SHRS Blog

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. ...

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. ...

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.

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.

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.

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. ...

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. ...

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.

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.

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.

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! ...

Many practicing PAs who are thinking of applying to our Doctor of PA Studies (DPAS) Program ask about the internship courses in the curriculum. They wonder about the requirements, their options for completing it, and if they can fit this into their already busy work and home lives. At first glance, it probably seems a bit strange that a licensed, practicing clinician would be asked to do an internship. When you consider the purpose and outcome of the internship as part of the DPAS curriculum, you realize the immense value it provides to the DPAS candidate and those they serve in their place of practice.