Top Stories of 2020

As we close out another year we want to look back to some of the top stories of 2020 for our School.  They are in no particular order and reflect the top stories read on our website and social media based on views.

New School Director announced

Douglas Haladay, PT, DPT, PhD, CSCS was appointed director of the University of South Florida (USF) School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences (SPT&RS) and associate dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine (MCOM) in early March 2020. To read more visit HERE.

Dr. Swisher Retires and is Awarded Professor Emeritus

After 21+ years at USF Health and our school, Dr. Swisher retired this past summer. Shortly after her retirement President Currall awarded her our second Professor Emeritus title. To learn more about her retirement visit HERE.

 Class of 2023 Virtual Orientation

Due to the ongoing Covid19 pandemic, we had to switch our incoming class of 2023 orientation to a virtual format via MS Teams. Our staff and faculty got creative and planned an educational and fun Wizarding World of Physical Therapy orientation (Harry Potter Themed). The incoming class was “sorted” into various houses who earned points throughout the week by participating, turning in items, two trivia events, and a final jeopardy session. Throughout the week staff, faculty, and others at USF & USF Health provided educational sessions to help our students successfully transition to our school and the DPT program.

Class of 2020 Graduation

Our School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences (SPT&RS) Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Class of 2020 celebrated their graduation on August 7-8, 2020 virtually via our annual Graduation Celebration and the USF Summer Commencement. We welcomed forty new Doctor of Physical Therapy graduates to our alumni network, which is now over 890 alums between our DPT, Masters of Physical Therapy, and our Transitional DPT program. This class came in during the Fall of 2017, which created some uniqueness due to Hurricane Irma. They then also finished the program this year dealing with Covid19, and the new scenarios and challenges it presented. Having to deal with so many unique challenges and hurdles, these graduates are uniquely prepared for the adversity and new challenges they will face as practicing physical therapists. To read more visit HERE.

Top 50 DPT Program

Our School made significant gains in this year’s rankings from U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News), along with other USF Health programs.

In the U.S. News 2021 Best Graduate Schools list released March 17, the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Taneja College of Pharmacy, and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences all moved up in rank. These improvements all highlight advances USF Health has experienced on the national stage, especially over the past five years. Our School advanced to number 49 in the country. To learn more visit HERE.

SPT&RS Student Scholarships for 2019-2020

Due to our current remote working and learning situation, we awarded our 2019-2020 Scholarships virtually. The USF School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences (SPT&RS) Awards and Scholarship Committee notified this year’s scholarship recipients on March 23. Our School scholarships are competitive and are awarded based on academic, professional, and clinical excellence. Some of our scholarships also have specific requirements based on donor requests and the scholarship’s purpose. For example, our CORA Scholarship is to be awarded to a DPT student who shows interest in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy.  Each year our Awards and Scholarship committee meets to discuss and review applications to determine which students will be awarded a SPT&RS scholarship. To learn more visit HERE.

USF Health Research Day & Capstone Presentations

On Friday, February 21, 2020, our Class of 2020 students presented their research posters at the annual USF Health Research Day. The event is a time for USF Health students, faculty, and staff to present their research to our local community. To learn more visit HERE.

In October 2020, the class of 2021 presented their capstone projects to faculty, fellow students, and community members as part of National PT Month.  The Capstone Seminar in Physical Therapy course provides an opportunity for third-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students to develop a tailored learning experience involving professional peer mentoring, education or research, and evidence-based practice. The goal is to create a systematic review that can be disseminated. To learn more visit HERE.

Glimpse into taking Hybrid Classes & Virtual CE

Typically during the summer, our rising third years would have entered their first clinical education (CE) rotation, but due to Covid19, we had to quickly adjust to accommodate changes.  Our Director of Clinical Education and faculty worked together to put together a virtual CE course over the summer for our class of 2021 to ensure they were still maintaining and learning important skills. The virtual CE consisted of online physical therapy cases the students worked through, and then also virtual telehealth simulations as pictured above. During the virtual telehealth simulations, students were able to connect with standardized patients and provided evaluations to them via Microsoft Teams. The students also documented their information in an electronic medical record (EMR) system.

Faculty receive $40,000 Foundation of Physical Therapy Research Grant

Douglas Haladay, PT, DPT, PhD and a multisite team, which includes several of our faculty members, were selected by the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Board of Trustees to receive the 2020 Physical Therapy Education Research Grant in the amount of $40,000 for their work entitled “Development of a Novel Evidence-Based Practice-specific Entrustable Professional Activity for Doctor of Physical Therapy Student Clinical Education.”  To learn more visit HERE.

Quarantine Videos

Another fun adventure we did while working and learning remotely was our video challenges. Our faculty & staff wanted to create a fun video/rap to bring about some laughter and smiles, but then each of our DPT classes stepped up with their own videos.
We encourage you to take a few minutes and watch each ~3-minute video to relax, laugh a bit, and enjoy some PT fun & humor!
Faculty & Staff “Old Fletcher Rd”:
Class of 2022 Video “Pass the Goni”
Class of 2021 Video “EmPTy School”
Class of 2020 Video “Fridge Challenge”