Kim Nixon-Cave

Dr. Kim Nixon-Cave is a professor and program director for the hybrid DPT program. She is an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh PT program and has a PhD in education from Temple University. Prior to joining the Pitt faculty, she was the program director for the DPT program and executive director for post professional and continuing education programs at Thomas Jefferson University. She is a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA and is a ABPTS board-certified pediatric clinical specialist. She practices as a clinician at Jefferson Health System in pediatrics, neonatal intensive care unit. Her experience includes manager of the PT Department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She has held several faculty appointments: Temple University (program director and interim chair), associate professor at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, associate faculty at Arcadia University and visiting professor at University of Montana. 

Nixon-Cave participated in the development of entry-level and residency PT programs including residencies in pediatric, neurologic, orthopedic and a neonatology fellowship program. Over the last several years she has developed educational content for entry-level and residency programs focused on clinical reasoning. She has served the profession at the national and local level, serving on American Board of Physical Therapist Specialties (ABPTS) as (chair), American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education (ABPTRFE), American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT) and numerous committees and task forces including currently servicing on the APTA Pennsylvania Chapter Minority Affairs Committee, and is recognized by APTA as an Innovator for changes in PT practice as it relates to changing health care reform. Nixon-Cave’s academic and clinical focus has been on cultural diversity issues, clinician/faculty development, developing clinical programs and protocols for diverse patient populations. Nixon-Cave is a trained qualitative researcher and has conducted and participated in research projects that utilize mixed methodologies. Her record of scholarship, publications and presentations has focused on program and curriculum development as well as developing reflective practitioners with a focus on clinical reasoning and contextual culturally responsive clinical decision-making for a diverse patient population.