Monthly Archives: September 2020

Dr. Willams, Students Elected to TN Public Health Association Leadership Positions

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Williams and students

Dr. Christian Williams, director of the Public Health Program at Belmont University, has been chosen as president-elect for the Tennessee Public Health Association (TPHA), one of the nation’s largest affiliates of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Dr. Williams will step into the role of president in 2021-2022. She has been an active member of TPHA since 2009 where she has served on various committees and held several leadership positions. Most recently, she was the 2018-2019 co-chair and 2019-2020 chair of the Program Committee.

Two BSPH juniors, Jaylen Palmer and Lillian Adamson, were also appointed to leadership positions by their peers. Palmer will resume her role as chair of the Student Section and Adamson will continue as the Middle Tennessee representative for the Student Section.

TPHA is the state’s official professional organization for those engaged or interested in public health and is endorsed by the administration of the Tennessee Department of Health. Through TPHA, professionals and students who represent diverse service areas have opportunities to meet and share ideas in an effort to maintain high standards of quality in all aspects of public health.

OTD Student Wins Scholarship from the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Foundation

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Rebecca Denton headshotBelmont University School of Occupational Therapy student Rebecca Denton recently won the Scholarship of Distinction Award from The Tennessee Occupational Therapy Foundation.

She earned the award and scholarship by maintaining a GPA of 3.97 in the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program while serving in the community with the Leah Rose Residence for Senior Citizens and Dismas House. In addition, she serves on the TNOTA Student Involvement Committee.

Bursch Named Honoree for Arthritis Foundation Bone Bash

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Gail BurschGail Bursch, PT, MSEd, CWS, FACCWS, has been a physical therapist for 42 years and joined Belmont University’s School of Physical Therapy as Director of Clinical Education in 1997. Bursch has served on the TN Board of the Arthritis Foundation since 2003 and was named the adult honoree for this year’s virtual Bone Bash Event on October 29.

Serving as Administrative Director of Rehabilitation Services for Centennial Medical Center in Nashville from 1984 through 1995, Bursch led 90 multidisciplinary employees, developed community rehabilitation programs and established a 20-bed inpatient Rehabilitation Center. Her clinical focus is wound management, attaining national board certification as a Certified Wound Specialist in 2009.

Bursch served as vice president of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) for six years and as chair of the Nashville District for twelve years. Since 2004, she has been a national Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program Trainer for the American Physical Therapy Association and is currently the chair of the Tennessee Clinical Education Consortium.

OTD Student Wins Award from Tennessee Occupational Therapy Foundation

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Morgan Sondergeld headshotBelmont University School of Occupational Therapy student, Morgan Sondergeld, recently won the Scholarship of Excellence Award from The Tennessee Occupational Therapy Foundation. She earned the award and scholarship by maintaining a GPA of 4.0 in the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy program while volunteering with Sprocket Therapy, GiGi’s Playhouse and Room at the Inn.

Belmont Graduate Nursing Students Selected for 2020 AHEC Scholar Program

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Kelsey Wolfe and Mosam Patel
Kelsey Wolfe, pictured left, and Mosam Patel, pictured right

Graduate Nursing students Mosam Patel and Kelsey Wolfe have been selected as the 2020 Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Scholars at the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center.

This program is designed for health professions students interested in supplementing their education by gaining additional knowledge and experience in rural and/or underserved urban settings. In this two-year program, students will receive 40 hours of didactic training and 40 hours of clinical training each year along with a stipend. The students will receive core content around interprofessional education, behavioral health integration, social determinants of health, cultural competency, practice transformation and current and emerging health issues.

This experience is an opportunity for these students to gain knowledge, skills and experiences that will help them meet the needs of underserved populations.

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Dr. Marnie Vanden Noven shares about her recent research project

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Dr. Marnie Vanden Noven, Associate Professor of Exercise Science, answers questions about her recent research project entitled Complementary and Alternative Medicines for Menopause.

What is your research topic? Why did you choose it?
Two studies, to understand the types of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and practices women use to treat symptoms related to menopause and to determine if the loss of sex hormones associated with premature and early menopause in women contributes to higher muscle sympathetic nerve activity and blood pressure, and attenuates baroreflex function.

What are some of your most interesting results?
The most commonly chosen form of treatment for symptoms related to menopause was exercise, with walking, swimming, and group fitness classes being the most commonly utilized.

What is the importance/application of your research?
Menopause age was not significantly correlated with blood pressure reactivity. The goal is to share this study with health care professionals to help with medical management of Cardio Vascular Disease in postmenopausal women as well as decision-making related to medical procedures that can lead to early or premature menopause.

Where have you presented your research?
Because of Covid-19, this research has been shared only with the University of Minnesota Department of Physical Therapy. We hope to share this information at the Menopause conference in October, and publish the results of the CAM menopause survey later this year.

OT Alumna Completes Neurological Occupational Therapy Fellowship

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Charmaine UyCharmaine Uy, a 2019 alumna of Belmont’s School of Occupational Therapy, recently completed a neurological occupational therapy fellowship at the Brooks Rehabilitation Institute of Higher Learning. The Brooks Neurological Occupational Therapy Fellowship is a one-year program in which fellows-in-training gain extensive experience in the evaluation and treatment of individuals with various neurologic diagnoses but with an emphasis on spinal cord injury, brain injury and stroke.

Fellows-in-training received 1:1 direct mentorship from expert clinicians in these fields with a focus on enhancing clinical reasoning and improving general practice management. In addition to working full-time and managing a full-case load, Uy attended neurologic-focused classes. She completed a total of three case studies examining occupational therapy treatment interventions for pain, upper limb ataxia and stroke in order to improve ADL (Activities of Daily Living) performance and overall independence.

Of her experience in the program, Uy said, “My participation in the neurologic fellowship over the past year has allowed me to become a more knowledgeable and efficient occupational therapist. I feel that it was a great first step as I start my career as an OT and would not have done it any other way.”