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May 17, 2023

Sorting through various programs? Not sure which program is right for you?  Hear from our students about their experience in the PA Studies program at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) and how it could be right for you, too!

 

May 10, 2023

Upon acceptance into the University of Pittsburgh Health Informatics (HI) undergraduate program my sophomore year, I really had no idea what to expect. I figured maybe I’d end up part of hospital management or--best case scenario--become a hospital administrator. The program enabled me to dive deeper into an industry I didn’t think I would be capable of working in, and I had no idea I could become a data analyst. Throughout my first semester of study, I realized that I was gaining the credentials to sit in meetings with managers and partners in the consulting world.

May 10, 2023

There are many paths you can take with your master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Pitt. While our program has evolved slightly since this featured alumna graduated; a degree from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (Counseling) program at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) can prepare you for similar career outcomes.

May 9, 2023

Medical ultrasound imaging has been a reliable diagnostic tool for more than 50 years. But recent developments have changed the way the technology looks, the way it is used—and who is using it.

May 3, 2023

Pitt DPT Hybrid Program Director Kim Nixon-Cave, a Pitt PT alumna herself, was hired in January 2021 to helm the design of the new DPT Hybrid program. Her PhD in Education reinforced the importance of continual learning for health care professionals, and she worked as program director for several PT programs as well as the director of clinical education and department chair. She has been a consultant for PT programs going through accreditation as well as for developing smaller hybrid programs. Having faced her own DEI challenges in school and as a health care provider, Nixon-Cave was looking for innovative ways to influence the education of physical therapists. ...

May 1, 2023

It all starts as a good old cheesy story: growing up, I always found it interesting to hear people’s stories, comfort my peers and help sort things out. When it was time to go to college, my family and I decided that I would study abroad here in the United States. I am originally from mainland China, more specifically from the province Nei Mongol. When I got to the United States, I studied at​ ​Carroll University in Wisconsin and received my undergraduate degree in psychology and later added a second major in graphic design to further explore my other interests. ...

April 27, 2023

Associate Professor David C. Beck is being welcomed as the new School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) vice dean after a successful record as a leader in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) and as associate dean of the Center for Interprofessional Studies (CIP). Beck arrived at Pitt in 2009 as an assistant professor in the PAS program, then over the years became director of its on-campus and hybrid PAS programs and the inaugural chair of the PAS department in 2019.

April 19, 2023

One of the most exciting aspects of attending a university is learning from faculty who have been part of the evolution of their profession since they were students themselves. Department of Health Information Management (HIM) Assistant Professor Patti Anania-Firouzan’s career in health data began in the late 1970s when she was a new undergraduate student at Pitt. She believes that her journey is similar to many people who found themselves in health records administration (HRA). She had come to the university hoping to become an elementary school teacher, but at the time that career was difficult for a young person to break into. As many an undergraduate can relate to, she pondered other academic options trying to find a career path where she felt she belonged. ...

April 19, 2023

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disorder that manifests as a cluster of symptoms that affect language skills, particularly reading. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Haifa applied computational models to determine how learners with dyslexia categorize auditory information. The results are available in the February issue of the Psychological Science. ...

April 17, 2023

Sarah Arend, master's degree student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) program, noticed that graduate students in health sciences programs spend so much time focusing on their studies and caring for others that they often neglect their own personal wellness needs. Some further investigation and research backed up this observation, showing that the pressure of completing a graduate degree can result in a variety of adverse outcomes, including burnout. Arend saw the Pitt Year of Emotional Well-Being funding opportunity, with its focus on restoring and enhancing our emotional well-being, as a way to address this problem.

April 10, 2023

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences has a new department–our ninth! The Department of Counseling and Behavioral Health includes the existing Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, and moves from its current home under the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology. ...

April 7, 2023

The Olympic Games are considered the pinnacle of achievement for elite athletes, and the support teams that ensure they can perform at the highest level are also some of the best in the world. Like the athletes they care for, athletic trainers must put in their own hard-earned years of proficiency and intensity to give their athletes the competitive edge to excel and to win. Jamie Flynn, a graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh Sports Medicine program, has her eyes set on supporting athletes at the Olympic Games and is making the most of her experience at Pitt to reach that goal.

April 3, 2023

While completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Maine in biomedical engineering, I discovered my passion for rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology. I had the opportunity to design and construct a pressure-alternating wheelchair cushion prototype for my senior capstone project. ...

April 3, 2023

Assistant Professor Nancy Gauvin is the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences’ new associate dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement. Gauvin is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) and tenure-stream faculty in the school’s Department of Communication Science and Disorders (CSD) who has experience leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout her clinical and academic career.

March 28, 2023

Many people like to celebrate Pi Day musing about their favorite number and eating lots of pie, but the Pitt Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) residential students have started a new tradition: holding a fundraiser by throwing pies at their favorite faculty. ...

March 27, 2023

Exciting things have happened to me professionally since joining Pitt’s online Doctor of Clinical Science (CScD) in Occupational Therapy program in fall 2021. In early March, I returned home to Georgia after presenting a scoping review at the Western Regional Occupational Therapy Spring Symposium (WROTSS) in Las Vegas. I first learned about scoping reviews during the CScD Evidence Analysis and Synthesis course last summer. ...

March 23, 2023

Assistant Professor Cara Lekovitch is intimately familiar with the impact of mentoring in the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Clinical Science (CScD) in Occupational Therapy (OT) program. After twelve years of occupational therapy clinical practice with older adults, in 2019 Lekovitch made the leap back into the role as a student in the CScD in OT program where she leaned into her Pitt faculty mentors to help learn how to balance school, a full-time job, and her role as a wife and mother of three children. ...

March 22, 2023

When the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Hybrid students gather in-person for the immersion experiences, they aren’t coming together to just check off boxes from the program’s curriculum and move themselves one step closer to graduation. As they start to arrive and see each other in the hallway, it’s all high-pitched whoops, backslaps and running hugs as they celebrate reuniting with members of their DPT Hybrid family who have become an integral part of their learning community. ...

March 20, 2023

Jennifer S. White, assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy (OT), is one of five Health Sciences faculty who recently completed the inaugural Social Justice Faculty Fellowship program developed by the Office of Health Sciences Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The fellowship pairs one faculty member from each of the Pitt Health Sciences schools with a community organization for a 10-month project to address inequities relative to the health and well-being of the community-at-large.

March 13, 2023

After practicing clinically in family medicine for the past eleven years, PA Erin Jones (DPAS ‘23) recognized that to continue practicing medicine at the highest level and provide superior patient care, she needed to expand her knowledge, network and engage with others, gain leadership skills and become a mentor and an educator herself.  ...

March 9, 2023

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) mourns the loss of Department of Physical Therapy Professor Emeritus George Carvell who passed away at the age of 77 on Sunday, March 5. Carvell had recently retired after 47 years of teaching neuroscience in SHRS’ Physical Therapy (PT) and undergraduate Rehabilitation Science programs.

March 9, 2023

Twice a semester, students in the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Hybrid program come to Pittsburgh from across the country for six to nine days of intensive hands-on learning. The “immersion experience,” as it is known, is spent fine-tuning and perfecting what they’ve learned with their instructors online and practiced at home, as well as learning new skills that can only be introduced during the in-person sessions, all while forming lifelong bonds with their fellow students and future colleagues.  ...

March 7, 2023

Karlyn Rupert is a physician assistant who’s been practicing for 11 years and currently works in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Pittsburgh. She completed her PA training at Chatham University and graduated in 2012. She has worked in oncology, in both bone marrow transplant and outpatient breast medical oncology. Here’s how the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Physician Assistant Studies (DPAS) program is helping her make a difference.

March 7, 2023

My name is Sarah, and I am a 2012 graduate of the Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program* at Pitt. I am currently a Disability Specialist in the Department of Disability Resources and Services at the University of Pittsburgh (I just couldn’t stay away!). Prior to my current position I spent 10 1/2 years with Main Line Rehab/NeuroRestorative. If it wasn’t for my time in the Rehab Counseling program, I would not have been prepared to take on my roles in these organizations.  

March 2, 2023

During one of the information sessions for the Master of Rehabilitation Technology (MRT) program, the MRT faculty and SHRS enrollment team introduced prospective students to recent MRT graduates to discuss the program’s curriculum, online learning and quality of education. We agree with our graduates that these are the top reasons why MRT at Pitt could be for you and the way to launch your next bold move into the world of rehabilitation technology! ...