MUSC College of Health Professions May 2024 dean's message

Dear alumni and friends,

In April, we received exciting news that three of our programs are now ranked in the top 10% of programs on the U.S. News & World Report 2024 Best Graduate School list. Anesthesia for Nurses is now No. 11, Occupational Therapy is No. 14 and Physical Therapy is No.21. Our Master in Health Administration and Physician Assistant Studies programs will hold their 2023 rankings at No. 19 and No. 50, respectively.

We are thrilled to be ranked among the nation’s best programs. Please join me in congratulating our faculty, staff and students on this accomplishment!

And while it is hard to top this news, we do have more incredible achievements to share with you.

• Cristina Reyes Smith, OTD, OTR/L, was elected vice president of the American Occupational Therapy Association.
• Nancy Carson, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, was awarded the South Carolina Occupational Therapy Association Lifetime Award. The award honors an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant who has made notable contributions to the professions and consumers in the state of South Carolina within a focused area of practice.
• An article by Ashley Bondurant, DPT, M.ED., and Cindy Dodds, PT, Ph.D, PCS, “The Importance of Interprofessional Education,” was recently published in the American Physical Therapy Association magazine.
• The college is hiring for a new position, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs. The role is a collaboration between CHP and MUSC Health.
• Kelly Richardson, Ph.D., was awarded a one-year SPEAK OUT! Clinical Education grant through the Parkinson Voice Project. As part of the grant, our speech-language pathology students will receive free SPEAK OUT! training and will provide individual and group-based voice therapy under the supervision of participating SLPs.
• The CHP Student Mentors for Minorities in Healthcare (SMMH) program welcomed 35 new mentees in January. Current CHP students will mentor these high school and undergraduate students to learn more about our programs.
• On April 16, the college hosted a grand opening ceremony for the MUSC Neurological Exercise and Training (NExT) Wellness Center.

Our team is growing! Welcome to the following new faculty and staff members:

• Caitlin Keller, PT, DPT, PCS, M.Ed., CSCS – Instructor, Division of Physical Therapy
• Victoria Wilson, PT, DPT, NCS – Instructor, Division of Physical Therapy
• Ashlee Robinson – Administrative Assistant, Division of Occupational Therapy

With your support and engagement, we continue to advance our mission to improve the health of our communities by developing and inspiring health scientists and leaders.

Thank you for continuing to make us proud.