Pitt OT Adjunct Instructor Megan Kenney (MOT ‘12)
Congratulations to Pitt Department of Occupational Therapy Adjunct Instructor Megan (Driscoll) Kenney (MOT ’12) who is on the move within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This year, Kenney will be one of only two occupational therapists (OT) to ever join the Biopsychosocial Pain Care Mentoring Team at the VA. This is in conjunction with her current role at the VA working as a chronic pain clinic specialist. Kenney has been with the VA since January 2023.
As one of the first OTs to join the team, Kenney will be working as a biopsychosocial pain care mentor. Kenney will join with another OT from the VA in Orlando to bring the total number of this interdisciplinary team to 12. This nationally assembled team was gathered to work as consultants/mentors to improve education to providers treating veterans with chronic pain in rural VA sites. The program has three primary objectives:
- Expand access to skilled biopsychosocial approaches to pain care for rural veterans that can be delivered via in-person or virtual modalities.
- Increase competence of physical and occupational therapists serving veterans in rural areas to use evidence-based pain care strategies for assessment, treatment planning and care plan execution.
- Establish a mentorship network of health care providers to support diffusion and sustainability of evidence-based biopsychosocial pain care across disciplines to narrow gap in pain care based on location.
Kenney and the team will commence their first duties during a weeklong meeting in Los Angeles later this year.
Published December 4, 2023