School Of Health Professions News: Summer 2024
Faculty Earn Humanitarian Award, Train CPTIs In East Africa, And Publish Research
In August 2024, the Virginia Academy of PAs awarded Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies Michelle Gruver, D.M.Sc., with the Dr. James Cannon Humanitarian of the Year Award. This marks her as the award’s inaugural recipient.
In other news, Adjunct Associate Professor and Coordinator of Adaptive Sports in Clinical Education Melissa Wolff-Burke, Ed.D., recently returned from a week-long trip to Nairobi, Kenya. Working alongside Jennifer Bell, D.Sc., of Tufts University-Phoenix, Dr. Wolff-Burke led a clinical instructor training course during the trip. The course’s goals were to improve PT student clinical education in Kenya, Uganda, and other parts of East Africa, as well as to teach current PT students how to train future students.
By the end of the trip, Wolff-Burke and Dr. Bell trained 47 Certified Physiotherapy Clinical Instructors (CPTIs) in Kenya and one in Uganda. For Wolff-Burke, the course was a humbling teaching and learning experience, and she felt inspired by the PTs’ enthusiasm for the work ahead. The School of Health Professions thanks the Jackson Clinic Foundation, the Physiotherapy Council of Kenya, and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology for making this program possible. To learn more, contact Wolff-Burke at mwolff@su.edu.
Additionally, SU graduate and Assistant Professor Lindsay Leigh, PP-OTD, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Alysha Skuthan, Ph.D., recently published research exploring the connection between IVF treatments and occupational balance. Dr. Leigh felt inspired to explore this topic thanks to her lived experience. She also created @FunctionalNestLLC, in which she provides occupational therapy services and promotes occupational balance through every step of life. Read Leigh and Dr. Skuthan’s full research article online at Sage Journals.
Stephanie Bernard, Ed.D., associate professor and associate director of the Division of Physician Assistant Studies, also had her research published this summer. She co-wrote the article “Impact of a Novel Asynchronous Nutrition Course on Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy of Physician Assistant Students” with Shenandoah Associate Professor of Quantitative Methods Sarah R. Daniel, Ph.D. Read the full article in the Journal of Physician Assistant Education.
– Written by Natalie Gales ’26
