Shenandoah University Division of Occupational Therapy

03/05/2026

Hands-on learning in Assistive Technology Lab! First-year OTD students exploring AAC devices and discovering new ways occupational therapists help clients communicate and participate in everyday life.

03/03/2026

This week we are highlighting Lara Wells, a second year student in our OTD program!

Future Plans? “Home Health, Acute Care, or Outpatient Adults”

What keeps you motivated? “Knowing the end goal keeps me motivated! With each exam I take, paper I complete, and clinical I participate in, I am one step closer to being an OT!”

Favorite OT school memory? “There are so many amazing memories from OT school, but if I had to pick one, it would be riding scooters down the hallway for our pediatrics course!”

Best study tip? “My advice to future grad students is to create new study habits as a graduate student! Your study and coursework habits in undergrad will be different than grad school, but it helps to prepare you for clinical practice!”

Best skill gained during OT school? “Empathy and therapeutic use of self”

We are so proud of you Lara!

03/03/2026

Huge congratulations to Dr. Mai Moua who recently graduated from the PP-OTD program and is now a published author! Her capstone titled Bridging Spiritual Healing with Occupational Identity: Perspectives into Hmong Shamans was just released in a Special Minnesota Edition of the Hmong Studies Journal. Great work Dr. Moua and Dr. Skuthan! They will also have a poster session at the Minnesota OT Conference in April. https://www.hmongstudiesjournal.org/hsj-hmong-in-mn-special-issue-volume-282026.html

02/24/2026

Division of OT faculty Dr. Victor, Dr. Servera, and Dr. Yanick attended the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy(CHEP) in Blacksburg, VA, collaborating with fellow SU faculty from the Schools of Nursing, Education, and Arts and Sciences. Congratulations to Dr. Victor for her presentation on Tools for Sustainable Teaching!

02/24/2026

02/19/2026

The PP-OTD program is on fire!! Check out the latest publication by Erin Gaby, ppOTD, OTR/L that came out in the Journal of Occupational Therapy, Early Intervention, and Schools today! She and Dr. Skuthan explored the "Integration of the occupational profile in school-based occupational therapy evaluations: A mixed methods survey" to more closely examine how the occupational profile is used in school-based evaluations! Check it out here: https://doi.org/10.1080/19411243.2026.2634319
-OTD

02/17/2026

Adaptive Seating in Action!
We were thrilled to welcome Brittany James, one of our talented OTD Year 2 students, as a guest speaker in our OT 720 course!

Brittany shared her expertise on Car & Adaptive Seating, diving deep into how specialized equipment and positioning can transform mobility and safety for clients. It’s amazing to see our OTD students leading the way and sharing their passion with their peers.

Developing these specialized skills is what takes clinical practice to the next level!

02/16/2026

Dr. Yeatras and Dr. Poppe had the opportunity to attend the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.

This experience advances ongoing curriculum development efforts, strengthens existing international collaborations, and cultivates new global partnerships to expand meaningful student learning opportunities.

While abroad, they also immersed themselves in Thai culture across Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai, further enriching their global perspective and bringing valuable insights back to the university community.

02/11/2026

Spaghetti. Tape. String. Marshmallow.
And suddenly… management theory makes a whole lot more sense!
This weekend in our MSOT Weekend Program's Management & Systems class, students took on the Spaghetti Challenge — building the tallest free-standing structure using limited materials and a whole lot of collaboration. What looks like pasta and tape is really about leadership, communication, delegation, role clarity, resource allocation, adaptability, and understanding how systems shape performance.
Some towers stood tall.
Some collapsed spectacularly.
All teams learned.
Through hands-on, experiential learning, students experienced team dynamics in real time — how leadership shifts, how decisions are made under pressure, and how collaboration drives outcomes.
Because systems aren’t abstract. They’re lived. And management isn’t just something you read about — it’s something you practice.

02/11/2026

As a seasoned CHT and PP-OTD Alumni, Dr. Krista Wilson published Therapists’ insights into best communication practices with hand surgeons: A qualitative study in Hand Therapy today! She and Dr. Skuthan wanted to explore the essential components of ideal collaboration between surgeons and CHTs to promote best practice and ideal patient outcomes. Check out their publication here: https://doi.org/10.1177/17589983261420264 Congratulations!!

Background Hand injuries are treated by specialized hand surgeons and certified hand therapists (CHTs) for optimal care. Hand surgeons refer upper extremity pat...

02/11/2026

Second-year MSOT Loudoun students are fine-tuning their sensory skills this week! Stomping, jumping, headphones on, sensory bins ready—clinical reasoning in real time. Sensory integration is more than “try this fidget.” It’s asking: What is the nervous system telling us? How do we find the just-right challenge? How do we support regulation and participation? Thoughtful. Hands-on. A little sweaty. Future OTs in action 💛

02/09/2026

Fieldwork Friday!
One of our favorite parts of the MSOT Weekend Program is visiting our students on fieldwork. Dr. Leigh, MSOT-Weekend Program Director, spent time visiting several of our Level II fieldwork students and connecting with their clinical instructors and teams across a variety of practice settings, including outpatient pediatrics, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient hand therapy.
During these visits, some tasty goodies were shared as a small thank-you to our clinical sites and clinical instructors, along with a little treat for our students. It was a simple way to express appreciation for the time, mentorship, and dedication that go into supporting student learning.
We are incredibly grateful for our clinical sites and clinical instructors. Their commitment to teaching and mentoring students is essential to occupational therapy education, and we truly could not do this work without them. Thank you for welcoming our students, supporting their growth, and partnering with us in preparing the next generation of occupational therapists.