The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects hosted the fourth annual Scholarship Symposium at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) on August 14. Due to COVID-19, the Scholarship Symposium was held virtually this year, with presenters and participants joining via Zoom conferencing.
The RMUoHP Scholarship Symposium is an opportunity for faculty, clinicians, employees, and students to share current scholarship findings and learn from others within the healthcare scope of practice and education.
The Importance of Scholarship
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Mark Horacek, PT, MS, PhD, started the symposium by explaining the significance of scholarship and research. Horacek said, “Scholarship is an essential characteristic of a learned profession. Scholarship is driven by intellectual curiosity and a desire to improve healthcare, education, or administration, or whatever your area of interest is. Participating in scholarship supports our vision ‘to advance the quality, delivery and efficacy of healthcare.’”
He continued, “The desire for scholarship is often driven by curiosity and a desire to understand that which was obscure before. Scholarship is most meaningful when it results from the desire to improve the human condition, when you yearn to learn more than you currently know, and it is a fundamental component of the faculty and graduate student identity.”
This year’s virtual symposium featured 13 poster presentations from current students, faculty, alumni, and healthcare associates of the university. The poster presentation allowed scholars to present their research and answer questions from participants.
Student and Faculty Scholarship
Hannah Stedge, MS, LAT, ATC, and current student in the Doctor of Philosophy in Health Science in Athletic Training, presented on “Perceptions and experiences of certified athletic trainers on treating pregnant and postpartum athletes: A Qualitative Study.” In her presentation, she explained that her research came about because of her own personal experience. She had trained through all of her pregnancies, but as an athletic trainer, she had only trained one pregnant athlete and it was a “big learning experience.”
She said, “I wanted to see how many people had worked with pregnant athletes and what their experience was.” Her findings have sparked further potential research topics related to athletic training.
Developing Scholarship and Professional Growth
Following the poster presentations, Dr. Steven R. Murray, Professor of Teaching in the College of Letters and Sciences and Director of the Physical Education Program at the University of California, Berkeley, gave the keynote address. He provided advice and insight into publishing case studies in health professional journals.
After Murray’s remarks, 10 faculty, students, and alumni presented short rapid-fire presentations related to their different scholarship and research interests.
For more information, on the 2020 Scholarship Symposium, contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects or view the agenda.
