Trine DPT student presents at national conference

Alicia Selvig, a third-year student in Trine University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, was a presenter at the National Academies of Practice (NAP) 2017 Annual Meeting and Forum, held March 17-18 in Philadelphia.

Founded in 1981, the National Academies of Practice is a group of practitioners from 14 different health professions that advises governmental bodies on the health care system. The organization seeks to advance interprofessional healthcare by fostering collaboration among professionals.

Selvig, who is from Casnovia, Michigan, presented a poster on research she conducted with Kimberly Beran-Sheplar, DPT, assistant professor in the DPT program. The research involved second-year DPT students at Trine and nursing students from Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne University (IPFW) working together in a classroom-based lab setting.

The research found that by taking part in shared learning experiences, students from different disciplines gained a more cohesive team atmosphere and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different healthcare professionals. Shared learning also resulted in better patient care.

“Interprofessional education is a growing topic right now and many schools are doing research to determine if it is beneficial for students,” Selvig said.

Selvig said she heard about the conference through Beran-Shepler and applied and submitted an abstract of her research article in order to be accepted. It was the first time Selvig has done a poster presentation, although she said she will be doing a similar presentation in a few months.

“There were a lot of people interested in the poster I presented along with the other posters that were there for viewing,” she said. “There were well over a hundred people who filtered through to look at my poster and ask questions. I talked with more than 20 of these people who walked through, and more throughout the day before and after the poster presentation.”