2018 Fort 4 Fitness

Trine DPT Students Perform Balance Assessment

Trine Doctoral students were active again at this year's Fort4Fitness event! 50 volunteer positions were filled by DPT Classes of 2020 and 2021 providing an array of service: helping set up stations, preparing Parkview Field, distributing race packets, manning the Trine University Expo Tent, presenting medals to finishers, and stretching runners at the Recovery Tent. Above you see Joshua Spitnale, Morgan Truex and Kate Groenhagen encourage a participant earn her Trine t-shirt by completing a Limits of Stability balance assessment.

DPT Annual Field Day

Class of 2020 - Dressed in Black
Class of 2021 - Hawaiian Attire

Trine DPT first and second year students came together for a day of friendly rivalry. They focused on team building through silly games such as moving a cookie from forehead to mouth without the use of hands, water balloon toss, kickball, and many more. A pizza lunch on a beautiful day facilitated laughter and great conversation. Lots of fun was had by all! 

Serving Simply Volunteers

DPT Class of 2021

On October 27 DPT student and volunteer coordinator Erica Hoot joined her cohort and the organization Serving Simply to support those in our community who need a little extra help and encouragement.

Erica explained their role this way, "There will be jobs for some to serve food, while others socialize. The socializing aspect of the night is really important to encourage people through any hard times they may be going through, or to simply have good conversation. After everyone is done eating we will set up tables full of supplies, clothes, and toiletries. Afterwards, we all get together to talk and pray as a group. The organization is very excited to have us, and I’m extremely grateful to go to school with wonderful souls who are willing to donate time out of their Saturday night."

As you can see, Erica was very successful in rallying her enthusiastic classmates!

"There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return." - Nelson Mandela

Functional Ventilation Course

Lutheran Clinicians Participate in Interventions to Enhance Ventilation Lab

Trine University's Rinker-Ross School of Health Sciences hosted a Functional Ventilation Course on Saturday, October 6, 2018. PTs, PTAs, OTs, COTAs, and a speech therapist made up the 21 participants from Lutheran Health Network. Dr. Chris Rakoczy presented the physiology and pathology of the pulmonary system, Dr. Ryan Dombkowski presented a cadaver review of the pulmonary system, and Dr. Jenna Encheff presented functional interventions to enhance ventilation.

Spotlight on DPT Faculty

Director of Integrated Clinical Education, Assistant Professor, Dr. Steve Sullivan, PT, DPT, MBA, OCS

Since joining our faculty three years ago, Dr. Sullivan’s roles and responsibilities have multiplied. He serves the department as the Curriculum Committee Chair and nationally as a Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program (CCIP) course instructor. He recently was re-certified as a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist (OCS), and just accepted an appointment to the Specialization Academy of Content Experts (SACE) as an item writer for the OCS exam. Dr. Sullivan is pictured here at the American Physical Therapy Association Education Leadership Conference (ELC) with his poster presentation about clinician productivity in the Trine University CARE program. His professional interests include orthopedics, particularly foot and ankle conditions, and of course, clinical education. "Our CARE program really sets us apart from other DPT programs. I love seeing the “lightbulb” moments when students connect classroom learning to actual hands-on patient experiences. We are blessed to have incredible CARE instructors that make our program a success!"