Monthly Archives: April 2020

Dr. Crews Supports Metro Students in tnAchieves Webinar

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Dr. Douglas Crews, assistant professor of social work

Dr. Douglas Crews, assistant professors of social work, eagerly worked with tnAchieves in a webinar held at the beginning of April to support local metro schools during this time of virtual learning. tnAchieves is the partnering organization to the Tennessee Promise Scholarship, aiming to increase higher education opportunities for Tennessee high school students by providing last-dollar scholarships with mentor guidance.

Dr. Crews has served as a mentor for tnAchieves since 2017. “I have loved every minute of it,” he shared. “Being a mentor with tnAchieves allows me to combine my passion for being a university professor and a social worker together with high school seniors as they plan for the next step in their life’s journey. I feel privileged to be able to connect with students and help them process the questions they have about what the future may hold. Being a mentor during their time of transition from high school to life beyond is a very rewarding experience. I believe all of us would benefit from being a mentor with tnAchieves.”

Dr. Greenwalt Creates Course on Geriatric Considerations for COVID-19

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Geriatric Considerations CourseDr. Suzanne Greenwalt, assistant professor of physical therapy, recently released a continuing education course through the Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Section (CVP) of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) which is part of a larger project called the PACER project, Post-Acute COVID-19 Exercise & Rehabilitation.

There are approximately 15 courses that have been or are being created as a part of this project. The courses are all free and continuing education units (CEU) will be awarded accordingly. The courses are available on the APTA Learning Center website, the CVP section Facebook page, and on YouTube.

Dr. Greenwalt created a one-hour course, titled “Geriatric Considerations for COVID-19.” It was released on YouTube and Facebook last week, as well as on the APTA Learning Center site. Since it’s release, the video has been viewed more than 6,000 times on Facebook and more than 1,800 times on YouTube.

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New Belmont Programs Allow Health Care Students to Achieve Bachelors AND Doctoral Degree in 6 Years

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Exercise Science classroom

Belmont University’s College of Health Sciences & Nursing recently unveiled two exciting new options for high-achieving students interested in pursuing health care doctorate degrees in physical therapy or occupational therapy. Through new 3 + 3 programs, students successfully majoring at Belmont in exercise science who have met entry requirements will be granted guaranteed early admission to Belmont’s nationally recognized DPT or OTD programs. Courses taken in the student’s fourth year will complete the bachelor’s program and serve as the first year of the doctoral program, thus achieving the full doctorate in six rather than the traditional seven years required for such programs.

College of Health Sciences & Nursing Dean Dr. Cathy Taylor said, “Students who take on these 3+3 programs will receive distinct advantages academically, financially and professionally. The challenging and thorough curriculum is designed to provide students intense focus in their chosen field and move these future healthcare leaders into their professions quickly, saving a full year of time and tuition costs.” Continue reading →

Alumnae Soccer Players/Nursing Majors Now Serving as Healthcare Workers

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Thank You Belmont Nurses

Balancing life as a Belmont Women’s Soccer player and a nursing major presents challenges. Overcoming those obstacles, however, has helped Belmont alumnae grow stronger as nurses.

Lauren Paynter, Heather Ferrari, Meg Howard, Ali Alcott, Patience Whitten, Emily Jones, Lauren Trappey and many others are Belmont Women’s Soccer alumnae currently working in the healthcare field and helping the United States fight COVID-19.

“Learning things like teamwork and leadership, I’ve used those types of skills every day that I’ve worked as a nurse,” Paynter said. “Especially now during this virus outbreak, we’ve really had to come together within the hospital setting. Using those learning aspects (at Belmont) has been very valuable.” Continue reading →

Dr. Voight Presents at Nashville Golf Fitness Summit

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Voight Presents at Golf Summit

Dr. Mike Voight was recently an invited presenter, along with Lance Gill from Titleist, at the second annual Nashville Golf Fitness Summit. The topic was “Modern Day Observations of Golf Injury Etiology and Physical Performance.”

With spring right around the corner, this was a timely talk to help golfers prepare for the upcoming golf season and to avoid injury.

Occupational Therapy Faculty Develops, Tests Mobility Device for Infants

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Dr. Teresa Plummer, PhD, OTR/L, ATP, CEAS, CAPS and associate professor of occupational therapy

Dr. Teresa Plummer, PhD, OTR/L, ATP, CEAS, CAPS and associate professor of occupational therapy

Dr. Teresa Plummer, PhD, OTR/L, ATP, CEAS, CAPS and associate professor of occupational therapy, has spent the past 10 years modifying ride-on toys for children who have limited access to their environment, as no such device yet existed for children under six years of age. Plummer involved students, alumni and faculty of the Occupational Therapy Department with opportunities to join this endeavor and has been instrumental in the teaching and conducting modifications for more than 260 families at no cost to them.

Dr. Plummer consulted with Permobil, Inc., a global leader in advanced medical technology, to develop and test a device for infants called the Explorer Mini. Permobil develops, manufactures and markets wheelchairs, seating, positioning and communication systems for people with disabilities. The company issued an expression of gratitude that stated, “The contribution by Dr. Plummer into the validation of the Explorer Mini was significant and highly appreciated by us, but ever more by all generations of children to come.”

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School of Nursing Alumna Presents Research with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Research Fellowship

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Nursing alumna Kelsey Maguire, Class of 2014

Nursing alumna Kelsey Maguire, Class of 2014

Kelsey Maguire, alumna of the School of Nursing’s Class of 2014, presented research with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Nursing Research Fellowship in January 2020. Maguire works as a registered nurse in the MSKCC Urgent Care Center (UCC), a specialized 24-hour unit dedicated to the treatment of emergent medical issues in patients undergoing treatment for cancer at MSKCC in New York, New York.

Maguire’s study, titled “Frequency of Oncologic Emergency Visits to a Comprehensive Cancer Center Urgent Care Center: A Descriptive Cohort Study,” aims to describe the number and frequency of patient visits to the UCC and identify groups of oncologic patients reporting for emergency care multiple times within a year.

The study was conducted through a Retrospective Chart Review of all patients visiting the unit in 2018 in hopes of filling a gap in the literature describing the utilization of the oncologic Emergency Department. The results of this study hope to inform future work to proactively identify and improve outcomes for patients at high risk for unplanned care.

Next steps for the project include follow-up studies at the institution, as well as applications to present a poster at the Oncology Nursing Society Congress in San Antonio, Texas, and publish the results.

Dr. Voight Participates in 2020 Interventional Orthobiologics Foundation Congress

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Dr. Voight at IOF CongressDr. Mike Voight, professor of physical therapy, was recently an invited participant at the Interventional Orthobiologics Foundation 2020 Congress on Regenerative Medicine.

As a member of the IOF, Dr. Voight has participated in the past four congresses and has an active interaction with other members. The latest in regenerative biological research is presented and discussed.

Dr. Voight has routinely brought this “cutting edge” information back to the classroom with integration into the physical therapy coursework.

Dr. Hallmark Hosts National Conversation on Virtual Learning

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Hallmark's headshotDr. Beth Hallmark, director of simulation for the College of Health Sciences and Nursing and National League for Nursing (NLN) fellow, recently assisted in facilitating a virtual NLN Town Hall.

This online meeting of NLN experts and nurse educators focused on strategies for online teaching and learning with the recent transition to online courses due to the challenges of COVID-19. Through this virtual meeting, nurse educators were able to engage in discussion regarding how to best continue a sufficient learning experience virtually by asking questions, sharing ideas and offering solutions that have seen results thus far.

The conversation centered on various ways to ensure requirements for graduation were met for students nearing graduation, as well as ways to offer secure testing methods virtually. A large emphasis of the meeting was on creative online teaching and learning strategies. Ideas for teaching students in this ever-evolving situation ranged from tactics to enhance critical thinking to teaching in community to solutions for remote simulation.

With the cancellation of clinical rotations for students, Hallmark has dedicated her time to developing innovative simulation events to continue to meet student’s education needs. Like many, Hallmark is adapting to a dynamic situation to continue preparing the next generation of professional nurses.

Dr. Voight Delivers Lecture at Big Sky Sports Medicine Conference

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Dr. Voight at Sports Medicine ConferenceDr. Mike Voight from the School of Physical Therapy was an invited guest lecturer at the 2020 Big Sky Sports Medicine Conference. This conference was attended by more than 350 physicians, physical therapists and athletic trainers who work in sports medicine.

Dr. Voight’s topic was “Integrating Technology into Rehabilitation” and described an analytical approach to both evaluating and integrating new technology into clinical practice.