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Twelve occupational therapy students were inducted into the Sigma Chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon. |
Occupational Therapy holds 2009 honor society induction...
The Department of Occupational Therapy held its induction for the Sigma Chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Established in 1958, Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) is the nationally recognized honor society of occupational therapy and serves to recognize and encourage scholarship and academic excellence in occupational therapy students.
The Sigma Chapter was established at the UT Health Science Center in 1992. This year’s inductees include: Marlena Cobb, Brittany Creel, Joana Fuerte, Monica Gonzalez, Amber Hatcher, Xavier Hernandez, Amy Jones, Brooke Morales, Paula Spalding, Lillian Teich, Jessica Ward and Erin Yates.
The ceremony, held at the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, was conducted by Department of Occupational Therapy faculty members. The keynote address was delivered by Lynda Jennings, OTR, a 1990 Health Science Center graduate and current president of the Texas Occupational Therapy Association.
Attendees included Marilyn Harrington, Ph.D., dean of the School of Health Professions; Dr. Douglas Murphy, Ph.D., associate dean; Pat Brewer, Ph.D., assistant dean of Student Affairs in the School of Health Professions; as well as family and friends of those initiated.
—from inside.news
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(Left to right) Shown at the San Antonio Livestock Exposition (SALE) scholarship presentation at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio are SALE Board Chairman Tres Kleberg; physician assistant studies students Jennifer Barrera, Rose Broderick Hare, Landy Gurwell, Sarah Taff, Tiffany McDonald-Marsh and Lindsey Waymer; and Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP. |
Forty-six students receive $270,000 in SALE scholarships...
The San Antonio Livestock Exposition (SALE) presented $270,000 in scholarships to medical, nursing and health professions students at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
The scholarships, presented on Oct. 13, make it possible for 46 students to begin or continue their educations at the Health Science Center.
“Today we celebrate the sixth consecutive year of student scholarship support from our loyal friends of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition,” said Health Science Center President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP. “The mutual goal of our collaboration is to attract the best and brightest students to our campus, provide them with a first-class education and retain these professionals to practice within South Texas, where there is a shortage of health care in rural and medically underserved communities.”
SALE Board of Directors Chairman Tres Kleberg said, “The SALE volunteers who make this gift possible are committed to helping the exceptional students from the UT Health Science Center. We are proud of each of them and look forward to seeing the difference they will make in the future of health for the citizens of South Texas.”
The scholarships were presented to 20 medical students, 20 from the School of Nursing and six physician assistant studies students from the School of Health Professions. SALE began offering scholarships to Health Science Center medical and nursing students in 2004. In 2008, six physician assistant studies scholarships were added.
Last May, the first group of 20 SALE medical scholars from the Health Science Center graduated and enrolled in residency training programs. Fifteen of the 20 nursing scholars are scheduled to graduate in 2009 and the remaining five are on track to graduate later. This is the second year scholarships have been awarded to physician assistant students. They are enrolled in a three-year master’s degree program.
Since the SALE scholarship program began in 1984, more than $87 million has been awarded to students and more than $1.2 million has been presented to Health Science Center scholars.
—from HSC News
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Student scholarship recipients include (from left) Pei-Yi, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Brooke Cody, School of Health Professions; Shannon Potter, School of Medicine; Lauren Edwards, Dental School; and Dolly Denson, School of Nursing (not pictured). |
Council for Excellence in Women’s Health presents scholarships...
Five UT Health Science Center students received $2,000 scholarships at the third annual Council for Excellence in Women’s Health Fall Luncheon in September.
Guest speaker at the luncheon was Thomas Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., who spoke about “UT Medicine: Our Healthcare and You.” Dr. Mayes is president and chief executive officer of UT Medicine San Antonio, the multispecialty practice group composed of Health Science Center School of Medicine faculty physicians. Dr. Mayes is also chairman of the Department of Pediatrics.
Scholarship recipients
Each year, the council presents a scholarship to a student from each of the five Health Science Center schools who is interested in pursuing a career involving women’s health. This year’s recipients include:
- Shannon Potter from the School of Medicine
- Dolly Denson from the School of Nursing
- Brooke Cody from the School of Health Professions
- Lauren Edwards from the Dental School
- Pei-Yi Lin from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Other scholarship criteria include financial need and a minimum 3.0 grade point average.
Following the meeting, the group took a tour of the Health Science Center’s new Medical Arts and Research Center that opened Aug. 24 and houses the School of Medicine’s faculty practice, UT Medicine San Antonio.
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Receiving a tour of the MARC from Anesthesiology Specialist Carlayne
Jackson, M.D., (right), are (left to right) Karen Diaz, M.D., clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and chair of the Council on Excellence in Women’s Health Scholarship Committee; Thomas Mayes, M.D., M.B.A., professor and chair of pediatrics, and president and chief executive officer of UT Medicine San Antonio; Gretchen Lahourcade, council executive committee member; Graciela Cigarroa, executive committee chair and wife of UT System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.; Joci Straus, executive committee member; Shannon Potter, School of Medicine scholarship recipient; and Karen Herrmann, executive committee member.
—from inside.news
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John Schick, a physician assistant studies student who has a hearing impairment, uses a captioning software program that remotely translates conversations into the written word on his computer screen. |
HSC strives to accommodate students’ special needs...
Learning is the top goal for UT Health Science Center San Antonio students. And providing tools that help students with learning disabilities or special needs achieve their academic dreams is a major goal of the university.
“Each of our students has unique, different and individual needs and abilities,” said Patricia Brewer, Ph.D., associate professor of physical therapy and assistant dean for student affairs in the School of Health Professions. One student may need a sign language interpreter, while another may prefer technology services, and yet another may not wish to utilize any resources.
For example, John Schick, a physician assistant studies student, recently requested university assistance due to his hearing impairment. Schick was born with hearing abilities, but lost his hearing completely in one ear and partially in another when he was a boy. In 2004, he received a cochlear implant which has aided in his hearing faculties. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas Christian University and worked for many years as a computer programmer.
Captioning software assists learning for some hearing-impaired students
After he was laid off, Schick learned about the strong employment opportunities in the health care field. He attended radiology school at a hospital in Dallas and while on a rotation in the emergency department, he met two physician assistants and became interested in their field. When he enrolled
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| Using Communication Access Realtime Translation technology, including an audio/tehephone connection and instant messaging, a translator in Illinois types the classroom discussion verbatim on John Schick’s computer screen. |
in prerequisite classes, one of the members of his church suggested he look into Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART), a captioning software program that remotely translates conversations into the written word on a computer screen. After completing his prerequisite courses, he was accepted into the UT Health Science Center.
Upon his arrival, Schick inquired at the Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office about assistive technology. After visiting with Dr. Brewer, who contacted the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), the Office of Academic Technology Services and the chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, it was decided that providing the CART translation service would be the best way to accommodate Schick’s needs.
Now, before class begins, Schick activates the CART program by contacting his interpreter in Jacksonville, Ill. via Microsoft Instant Messenger (IM). The interpreter connects to the classroom’s audio system via telephone, then sends Schick an IM with a link that connects to a screen on his laptop. The screen displays the words spoken by Schick’s instructor. Now that Schick is taking some of his classes with medical students, the interpreter is becoming savvier with pharmacology and medical terms.
“I was stressed before knowing about CART,” Schick said. “Now I just worry about understanding the course material, rather than trying to hear the instructor.”
Schick’s initiative has heightened awareness of other students in his classes, and today, he serves as the student representative on the university’s Americans with Disabilities Act Committee. With the confidence he is gaining through his classes, Schick is considering working in the emergency medicine, dermatology or family care specialties after graduation in May 2011. He also plans to share his accomplishments with students at the Sunshine Cottage, a San Antonio school for children with hearing disabilities, to motivate them about possible career opportunities.
Schick said, “I want to tell them that if I can become a physician’s assistant, anything is possible for them.”
—from HSC NEWS