Physical Therapist Assistant

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Mock crisis authentically adds to interdisciplinary preparedness

Samer R. Doss, a PA student from Montoursville, listens to the heartbeat of dental hygiene student Megan P. Fitzsimmons, of Portville, N.Y.

Students from Penn College’s School of Nursing & Health Sciences and School of Sciences, Humanities & Visual Communications joined area law enforcement, emergency management and health care professionals in a recent simulation at UPMC Susquehanna Williamsport Regional Medical Center and a variety of other locations.

The college’s paramedic program has participated in the drill since its inception, and this year, the School of Nursing & Health Sciences decided to participate schoolwide to provide an interdisciplinary learning opportunity. The school had conducted its own Interdisciplinary Professional Experience on campus for several years.

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Charter class of Penn College PTAs excels on certification exam

Fifteen members of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant Class of 2018 have taken and passed the national physical therapy exam for physical therapists on their first attempt.

Fifteen members of the first graduating class from Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant major have taken the national physical therapy exam for physical therapist assistants, and all 15 passed on their first try.

The 2017 national pass rate for the NPTE physical therapist assistant exam is 87 percent.

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Pre-College Programs to enrich participants’ summer experience

Young women enrolled in SMART Girls, among the wide-ranging roster of pre-college programs at Pennsylvania College of Technology, assemble a robot during last summer’s camp.

Building construction has been added to the abounding schedule of pre-college initiatives offered at Pennsylvania College of Technology, hands-on summer activities that mirror the nationally renowned opportunities afforded postsecondary students.

“Our Pre-College Programs offer living and learning experiences in which students have opportunities to explore unique academic interests in a state-of-the-art environment,” said Deborah B. Wescott, manager of conference and guest relations. “It’s a chance to work and make connections with industry leaders, meet and mingle with your peers, and establish a path that could lead to all sorts of future possibilities.”

The signup deadline is May 31 for the institution’s 12 residential programs and its one day camp.

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Penn College physical therapist assistant degree accredited

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant program received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Taylor M. Lockerby, a member of the college’s first graduating class in August, takes a goniometric measurement of knee flexion.

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant program has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.

Accreditation is a process used in the United States to assure the quality of the education that students receive. It is a voluntary, nongovernmental, peer-review process that occurs on a regular basis.

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School of Nursing & Health Sciences hosts celebration

Pennsylvania College of Technology welcomed several School of Nursing & Health Sciences alumni back to campus to speak at an event celebrating the school’s name change, its academic majors, and milestone anniversaries for two programs: occupational therapy assistant (30 years) and physician assistant (20 years). From left are Megan Wright, ’12, a physician assistant practicing physical medicine and rehabilitation; Brian Webster, ’06, a nurse practitioner specializing in emergency and family nursing; President Davie Jane Gilmour; Sandra L. Richmond, dean of nursing and health sciences; and Michele “Mindy” Tedesco, ’88, a registered occupational therapist specializing in home health care.

The School of Nursing & Health Sciences at Pennsylvania College of Technology held a multifaceted celebration on Oct. 4 by hosting an open house of its facilities and welcoming accomplished alumni, who reflected on how their education has shaped their careers.

“We come together … to celebrate the positive impact all 10 of our nursing and health sciences programs have on our students’ lives, the professions in which they work, and the communities they serve,” said Sandra L. Richmond, dean of nursing and health sciences.

Of particular significance during the celebration was a change to the school’s name: from the School of Health Sciences to the School of Nursing & Health Sciences, and the anniversaries of the occupational therapy assistant program, whose first students graduated 30 years ago, and the physician assistant program, which graduated its first students 20 years ago.

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Summer Commencement at Penn College Set for Aug. 4

Penn College’s Summer Commencement ceremony will take place Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Community Arts Center, Williamsport.

Nearly 250 students have petitioned to graduate in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Summer 2018 Commencement ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Community Arts Center.

The student speaker will be Lara K. Duke, of Swengel, Union County, who will receive an Associate of Applied Science in physical therapist assistant. A Dean’s List student, Duke previously earned a Bachelor of Science in athletic training from Boise State University.

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Physical Therapist Assistant Club’s Food Drive Helps Campus Pantry

Penn College’s Physical Therapist Assistant Club collected boxes of nonperishable food on campus and at physical therapy clinics across the region as part of the Global Physical Therapy Day-of-Service.

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Physical Therapist Assistant Club harvested a plentiful crop to benefit The Cupboard at Penn College, an on-campus food pantry that assists students and their families.

The club initiated a 10-day food drive to coincide with the American Physical Therapy Association’s Global PT Day-of-Service, observed Oct. 14 as part of the association’s National Physical Therapy Month.

National Physical Therapy Month recognizes the impact that physical therapists and physical therapist assistants have on improving the human experience and the world’s health. The students’ participation in Global PT Day-of-Service joined them with thousands of physical therapy staff and students around the world who volunteered in many ways.

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Emergency Scenarios Translate to Real-Life Benefit for Students

Occupational therapy assistant student Rachel N. Zimmerman, of Pine Grove, shows physician assistant student Zachary S. Kimble, of Bellefonte (acting as a hip-replacement patient who later in the simulation would have a stroke) and other students watching how to use a “reacher” to help with dressing. Observing is Christine A. Tilburg, clinical director of physical therapist assistant.

Emergency medical services student Ian P. McClure, of Littlestown, and paramedic technician student Megan E. Bobby, of Dysart, explain the actions they would take when called to the Dental Hygiene Clinic to help a patient experiencing an allergic reaction to Novocain.

Surgical technology students simulate a laparoscopic gall bladder removal.

Around 250 students in the School of Health Sciences – an academic division that spans 11 distinct health care and allied health fields – are participating this week in a series of hands-on emergency health simulations. The school’s fourth annual Interdisciplinary Professional Event involves 24 student teams, each made up of a cross section of health disciplines, discussing and observing one another’s role in their assigned case. Students in the physician assistant major played roles of patients, whose health problems ranged from an allergic reaction to Novocain in the Dental Hygiene Clinic to a loss of consciousness in the Keystone Dining Room, and surgeries to replace hips and remove gallbladders. As “patients” moved through the health care system, they moved, with their observers, from lab to lab in the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center. The purpose of the experience is to prepare the students to deliberatively work together as patients interact with each of them during their health care experience, with an ultimate goal to improve patient care. Also involved were 23 staff and faculty from the school, who planned and managed the event and led groups through their simulations on Tuesday and Thursday.

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Penn College Adds Physical Therapist Assistant Degree

Penn College physical therapist assistant student Kathleen L. Carey, of Montoursville, assesses the deep tendon reflexes of classmate Angela M. Cipolla, of Williamsport, during a practice exercise.

Pennsylvania College of Technology welcomed the first class of students into its new Physical Therapist Assistant Program this spring, following a semester of prerequisite coursework.

The two-year degree program culminates in an Associate of Applied Science degree; students wishing to continue their studies to the bachelor’s level may continue in the applied health studies major.