It has been another busy fall
for the Cleveland State University DPT Program. Following the retirement of Dr. Karen O’Loughin, we have welcomed
our new Program Director, Dr. Suzanne Giuffre. Many of you in clinical education may already know her, as
she was the former Director of Clinical Education at Youngstown State
University. She officially
began with us on July 1st, but has really been integrating more into
our program over the past few months.
Since joining us, she has already begun numerous initiatives including
establishing a Pre-PT Club on campus and work on a new alumni newsletter. We are grateful to Dr. O’Loughlin for
her lasting contributions to our program, and we are also excited for Dr.
Giuffre’s fresh perspective for our future!
Thanks in large part to the
generosity of you - our clinical partners, CSU DPT third-year students
completed their Applied PT IV placements in mid-October. They are now finishing up their Applied
PT V elective practica and preparing for graduation in December. For those of you who are still
unfamiliar with our Applied PT V practica, these are individually designed
placements that allow students who have already reached entry-level practice in
Applied PT IV to explore an area of special interest, while also contributing
to the clinical facility. The goal
of these placements is really to be a “win-win” for both the student and the clinical
site. As a part of this placement,
each student must create some sort of final “project/product” that is designed
in collaboration with the clinical supervisor to be something that can benefit
the site. Applied PT V placements
may occur in clinical research, administration & management, program
development/evaluation, or specialized clinical practice environments, eg.,
pediatrics, school settings, geriatrics, sports medicine, women’s health,
chronic pain, vestibular rehab, among others. Examples of past projects have included: production of marketing materials for
PT practices and special programs, development of clinical-practice guidelines,
generation of a database to track patient outcomes, completion of portions of
research projects that have culminated in peer-reviewed presentations, and
more. If you are interested in
considering Applied PT V in the future, we would be happy to talk to you to
answer individual questions and brainstorm how it might work in your
facility. Please feel free to
contact me as the Director of Clinical Education at k.vitak@csuohio.edu, or Dr. Jane
Keehan who coordinates these placements at j.keehan@csuohio.edu.
We were excited to have many clinical instructors join us at our
annual Prestige Speaker Event in October where former faculty member Dr. Vanina
Dal Bello-Haas returned from Canada as our honoree. Among many award recipients that night, Dr. Anthony
DiFilippo and Dr. Edie Benner were given the Viking Award for their
contributions to our program,
including to the clinical education of numerous students. We hope that you will consider joining
us in future years, and remember that we extend complimentary invitations to
all clinical instructors who have worked with our students in the year of the
event.
Finally, as we head into the holiday season, please accept our
sincerest gratitude for your efforts with our students! We cannot say thank you enough
for all you give to our program.
Happy Holidays!
2015 Viking Award Winners- Dr. Anthony DiFilippo and Dr. Edie Benner
