SHRS Blog

My name is Dani Cake and I am a current Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS). I obtained my undergraduate degree in Rehabilitation Science at SHRS in December of 2021 with a certificate in Psycho-Social Issues in Rehabilitation and Personal Care.

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) is proud to announce that distinguished professor and founder and director of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), Rory Cooper, has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by U.S. President Joe Biden during the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation ceremony at the White House. The medal is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement.

The University of Pittsburgh Athletic Training program is proud to announce that the recipient of the inaugural Preceptor of the Year award is Clinical Instructor John “JP” Panos. This award has been established to recognize clinical preceptors who serve as exceptional mentors and instructors, and exemplify an unwavering commitment to excellence in the clinical education of athletic training (AT) students.

“The Bridging the Gaps (BTG) program has been a cornerstone for change and learning, offering me an immersive experience in community service while directly impacting underserved communities,” said Mengjun (Kate) Wang, a second-year Sports Medicine student.

Wang referred to her involvement with the BTG Internship this summer as a “transformational journey” after the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) had its first-ever involvement with the program, organized by Pitt’s School of Public Health.

If you would have asked me when I graduated from physician assistant (PA) school in 2006 if I'd ever go back to school, I would have resoundingly said, “No way!”  If you would have asked me the same question just a year and a half ago when I continued to be a clinically practicing PA, I again would have said, “No way!”

However, you never quite know where life is going to take you.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) continues to forge its reputation as one of the leading academic departments impacting the physician assistant (PA) profession. School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) Vice Dean and PAS Associate Professor David C. Beck has been named the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Physician Assistant of the Year, which honors a PA who has demonstrated exemplary service to the profession and the community, and has furthered the image of PAs.

Thinking about applying to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences’ Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program this fall?

We want you to know that you have a support system to help you through the application process and to answer all your questions about Occupational Therapy at Pitt. Start chatting with the enrollment specialist, and then you may meet the other familiar faces on the admissions team!

Second-year Doctor of Physical Therapy Hybrid student Amanda Klein is completing a 15-week clinical education experience in Bethesda, Maryland, and is providing updates on her experience and what she’s been learning!

Assistant Professor Allyn Bove (SHRS ’20) became interested in studying health disparities while observing the needs of patients in a free New York City medical clinic during her physical therapy education at Columbia University. After returning to Pittsburgh and working in a private practice that offered frequent pro bono physical therapy services to uninsured patients, she became passionate about the topic and decided to pursue a PhD at the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS). The program combined her interests in arthritis and joint replacement with her growing dedication to understand and address health disparities.

Professor Kelley Fitzgerald recently retired after spending 25 years as a faculty member in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Physical Therapy. Kelley was a professor within the Clinical and Translational Research Institute, founder and inaugural director of the University of Pittsburgh Physical Therapy Clinical and Translational Research Center (PT-CTRC) and associate dean of Graduate Studies in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS).

Second-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Hybrid student Amanda Klein from Spokane, WA, has started her third of four clinical education placements in the DPT program this summer. Klein, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was awarded a special clinical education placement at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, and is writing a short blog series about her experience. Her insight is valuable to any student preparing for their clinical education placement, whether in another city or in their hometown!

For students in health care fields, obtaining experience in a clinical setting is a cornerstone of their academic journey where they can finally put their coursework into real-world practice. In the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, residential and hybrid students are required to complete 42 weeks of full-time clinical experiences over the seven terms of their program. This includes at least one inpatient and multiple outpatient clinical experiences where they will learn to support a variety of patient populations. The clinicals are a progression of their learning experience as students take the foundation they’ve learned at Pitt and build on it by learning from clinicians outside of the DPT program.