NewsLink Winter 2020

Winter 2020 - Volume 9, Issue 2
PITT OTD SCORES A 'PERFECT' SEVEN
In December 2019, the University of Pittsburgh Department of Occupational Therapy received notification from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) that the NEW Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program has been granted Status of Accreditation for 7 years – the maximum possible for new programs – following ACOTE’s assessment of the OTD Program and onsite visit this past fall.
Results of the assessment indicated no areas of deficiency. The final report included a list of program strengths including support of administration, faculty, innovative curriculum, dynamic students, community-based and clinical sites, clinical educators, facilities, and resources.
It Takes a Village...
Preparing for accreditation takes a significant amount of time, energy, and effort. Department
leadership would like to thank our colleagues Denise Chisholm, Ann Marsico, Alyson Stover, and Christie Jackson, for organizing and leading us through the process. We would also like to recognize and thank our students and those outside of our department who contributed to our success:
Administration: Elizabeth Skidmore, professor and chair, Anthony Delitto, dean of SHRS, and Nathan Urban, vice provost for Graduate Studies and Strategic Initiatives
Adjunct Faculty: Hadley Dean, Kimberly Kubistek, and Pamela Nutt
Level I & II Fieldwork Educators: Mary Bohonak, Brian Convery, Mary Ann Dias, Megan Driscoll, John Gust, Lynne Huber, Carrie Isasky, Katelyn Kelly, Erin Mathia, Carmen Scolieri, Jessica Sorge, Melody Ovitsky, Malinda Pastor, Maria Shoemaker, Margaret Summerville, and Kelsey Voltz
Capstone Site Mentors: Jeff Bisdee, Hannah Hardy, Kimberly Kubistek, Rachel Owens, and Daphne Parker
OTD Students: Michelle Beck, Meredith Buckbee, Anna Marie Clark, Christopher Fagan, Haley Feller, Ashley Greivenkamp, Danielle Hall, Kimberly Holliday, Natalie Little, Katherine Maloney, Ashley Martin, Jameson Matunas, Gabriella Mazzeo, Christian Meeder, Victoria Merritt, Janelle Moody, Marybeth Moscirella, Jaclyn Pieklo, Alexandra Plaster, Kayley Renz, Nicole Saba, Courtney Schneider, Amber Shojaie, Natalie Silverman, Rebecca Soliwoda, Spencer Sutter, Alexandria Suydam, Julia Vellky, Victoria Viola, Taylor Wellman, Morgan Wilson, Natalie Wise, and Kristin Zink


EMPOWER - IMPLEMENT - TRANSFORM
Have an exciting new idea for your clinical practice that you can’t seem to get off the ground? Interested in expanding your skills into innovative practice areas but don’t know how? Frustrated with barriers and delays that seem to multiply with any attempts at quality improvement? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, Pitt OT has a solution for you!
Our NEW online post-professional education program offers occupational therapists two options to gain the skills needed for success in
today’s challenging health care arena:
• Option 1: Enroll in our NEW online Advanced Practice Certificate in Implementation of Evidence in Clinical Practice (12 credits) – includes 4 courses:
- OT 3010 – Evidence Interpretation for Implementation (3 credits) - OT 3020 – Foundations in Implementation (3 credits)
- OT 3030 – The Business of Implementation (3 credits)
- OT 3040 – Advocacy for Implementation (3 credits)
• Option 2: Enroll in our NEW online Doctor of Clinical Science in Occupational Therapy (CScD) Program (42* credit degree) – students enrolled in the CScD Program will also receive the Advanced Practice Certificate in Implementation of Evidence in Clinical Practice in addition to their CScD degree.
*The CScD Program requires completion of 72 credits (30 credits may be transferred from a master’s degree from an accredited college or university provided that credits meet doctoral program requirements, potentially only needing to enroll in 42 remaining credits in the CScD Program).
Students who enroll in the Advanced Practice Certificate may choose to transition into the CScD in OT degree program after completion of the certificate AND can apply the certificate credits toward the CScD in OT degree.
We’ve done our homework! To build our NEW online post-professional education program, we evaluated our success in our traditional face-to-face classroom CScD curriculum model, sought feedback from our
alumni, and assessed the health care environment.
Features of the NEW online post-professional education program include:
• Fall and spring term start dates
• Flexible part-time model
• Dynamic courses based on cutting edge teaching evidence that combine asynchronous and
synchronous (LIVE) learning
• Easy application process AND no GRE requirement
Interested in learning more? Look for curriculum details, FAQs, webinar dates, and application instructions on the Pitt OT website beginning in March 2020. Courses begin in fall 2020.
What are you waiting for? We’ve got your spot! Contact us at [email protected].


MARK YOUR CALENDAR, MAKE AN OT IMPACT Pitt Day of Giving – February 25th
At Pitt OT, we pride ourselves on giving back to our community and the future generation of occupational therapists. Here's how you can make a difference...
February 25th marks the 4th annual Pitt Day of Giving. This unique initiative gives all members of the Pitt community an opportunity to make our gifts go further for Pitt OT on one special day.
Last year, SHRS competed against all other schools and colleges at Pitt to take the TOP spot in the University Donor Participation Challenge and won $25,000 to support SHRS students. Help SHRS and OT stay on top in 2020 by making a gift to the Department of Occupational Therapy on February 25th.
To give to the Department of Occupational Therapy, click on the "Contribute" button and search for "Occupational Therapy." All donations to the department directly support student activities. Success will be determined by overall participation. So, every single gift counts – no matter how large or small! It's the number of people who contribute, not the amount.
Help OT take home the “Tony” Award!
In addition to the University of Pittsburgh Donor Participation Challenge, SHRS has our own internal Challenge. SHRS Dean Tony Delitto is offering the “Tony” Award which is a gift of $1,000 to the program or department that has the highest participation rate on the Pitt Day of Giving.
Do you love social media and want to get involved? Become a Social Media Ambassador for the Pitt Day of Giving!
Students, alumni, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to become Social Media Ambassadors for the Day of Giving to help us reach even more people by sharing content from personal social media accounts. All social media ambassadors will be entered in the running for special prizes! Sign up to become a social media ambassador today!
Be sure to follow Pitt OT on all social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and visit pittdayofgiving.com on Thursday, February 25th to make your gift and support the next generation of occupational therapists!
PITT OT ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENTS
Have you recently received an award or grant, published a manuscript,
given a presentation, or been appointed to a leadership position?
We want to know about YOUR accomplishments!
Tell us more by completing a brief survey at bit.ly/PittOTAlumniAchievements


ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Robert D. Montz, OTD, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS Colonel, United States Army
Director, Preservation of The Force and Family OT Consultant to The Army Surgeon General U.S. Special Operations Command
I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s Bachelor of Science
in Occupational Therapy (BS in OT) Program in 1997 when the profession was at an entry-level bachelor's level and classes were located atop Cardiac Hill, above Pitt Stadium. While in the program, I learned about the diverse yet holistic approach of occupational therapy, truly appreciating the person, the environment, and the respective occupation.
I have been able to harness this appreciation throughout my 23 years as an occupational therapist in the U.S. Army. I have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan six times providing a variety of services ranging from combat and operational stress control and neuro-musculoskeletal management to mental toughness and human performance.
I am currently assigned to U.S. Special Operations Command as the director of the Preservation of the Force and Family Program encompassing five domains: Human Performance, Psychological Performance, Cognitive Performance, Social and Family Performance, and Spiritual Performance.
I also serve as the occupational therapy consultant to the Army Surgeon General, serving as the senior subject-matter-expert for all OT matters in the Army.
I have been married for 26 years to my wife Marcia and have a daughter Amber, 23, and a son Blake, 21. I enjoy all the Pittsburgh sports teams and enjoy obstacle course mud runs.


STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Amber Shojaie OTD Class of 2022
Harmony is a Pittsburgh sanctioned performing arts organization for individuals of all ages with and without disabilities. Through the arts, Harmony fosters relationships between these individuals and university/community volunteers with the goal of making one voice. This free-of-cost program is designed based on the original Harmony at The Pennsylvania State University, which is where I completed my Bachelor’s degree.
Harmony is a huge part of my volunteer life and the volunteer lives of many other students. Coming to Pittsburgh for graduate school, I felt this was a perfect opportunity to expand the message of Harmony.
With the help of my cousin, a senior acting major at Carnegie Mellon University, we began to establish Harmony–Pittsburgh. We reached out to special education departments of Pittsburgh school districts, camps for individuals with disabilities, college programs and professors, and others, to ensure that Harmony’s mission spread far and wide.
This program perfectly aligns with Pitt Year of Creativity as creativity is at the very root of our program and is our driving force. Through Harmony, participants use their creativity for various acting, dancing, and musical routines all presented in a welcoming environment. Our weekly rehearsals consist of a room full of untapped creativity and imagination shining from within each of our students and volunteers.
As I plan and execute Harmony–Pittsburgh, I am continuously thinking of ways to incorporate my Pitt OT education and training. Research has shown that music and drama have been used successfully for people of all ages with a variety of disorders and abilities. Harmony–Pittsburgh is a great way to build relationships, promote inclusion, develop emotional awareness, and improve communication and self-expression all while having an enjoyable time. All of these aspects stem from meaningful activities and occupations of everyone involved. In order to create harmony, we all work together to create one voice. Hail to Pitt!
Pitt OT Book Drive – A Great Success!
Throughout the month of December, students, faculty, and staff collected over 400 books for the Pitt OT Book Drive. Donated books will be distributed to students at local elementary schools to encourage literacy and foster an excitement for reading. Thank you to those who led and contributed to this effort!


Copyright © 2020 University of Pittsburgh Department of Occupational Therapy, All rights reserved.
Your e-mail address is listed to receive correspondence from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Occupational Therapy.
University of Pittsburgh
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Department of Occupational Therapy Bridgeside Point I
100 Technology Drive, Suite 350 Pittsburgh, PA 15219