On Wednesday, January 12, 2011 the 35 members of the DPT Class of 2013 marked an important step towards becoming physical therapists. They celebrated the start of their clinical education component of the SMU DPT program at the White Coat Ceremony.
Richard Ritter, PT, DPT gave an inspiring and funny keynote speech with "rules" he had picked up working with patients for more than 40 years of clinical practice.
Alta Bates Summit Herrick Campus was honored with this year's Excellence in Physical Therapy Clinical Education Award. Physical therapists from the Herrick Campus were present to accept the award and helped with placing the White Coats on the DPT students.
During the White Coat Ceremony, DPT students take an oath affirming their committment to education and the special place patients play in their learning.
Students, faculty, and guest celebrated this milestone after the ceremony at a reception hosted by the Department of Physical Therapy.
Congratulations on a successful 2010 CPTA Annual Conference in Oakland this year.
Multiple SMU Faculty and Alumni served on the Conference Planning Committee including Randy Gee, PT (Chair), Phil Gomez, DPT, and Cynthia Walton DPT.
Posters were presented by third year student Phillip Villa ('11) and his faculty advisor Ben Boyd, PT, DPTSc, OCS and Lindsay Athan, DPT ('10) and her faculty advisor Sharon Gorman, PT, DPTSc, GCS. Dr. Sharon Gorman also conducted a successful conference session on emerging evidence in acute care physical therapy.
Congratulations to Gail Widener, PT, PhD for her publication award for research about balance-based torso weighting in persons with multiple sclerosis.
Best wishes to outgoing CPTA Secretary and SMU adjunct instructor Katie Burch, PT & outgoing Nominating Committee Member Gail Widener, PT, PhD on their successful terms of office which will end in December of this year.
Most of all, thank you to all the students, alumni, faculty, and other SMU supporters for stopping by our reception on Friday night!
2010 DPT Commencement AwardsCongratulations to the following graduates of the DPT Class of 2010 who recieved awards at the Graduation Ball and Commencement:
Peter Edgelow Award for Outstanding Clinical Performance: Megan Mobley
Martha Jewell Award for Academic Excellence: Patrick Aguiar
Distinguished Service Award: Aaron Hopkins & Michelle Mette
Outstanding Case Report: Megan Mobley & Pat Aguiar
Outstanding Physical Therapist Student: Patrick Aguiar
SMU Faculty Incentive Research AwardsJulie Ann Benzing, PT, MPT, OCS (MPT '99)
Heidi M. Edwards, PT, MPT, OCS (MPT '04)
Sharon L. Gorman, PT, DPTSc, GCS (SMU Faculty)
Allison Nera Granot, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS (MPT '00)
Erin Grant Rossman, PT, MPT, OCS (MPT '98)
Erin Rae Vestal, PT, DPT, NCS (DPT '06)
Natalie Wong, PT, MPT, OCS (MPT '03)
Congratulations to the following DPT faculty on recieving $10,000 grants in support of their research.
Ben Boyd, PT, DPTSc, OCS: Mechanosensitivity during straight leg raise neurodynamic testing.
Gail Widener, PT, PhD and Rolando Lazaro, PT, DPT, GCS: Reliability of the balance-based torso-weighting method and BBTW effects in normal healthy people.
Richard Rocco, PhD: The role of protein glycation in the pathophysiology of diabetic distal peripheral neuropathy.
Information on PT Program Rankings
Due to concerns with the US News & World Report rankings of entry-level PT programs, the Department of Physical Therapy at Samuel Merritt is not electing to participate. Prospective DPT students are encouraged to...read more
DPT Students Provide Free Neurologic Clinic
The PT Department at Samuel Merritt University will be offering a free outpatient neurological rehabilitation clinic for East Bay residents with neuromuscular diseases or conditions... read more
PT Department Provides FREE Balance Testing for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation awarded the Physical Therapy Department at SMU $20,000 to provide FREE specialized balance testing to persons with MS in the Greater East Bay. Call (510) 869-6511 ext 4411 to schedule a test! Using the EquiTest®, participants will get a full computerized dynamic posturography suite of tests... read more