School of Health Professions News

SHP to host Frontera de Salud volunteer information session

Thursday, August 29, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

Janna Roberts wants students in the School of Health Professions to know they are welcome to volunteer with Frontera de Salud, an interprofessional, student-run organization that provides preventive health services and education to the medically underserved in San Antonio and South Texas. 

PA students are trained on how to stop the bleed

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

The Department of Physician Assistant Studies trains students how to stop uncontrolled bleeding during trauma situations before the arrival of emergency responders.

The Stop the Bleed campaign, part of a national initiative, aims to give people with the skills to effectively apply tourniquets to stop bleeding resulting from trauma such as car accidents or mass violence, said Physician Assistant Studies Assistant Professor–Clinical Roland Paquette, PA-C.

PT and PA students provide health care services in the Dominican Republic

Monday, July 29, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

Riley Morgan was stressed out during his first day providing physical therapy services at a clinic in the Dominican Republic this summer. Then a man who came in complaining of shoulder pain walked in.

“I did three simple techniques that we all learned in our first year,” said Morgan, a third-year Physical Therapy student. “At the end of the exam I asked him to raise his arms again, and he was able to raise both arms above his head and didn’t complain of any pain at all. It was a beacon of hope for me. That patient helped turn my mindset around.”

PA white coat ceremony marks entry into the profession

Thursday, June 20, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

The Department of Physician Assistant Studies held its annual white coat ceremony on May 16, with 48 students receiving their short white coats. 

The Frank M. Tejeda Ceremony for the Class of 2021 represented a milestone for students, who also received their pins from the president of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA) and recited the PA professional oath.

SHP commencement includes first SLP class

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

For the first time ever, the School of Health Professions commencement was held at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

About 150 students from Emergency Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Care and Speech-Language Pathology participated in the May 18 ceremony, said David Henzi, Ed.D., Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Occupational Therapy and Physician Assistant Studies graduations were held in December. 

Interprofessional project to study teen vaping intervention

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

By Kate Hunger     

After her teenage son was caught vaping twice last school year, Physician Assistant Studies Assistant Professor/Clinical Tammy Harris, MPAS, PA-C, spent a lot of time thinking about ways to address the increasing use of e-cigarettes among youth. 

“They are so influenced by their peers,” she said.

Meet the new library liaison for the School of Health Professions

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

By Kate Hunger 

The School of Health Professions has a new library liaison: Rebecca Ajtai, MLIS.

Ajtai, an experienced and enthusiastic medical librarian who has always loved science, joined the Library Liaison Services team in March. The primary point of contact for the School of Health Professions, Ajtai most recently spent seven years as a research librarian at the Texas Heart Institute Library in Houston. She also has worked at Rice University’s Bioscience Research Collaborative.

Students and faculty inducted to Alpha ETA Society

Monday, May 20, 2019

By Kate Hunger

The School of Health Professions Alpha ETA Society inducted new student and faculty members in April.

To be eligible for membership in the society, undergraduates must earn at least a 3.5 GPA and show a capacity of leadership and achievement to be eligible for membership, while graduate students must have a 3.8 GPA and demonstrate the same leadership and achievement qualities.

Annual Allied Health Games included official Fiesta event

Monday, May 20, 2019

By Kate Hunger

This year’s annual Allied Health Games activities lineup included something different: an official Fiesta event.

The opportunity to participate in the Chromosome 18 Starfish Dash 5K during the games on April 27 made the annual competition among teams of School of Health Professions students particularly exciting because it also helped raise awareness of chromosome 18 abnormalities, said organizer and second-year MOT student Tori Villarreal.

Students recognized for leadership, research and more

Monday, May 20, 2019

By Kate Hunger

When Carolyn Perez first began the Speech-Language Pathology master’s program, she had not yet felt the pull of research. But after observing the research passion of her mentor, Rocío Norman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Assistant Professor, and working on a research project involving traumatic brain injury, Perez was hooked.

“Research is where it’s at,” she said of the potential of research to make a difference.