SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Elanna Arhos, PT, DPT, PhD

SLU PT Alumni Spotlight - Elanna Arhos, PT, DPT, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The Ohio State University

Hometown: Chicago, IL
Current Town/City: Columbus, OH

SLU DPT Class of 2018

Interests, Activities, Clubs, and Professional Organizations

Professionally, I am involved in the APTA, specifically as the Education Chair for the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy Knee SIG and on the membership committee for the Academy of Physical Therapy Research. Outside of work, I love to travel and explore new cities, spend time with friends and family, run, and read.

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

Clinical Gait - I loved learning about the biomechanics of gait, different ways to measure movement in a motion analysis lab, and thinking through interventions to address gait pathology. It was my first peek into clinical research and is the foundation of my research focuses today.

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

I will always be grateful for the way that SLU approached PT education. There was such a clear emphasis on patient-centered care, and I felt that above all I graduated as a well-trained, empathetic clinician. From the beginning of undergrad, we were encouraged to be ‘men and women for others,’ and that truly showed throughout all 6 years I was there. These values have stayed with me as I move through my career, keeping the patient at the center of why I do what I do. For me, this means striving to deliver quality, patient-centered evidence that will ultimately improve the lives of patients.

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

Be open-minded, keep learning, and put yourself out there. A lot of the experiences I’ve been involved in after graduating from SLU PT have been because of conversations I’ve had at conferences, cold-call emails I sent, and being open to new opportunities. We have such an amazing profession and there are so many different places within PT to make a difference. The center of our profession is patient care, but there is also research, residency training, education, advocacy efforts with regulatory agencies, and so much more. Without all these pieces our profession would not continue to be promoted within the public health space. Talk to people you see in positions that interest you and stay flexible- you never know where your career path will take you.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

My experiences at SLU set the course for my career, and I am so thankful for the faculty there who guided me as I was navigating my way through PT school. It was because of early mentorship in my time there that I had the vision to apply to do my PhD and move towards the clinical research career I find so much joy in today. 

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/.