WOW!!!

Congratulations to the 2009 graduating class!!!!

They attained a PERFECT "first-time pass rate" of 100% on their license exams.

In other words - every single graduate passed their license exam on the first try.....that's an amazing accomplishment - you all deserve a LOT of recognition for that! GREAT JOB!!!

Check out the new "LibGuide for Physical Therapy" available through the LCCC Library homepage, created by the always amazing Susan Paul:
http://libguides.lorainccc.edu/physicaltherapy

We are really lucky to have some of the best facilities, resources, and Librians/faculty/staff here at LCCC. They're always doing something new, cutting edge, or just plain helpful. Students come back and tell me about how they spends HOURS with them helping them determine if a journal article meets an assignment guideline, or helping them find JUST the RIGHT rersearch for a topic.
Or The PTA faculty will request a book for the library shelves, and Susan comes back with 3 more suggested books she found. Sometimes they don't get enough thanks - so here you go!


A couple more updates -
The second year students are going crazy fundraising. Great job guys!

Service learning projects are in full swing by both first and second year students - thanks to all of you who participate. It makes a difference you know. You have an impact on people.

Jim and John are knee deep in research data and methods in their next course in their doctoral program.

Welcome to our new lab assistant Marlo. She's a keeper!

And lastly, for all you prospective students - remember that the application deadline for a completed program application is Nov 15th.

Value -
It's great to have it reinforced sometimes - what a TERRIFIC value for the dollar public education can be in ohio - especially at the community college level. Here at LCCC, we are lucky to have the support of our local community through a levy, plus the support of the state, as well as student tuition support. That helps keeps costs extremely affordable for a high-quality education. Our PTA program is estimated to cost about $6,600 for the entire two-year program.
A student we know was just offered a place in a new Ohio private, for-profit, program. The cost of the program for 2 years as quoted to him? $38,000
What else can you say, but -
WOW.

NEW APTA Guidelines:
The APTA has released updated Guidelines regarding Student/New Graduate Employment Agreements. The PTA program at LCCC has incorporated these guidelines into written program policies.
The 2008 House of Delegates policies, Guidelines: Student/New Graduate Employment Agreements (HOD G06-08-08-09) assist students, new graduates and potential employers in negotiating agreements to provide financial or tuition assistance in return for contracted employment after graduation. The guidelines recommend that all parties seek approopriate legal advise ahead of time, and give suggestions about what agreements should contain.
Please also note that it has always been the long-standing position and policy of the PTA Program at LCCC that student education is not best-served by a student fulfilling any part of their clinical interships in a facility where they work. Students are assigned to a specified variety of types of clinical sites during their internships (called practicums by course name) by program policy, and also to a variety of employers/sites/locations/instructors to best achieve the well-rounded education required of the entry-level clinician.

CONGRATS TO THE 17 NEW GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2009!!
You've shown tremendous strength, compassion, empathy, professionalism, personality, humor, skills, knowledge, friendship and so much more. We're proud of you all and we'll miss you.

The NEW incoming class for Fall semester 2009 has been selected and notified, as have those who unfortunately, were not able to be offered a position. The selection committee works very hard on those decisions, and they are never easy. We offer our congratulations to those who will be joining us, extend our regards to those who must try again or choose a different path for themselves.

Based on some telephone call questions I have received recently and another regarding a local TV news report that was described to me, I would like to clarify something for those who might be unclear. PTA programs are offered by an education program accredited by an agency or association recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The institution is authorized by law to provide a program of postsecondary education. The institution has been approved by appropriate authorities to provide the physical therapist assistant education degree program. Some priopritary or for-profit colleges have been able to seek and achieve the necessary accreditation at the national educational and Commision on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education levels in order to offer the PTA degree program. However, most health care facilities, private clinics, hospitals, continuing education providers, short-term vocational training providers, or other such entities are not suitably accredited, associate-degree granting colleges and universities capable of offering the PTA degree program on their own. When in doubt please refer to http://www.apta.org/ under the education section for a list of accredited PTA programs (or PT programs, if your preference is to become a physical therapist rather than a physical therapist assistant).

Speaking of becoming a PTA, recent federal data from the US Department of Labor "Occupational Supply Demand System Data" indicates an estimated increase in need of 32.4% for PTA's over the years 2006 to 2016.
The estimate includes both replacement jobs for those leaving the field and new growth in jobs and shows an average need for new PTA's of 2,730 per year across the country. A 32% growth rate is considered QUITE high, by the way!
That's good news.
The other side of the coin is that schools are doing an excellent job of keeping up with demand -
PTA programs are currently producing 4,376 graduates per year. (So nationally, schools are producing roughly 1,600 MORE PTAs than current demand for new and replacement needs.) So we should be in good shape to meet any shortages. See the link for the data tables: https://mymail.lorainccc.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.occsupplydemand.org/OSD_DemandState.aspx?CLUSCODE=146A-08%26ST=ZZ%26PathNo=1%26sst=0


On a personal note, both John and Jim are in the process of completing the necessary coursework and application materials for starting their doctoral program.

The Physical Therapist Assistant Program at LCCC is VERY pleased to announce the initiation of a scholarship fund for LCCC PTA students. This was made possible by two gifts, one from the Notheast District of the Ohio Physical Therapy Association, and one from the PTA Program Faculty.
Over time, our hope is is that the fund will be to help support first year students with funds for books, fees and tuition awards.

Alumni, families, employers, clinical sites or other community members and supporters of the program are certainly welcome to make a donation to the fund. Donations would be directed to:

LCCC Foundation
c/o Physical Therapist Assistant Scholarship
1005 Abbe Rd. North
Elyria OH 44035

We want to welcome our two new lab assistants, Jennifer and Kassi. Both are 2006 graduates of our program, both have additional degrees, and have been out there working clinically for several years now with excellent reputations. We are glad to have their help and assistance.

As always, we thank the community for ALL of it's support - our clinical sites and instructors, the Ohio Board, Advisory Committee, graduates, APTA/CAPTE, OPTA and NE District, PTA Educator's Consortium, employers and many many more. It takes a lot more people than most imagine to move that person from raw recruit to polished licensed clinician. Thank you and happy holidays.

We are VERY sorry to announce that Connie, our long-time laboratory instructional assistant is going to be leaving us to pursue a full-time clinical position. Connie has been a terrific member of the team and will be very much missed.

That also leaves us in the position of needing to search for a new laboratory assistant. If you, or anyone you know might be interested in discussiong the position, we encourage you to contact John Myers, PT via email (jmyers@lorainccc.edu) or by phone (440-366-7881) to talk about it.

In the Fall 16 week semester, the hours needed for the position are:
Mon and Wed mornings 9 AM-12 noon
Tues and Thurs afternoons 1 PM-4 PM
(plus 1/2 hour prep time where needed)

In the Spring Semester, the hours needed for the position are:
Fri mornings from 8 AM-12 noon for 16 weeks
Tues and Thurs mornings 8 AM - 12:30 PM for 10 weeks
(plus 1/2 hour prep time where needed)

SNOW!! * * * *
Those people with appointments scheduled today, March 8, 2008, that were missed because of the campus closing due to severe weather, will be rescheduled for next Saturday, March 15, at the times you were assigned.

We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, but obviously, a storm like this can't be anticipated in advance.

To those 97 students who applied for the program, we appreciate your patience!
We had to wait for Fall Semester grades to be processed, and for the good folks in the Connections Center to gather and sort all the data...(thank GOODNESS for them, believe me!)...
We are working on OUR end now, sorting the list and starting to look at setting up interview dates, etc. PLEASE BE PATIENT.
NO dates have been scheduled yet, and the first 4 weeks of the Spring Semester are extremely busy with classes, etc. So it's likely to be mid-February before you hear if you are in the groups selected for an interview or not.

Additionally, faculty are busy with current student and program needs, so please "hang in there" and wait for a letter to come regarding being selected for an interview or not.

We would also like to announce that John Myers, PT, the Program Director, will be serving as one of the two interim "Co" Deans of the Division of Allied Health and Nursing, while a search for a permanent Dean continues.

Happy Halloween to all -

just a couple of pictures....

From your scary faculty....



And maybe one of the scary amount of food that sometimes gets consumed in labs!





And one of those VERY scary student presentations.....

Oh - and yes, Native American dress IS completely optional!

For students applying for entry in Fall 2008, remember that the deadline to apply is November 15, 2007!! You must apply at the Connections Center, IN PERSON, by that date, to be considered. Hurry! Limited supplies! Offer expires soon! :)

First and second year students will be working together along with other allied health students on a Service Learning Project at a Health Fair at St. Mary's Church in Lorain on Sunday Nov. 11th from 11A -1P. Feedback from last year's graduates was so tremendous about the experience that we wanted to have the students participate in this worthy project again.

New, updated program statistics are now posted on the program webpage that you PROBABLY just came from, or can be accessed via the follow link (PDF file):
http://www.lorainccc.edu/NR/rdonlyres/5F9E07E6-5F7C-43B9-8DA9-EEDD217007D9/1726/PTAProgramOutcomes.pdf
Check them out and see how we are doing!

A few updates.......

Congratulations to our 18 graduates, 17 in May and one in August! So far 16 have taken the license exam, with a first-time pass rate of 87.5%!!

John Myers has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor.

A new class of 20 incoming students has started the new academic year, starting from a pool of 91 applicants - good luck to the new group!

New program outcomes and statistics data have been compiled and published, and are available for review on the program website.

The attached survey results are from patients treated by students about to graduate from the program. (Click on the survey data to bring it up to inspect as a larger image).

Letters have been sent to program applicants as of this date either:
1) inviting them to interviews on March 24 (at various times as specified in the letter they will receive), or
2) notifying them that they unfortunately did not make it into the pool of candidates to be interviewed and considered for selection for the seats for the program for Fall 2007.

Those applicants not offered an interview, who wish to be considered for entry into the program NEXT year, will NEED TO FILE A NEW PROGRAM APPLICATION IN PERSON WITH THE CONNECTIONS CENTER.

Some recently culled statistics about the program's outcomes:

-80% of students admitted to the program graduate (past 3 year average data)

-72% of graduates who take the licensing exam the first time pass it, while 95% of graduates ultimately pass it within one to three attempts

-100% of graduates reported being employed within 3 months of graduation

PTA Program SELECTION PROCESS: Thank you to all applicants for your patience. The selection process is still underway, with the Connections Center continuing to process the large volume of applications (approximately 90 applicants for the 20 seats in the program). This has taken a bit longer than normal. The list of applicants should be delivered to me (the PTA Program Director) by late January, and then I will do some sorting and processing of the list and beginning making calls to set up the group interviews for the top 40 students selected for the interview process.

The interviews are likely to be held on a Saturday, probably in March. We will try to give those selected as much notice as possible, and then afterward, contact those NOT selected for an interview to inform them as well.

PLEASE make sure that if you have changed phone or address, that the college has your current information. Otherwise we will be unable to contact you, and unfortunately, there is not enough time to try to "track people down" if your information is out of date or incorrect, or if you fail to return phone calls and messages.

One change that we anticipate this year to speed up the process, is to have those interviewed write their narrative essays ON the day of the interview, rather than taking the form home with them to be returned at a later time. You might with to start thinking NOW about what you might wish to include in that narrative. The instructions for the narrative are as follows:
"Write a narrative about yourself. Include some autobiographical information to tell us about yourself, your background, and why you wish to pursue this field of study. The narrative must be handwritten, in ink. Limit yourself to the lines provided on this page only, and no more than 350 words. Do not write in the margins, on the back, or on another page. Sign, date and print your name in the spaces provided on the back of this page."

In addition, the form for performing and verifying the 40 volunteer/observation hours will be given out during the interviews. There is no need to pick up the form ahead of time.

Thank you for your understanding and patience!

ALL current clinical sites & students please note: In order to come into full compliance with CAPTE criteria, the program is required to reduce its clinical hours from the current 800 to 720 or less.

In order to do this in the least disruptive manner possible, BEGINNING IMMEDIATELY, it is important that all students and all clinical sites observe the following program guideline......each scheduled clinical practicum day must consist of no greater than 7 hours of clinical contact, patient care activities, mentoring, role modeling, instruction, clinical experiences, interaction with individuals with impairments/functional limitations/disabilities commonly seen in the clinical setting, and other related clinical activities.

If a student is present in the clinic for an 8 hour period, they MUST be given an hour break (e.g. 1 hour lunch, or 30 min. lunch and 2 breaks of 15 min. each) in order for the program to meet the 7 hour limit. Doing so will reduce clinical hours over the period of the program from 800 to 700, thereby allowing the program to come into full compliance.

We sincerely appreciate all of your effects, hard work, and dedication - as students, Clinical Instructors and clinical sites. "Out there" in the clinical sites, is where "the rubber really hits the road", and we know it. The changes in students, in knowledge, skills, confidence, abilities, outcomes.....from week to week, semester to semester are literally dramatic. You can be VERY proud!! We are certainly proud to be a part of the process.

And again, thank you for your help in this change in clinical hours.

ATTENTION STUDENTS APPLYING FOR THE PROGRAM!

The deadline for application WAS November 15th!
You should have a valid application on file with the Connections Center by NOW in order to be considered for entry for the Fall 2007 class.

Hope, John and "Winston" - our unofficial little program ambassador!

Picture taken at LCCC FamilyFest 2006

Thanks to ALL our student volunteers!

John Myers has been informed by the editors, that his biography will be included in the 2007 edition of "Who's Who in America". To the anonymous person who nominated him for this honor, John sends his sincere thanks!!

Welcome to our new attempt at keeping you updated about events, news, and updates about the Lorain County Community College Physical Therapist Assistant Program!

First off, we'll try not to post anything too trivial here. That means it may not be updated all the time but only as really appropriate.

As for recent news:
We'd like to thank EVERYONE associated with the Program - students, graduates, faculty, clinical instructors, employers, advisory committee members, clinical sites, the ENTIRE college community and everyone else involved with our reaccreditation process.
The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) of the American Physical Therapy Association voted to reaffirm accreditation to the program for a 10 year period.
Thanks to all of you!

After all of that, Program Director John Myers himself underwent training to become a team-leader and on-site evaluator for CAPTE accreditation site visits! Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education Jim Keske, after becoming a Certified Clinical Instructor, took additional training to becoming a Credentialed Clinical Trainer so that he can now train people to become Certified CI's.