DPT faculty and students join colleagues for national conference

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Faculty of the Radford University Doctor of Physical Therapy program and doctoral students were among more than 14,000 colleagues at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sessions Meeting in San Antonio Feb. 15-18.

Seven faculty of the Radford University Doctor of Physical Therapy program and ten doctoral students joined more than 14,000 colleagues at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sessions Meeting in San Antonio Feb. 15-18.

The Radford contingent presented two student posters and four faculty posters at the annual event that featured programming in the 18 APTA specialty sections. Among the APTA research sections were sessions devoted to a range of physical therapy topics.

Second-year DPT candidate Cody Bailey co-presented a poster titled “Integrating musculoskeletal ultrasound into a DPT program” with Department Chair Kristen Jagger.

“The presentation made me step out of my comfort zone,” said Bailey. “It was a pleasure, though, to share my perspectives with those who are as passionate about topics related to my field as I am.”

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Second-year DPT candidate Cody Bailey, right, co-presented a poster titled “Integrating musculoskeletal ultrasound into a DPT program” with Department Chair Kristen Jagger, left.

To take advantage of the four days of seminars, symposiums, courses and networking opportunities, the DPT faculty fast-tracked the semester’s curriculum to free up the traveling party and the students were active fund-raisers.

“We were able to introduce the students to research that broke new ground or reviewed current best practices,” Jagger said. “It was a valuable opportunity to reinforce the reality of lifelong learning and professional development in this field.”

Jagger said the experience added context for the rigorous program that is housed on the on the eighth floor of the Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke.

“This was an amazing conference for our students to attend. The authors of the books and journal articles that our students read were there and accessible for one-on-one conversations about the field and the research,” Jagger said.

Andrea Stanley, a second year DPT candidate, was delighted to immerse herself in her field with professional colleagues and fellow students. 

“The conference gave me a chance to complement my academic and clinical work with very topical conversations,” she said.

Mar 28, 2017
Don Bowman
(540) 831-5182
dbowman@radford.edu