement activities the students analyzed, compared, and discussed how children move at various ages.  This was a also great opportunity for students to compare social, and language skills among infants and toddlers of various ages. 

This lab was made possible with the help of faculty and staff who generously volunteered their adorable children for participation.