School of Health Professions News

Campus COTAD chapter launches to promote diversity and inclusion in occupational therapy

Monday, June 29, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

The newly formed, student-led UT Health San Antonio chapter of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) launched this spring.

Founded by the American Occupational Therapy Association Emerging Leaders Development Program in 2014, COTAD is a national organization that promotes inclusion and diversity within the profession. 

Lauryn Martin, a second-year occupational therapy student, and chapter chair saw a need for the chapter when she arrived on campus and found a few minority student groups.

Department of Health Sciences chair receives Piper Professor Award

Monday, June 29, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

When the Department of Health Sciences Chair and Professor George Kudolo, Ph.D., CPC, FAIC, FAACC, was in college, he had a professor who delighted in delivering detailed lectures on the nervous system of the cockroach. The professor was so enthusiastic about his subject, he made a lasting impression on Kudolo.

“I also wanted to be the person to make every subject I teach as interesting as possible,” Kudolo said.

Speech-language pathology offers pediatric teletherapy summer program

Monday, June 29, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

The Speech-Language Pathology program is hosting CONNECT, a summer teletherapy program for pediatric patients.

MLS alumna is lab manager for seven oncology clinics

Monday, June 29, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

When Rebecca Jasso reflects on what persuaded her to enroll in the clinical laboratory science program at UT Health San Antonio, she credits two people: her father and Cheryl Burns M.S., MLS (ASCP) Associate Professor.

“My father, who is a fellow UT Health San Antonio graduate, led me to the degree, as he recognized my strengths in the field of science,” Jasso says. “He found the program and got me in contact with a faculty member.”

Speech-language pathology professor continues research on mild traumatic brain injury in veterans

Monday, June 29, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Assistant Professor Rocío Norman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is beginning the second year of a three-year research project through the Mentored Research Career Development (KL2) Program in Clinical and Translational Science.

SHP Students selected for Alpha Eta Society

Thursday, May 28, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

School of Health Professions students and faculty were inducted this spring into the Alpha Eta Society, the national honor society for the allied health professions.

Because of COVID-19, the campus chapter has not held its traditional in-person ceremony. A virtual induction ceremony is being discussed as a possible alternative, said campus chapter president, Physical Therapy Associate Professor Martha Acosta, Ph.D., PT, GCS. 

SHP students volunteer at campus COVID screening stations

Thursday, May 28, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

When third-year Physician Assistant Studies student Kaitlyn Corbett learned about the need for volunteers to screen people entering UT Health San Antonio campus buildings for symptoms of COVID-19, she signed up to help. She ended up working about a dozen shifts.
 
“At the time the PA clinical rotations were suspended, so I was seeking opportunities to serve in the community during the COVID crisis,” Corbett said. “It was a way to help support the (University) community. In a three-hour period we would screen more than 250 people.”

Medical Laboratory Sciences: an alumna’s perspective on the profession

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

Carrie Bartosh is a laboratory supervisor in the Microbiology Department at University Hospital in San Antonio, where she oversees day-to-day operations and performs testing within the Immunology, Virology, and Molecular sections. She earned a bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory sciences from UT Health San Antonio and is certified as a medical laboratory scientist (MLS) with a specialty in virology.
Read Bartosh’s insights below on the education and expertise an MLS brings to the medical team, as well as her experiences during COVID-19 testing.

Reflections on SHP graduating classes 

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

Spring and summer graduates from the School of Health Professions programs are beginning their careers at a time of significant challenge. Faculty and department leaders share their accomplishments and reflect on their hopes for the students as they launch their careers in the health professions.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Dr. Lu named chair of Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

By Kate Hunger 

Associate Professor Fang-Ling Lu, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, has been named chair of the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders, effective June 1. 

Lu joined the School of Health Professions in 2017 as founding program director of the five-semester speech-language pathology master’s program. The program welcomed its first cohort in the spring of 2018 and graduated its second cohort in May 2020.