July 30, 2021 – Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) hosted its fifth annual scholarship symposium virtually, with the title and emphasis for this year being “The Use of Simulation in Clinical Education: What We Know Today and Research Directions for Tomorrow.”
Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Mark Horacek, PT, MS, PhD, welcomed participants and remarked on the importance of scholarship in learning.
“Scholarship is driven by intellectual curiosity and a desire to improve healthcare, education, administration, or whatever your area of interest is,” said Horacek. “Participating in scholarship supports and enhances our vision to advance the quality, delivery, and efficacy of healthcare; and our Motto: Advancing Knowledge–Advancing Healthcare. It is central to our mission, which includes being evidence-based and outcome oriented.”
Horacek added that “the process of scholarship, of asking questions, of devising methods of answering those questions, and of gathering and assessing data and drawing conclusions from it are the cornerstone of knowledge advancement. Scholarship is one of the defining characteristics of the University’s identity.
Following the opening remarks, Hina Garg, PT, MS, PhD, NCS, Assistant Director of the Office Research and Sponsored Projects and faculty in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, invited participants to attend the poster presentations, panel discussion, and rapid-fire presentations.
Poster presentations, where participants could learn about research projects related to a variety of healthcare topics, included research done by students and faculty from many programs across RMUoHP: Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS SLP), Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology (SLPD), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Sciences, and Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD).
A panel discussion with experienced healthcare professionals and educators discussed the use of simulation in clinical education and its importance in preparing future healthcare practitioners. Panelists were Benjamin Stobbe, RN, MBA, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Clinical Simulation for iEXCEL at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; Wendy Chase, MA, CCC-SLP, Director of Clinical Education for the RMUoHP MS SLP program; Kristina Davis, DNP, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC, ENP-C, RMUoHP Emergency Nurse Practitioner Program Director; Beth Kinslow, DSc, with moderator Tom Cappaert, PhD, ATC, CSCS, RMUoHP PhD Senior Faculty and Associate Director of the ORSP.
Finally, rapid-fire platform presentations were held, allowing several students and faculty to present on significant findings from their research projects and share the scholarship’s impact on healthcare and patients.
During the closing remarks, Robert Pettitt, PhD, FACSM, ATC, CSCS*D, said, “I would like to encourage those of you that participated to take that research and move it forward because that’s really what it’s all about. Research can’t survive in a bubble–it needs to get out into the world.”
For more information regarding the Scholarship Symposium, including the Symposium proceedings, visit the event website.
