APTA Level 1 & 2 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Course and SLU Physical Therapy

Dr. Carol Beckel, PT, Ph.D., taught the APTA Level 1 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Course on November 13 & 14, 2021 in a closed course for 30 clinical instructors at Advanced Training and Rehab (ATR). The Level 1 course assist clinicians in developing teaching skills to supervise PT and PTA students during clinical placements. SLU faculty offers trainers for either Level 1 or Level 2 Clinical Instructor Credentialing Courses. The Level 2 course aids in developing the clinical curriculum at clinical sites. If you are interested in these courses, contact us at slu_pt_clin_ed@health.slu.edu.

SLU PT student Bea Nottke (DPT Class of 2022), as part of Geriatric Seminar, WON the NATIONAL Geriatric Case Competition!

All Geriatric Seminar students participated in this year's Fall 2021 Interprofessional Geriatric Virtual Case Competition. They were assigned to interprofessional teams which focused on the development of a care plan for an older patient with multiple, chronic health challenges, including COVID-19. 

Fall 2021 Inter-University Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition Winners Announced

The students created an innovative 20-minute pre-recorded electronic case presentation. Students had one month to prepare their recorded presentations with the top three teams advancing to a local semi-final round. 

The top-rated team from each semi-final round compete via live Zoom with the winning team from the University of Minnesota Geriatric Workforce Enhancement program on Monday, November 1, 2021. 

Bea Nottke was the student physical therapist on the winning team!  Sydney Phelan and Hannah Schumacher were on two teams that tied for second place in the semi-final round.

You can watch the winning presentation below:

Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition 2021 - SLU Team Part 1

Interprofessional Geriatric Case Competition 2021 - SLU Team Part 2

Drs. Jill FitzGerald and Kelly Hawthorne also served as faculty mentor/coaches.  

You can learn more about the competition on the University of Minnesota website.

The Geriatrics Seminar is offered as an elective physical therapy course in the fall semester of the third year of the professional phase. It explores the causes of frailty in older adults and the financial burden in the U.S. of obtaining healthcare for this population. The course then explores services available to help frail older adults maximize their physical and psychosocial independence within the community and within institutions. The course consists of lectures, interviews, and site visits in the St. Louis area.

SLU PT and MD Students Engage in Research to Keep Student-Athletes Safe

Several undergraduate and graduate Physical Therapy and Medical students at Saint Louis University have seized the opportunity to work part-time and gain research experience in Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye’s lab.

Student assistants: Jemma Kim, Meena Chetty, Mark Moyer, Dr. Oluwatoyosi (Olu) Owoeye, Natania Nguyen, Ian Modde – Not pictured: Emily Redpath, Kendall Cunningham, Michael Illes, Abigail Frech

Jemma Kim (Class of 2023), one of the student project leads, conducting an isometric strength test on a student athlete's quadriceps muscle during a baseline testing session.  Jemma is also a co-author on a systematic review in preparation for Dr. Owoeye's lab.

The students have had the opportunity to assist Dr. Owoeye with enrolling participants, conducting baseline testing, data collection and management, and results dissemination for the RICHLoad project. The RICHLoad Project (Reducing Injuries among College atHletes through Load management) aims to investigate the relationship between weekly cumulative load (i.e., training, practice and game load) and musculoskeletal injury risk among soccer and basketball student-athletes using a multivariable prediction model (which considers other established risk factors for injury). Among other novel findings, the project will determine reference values for “safe” cumulative load thresholds that will be used to develop an algorithm in collaboration with the Computer Science Department for the RICHLoad Software.  This algorithm will comprise a mobile app and an athlete monitoring dashboard that will be implemented and evaluated in subsequent collegiate soccer and basketball seasons. Ultimately, the RICHLoad Software will guide coaches and medical staff in evidence-informed load management decisions and related interventions to minimize fatigue, reduce the risk of injury, and maximize performance among student-athletes. Further information about the RICHLoad Project and the preliminary RICHLoad - SLU data collection app can be found here.

This RICHLoad Project is a multidisciplinary and collaborative project and has required the assistance of many from the St. Louis community. Co-investigators include Dr. Jamil Neme (team physician for the Saint Louis Billikens) from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Dr. Flavio Esposito from the Computer Science Department & School of Engineering, Dr. Paula Buchanan from the Center for Health Outcomes Research and Dr. Anthony Breitbach from the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Robert Hornnet from the Department of Athletics and Andy Florian Irakoze from the Computer Science Department. This project has partnered with SLU and Harris Stowe Athletics and has received funding through the Applied Health Research Grant. Dr. Owoeye is the principal investigator on the RICHLoad Project and he directs the Injury Prevention and Health Promotion (P2) Lab within the Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Department.

SLU SSM Health Physical Therapy Residency Graduate and SLU Alum Dr. Greg Judice Designs Online Coursework for Patients

SLU SSM Health Physical Therapy Residency Spotlight - Greg Judice, PT, DPT, OCS

Since graduating from the Residency in 2017, Dr. Greg Judice earned ABPTS Board Certification in Orthopedics and founded Judice Sports and Rehab. Dr. Judice, a SLU DPT alum from 2014, is a member of the Residency faculty through his remote mentoring and his shared experiences on the annual entrepreneurialism panel.  Dr. Judice is innovative in his physical therapy services including blogs and podcasts.  His newest venture is the development of online coursework to serve his patients.  For this venture, he is interested in working with SLU DPT students (see flyer below).  

The SLU-SSM Health Physical Therapy Orthopedic Residency Program is an accelerated post-licensure program to advance the orthopedic skills of physical therapists. It is the only ABPTRFE accredited orthopedic physical therapy residency in Missouri. Founded and accredited in 2014-2015, this unique collaboration between Saint Louis University Program in Physical Therapy and SSM Health Physical Therapy currently has 3 Residents and has graduated 16 licensed physical therapists. In addition to clinical practice and teaching in the entry-level DPT program, each resident completes over 150 hours of mentoring and over 300 hours of educational experiences.

For more information on the program, visit https://www.slu.edu/doisy/degrees/ssm-residency.php or contact the Residency Program Director, Dr. Chris Sebelski at chris.sebelski@health.slu.edu.