In the month of October the physical therapy, occupational therapy and
physician assistant students joined forces for four important events for
each program.
On October 20th, the Doctor of Physical Therapy program held their annual
mock court case to determine the fate of a physical therapist alleged to
have committed malpractice. This year, the physician assistant students
participated with both PT and PA groups playing the roles of witness and
jurors. Clinical Professor, Stacey Zeigler, runs the court case as part of
the PT645 course and states, ³this year was definitely special and more
meaningful with the camaraderie and perspectives of both groups who will
face many of the same challenges when it comes to the law and healthcare in
their futures.²
The Occupational Therapy program organized and ran the Assistive Technology
Expo held at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, NY on October 26 and 27th.
This event is a large interprofessional conference that is a very unique
continuing education opportunity and this year marks the first year the
event was offered as an Occupational Therapy department initiative. The OT
and PT students were critical in event management of each day while also
learning from speakers and colleagues in the field. ³This was a good way to
highlight the unique contributions of occupational therapy while exploring
new ways we now see we can collaborate across disciplines,² said Rebecca
Ballard, first year OT student.
On October 28th, Clarkson Hall was invaded by pirates, walking cupcakes,
princesses, spiders, wizards, ScoobyDoo and fire-fighter puppies! The 3 year
olds in the Smart Cookie enrichment program, a collaborative incubated
business and research lab, visited Clarkson Hall in costume, receiving
treats from the PA, PT, and OT program¹s staff and students. They ended in
the OT Pediatric Sensory Gym, munching on their treats and interacting with
graduate students.
The month ended with the Physician Assistant program¹s Haunted Infirmary to
benefit the future PA mission trip to the Dominican Republic. This event
took the participation of all three programs¹ students in order to make it a
success. Michael Keyes, PA Student, reported that ³this year the Haunted
Infirmary generated over $9,000, and with help from some of the PT and OT
students, the PA Program was able to provide an amazingly scary and fun
experience for the community while simultaneously raising funds for the
medical mission trip.²
The three health profession programs at Clarkson University look forward to
continued work together to benefit their learning, their future, and their
community. As Srishti Bajaj, third year DPT student summarized,
³healthcare needs leaders and through our collaborative efforts, we are all
learning great leadership skills.²
