Show and tell

By Jill Pease

Nicholas DiSarro talks with Dr. Steven George./Photo by Jesse S. Jones

Third-year physical therapy students had one more assignment before their graduation this spring. They presented posters based on data collected during their research or clinical experiences as students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, a clinical doctoral degree that serves as the entry-level degree for practicing

physical therapists.

Kacie Smith listens to Shirfa Leopold explaining her research./Photo by Jesse S. Jones

“Students work with a faculty mentor who provides feedback on a written paper and then the students take that and develop a poster,” said Steven George, Ph.D., an associate professor and assistant chair of PHHP’s department of physical therapy, who oversaw the students’ final class projects. “The goal is to have the posters meet the quality of what would be presented at a scientific conference.”

The D.P.T. students presented on a wide range of topics, including psychological influence on rehabilitation outcomes, use of manual therapy by physical therapists, use of novel treatment techniques for patients with chronic pain, different shoes’ impact on running parameters and interventions used in recovery of walking after a stroke.