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