Students in Daemen University’s Physical Therapy Program will present their original and extensive research during the annual Evidence Based Practice Clinical Research Symposium at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, in Schenck Hall, room 107.
A long-standing tradition of Daemen’s Physical Therapy Department, the event is the culmination of three semesters of work in which students learn how to apply research to their own evidence based practice.
The entire process is immersive, with an overall goal of providing students with a better understanding of clinical research.
“By participating in the research process, students learn to manage the many complexities of research logistics and, by the end of three semesters, they critically discuss and defend their research results in a platform presentation at the symposium,” said Jennifer Scheid, associate professor of physical therapy.
The symposium requires substantial preparation by students who begin by conducting a capstone research project. Students who share the same interests form groups to construct a research topic and choose a clinical physical therapy research question.
“These groups of students link together with a faculty mentor who has conducted research in a specific area and, once the question is devised, it goes through a literature review,” explained Greg Ford, professor and department chair of physical therapy at Daemen. “Students formulate a human subjects proposal and, in some instances, are approved for human subjects research. They then collect and analyze the data, and complete a results section and a conclusion of their research.”
Many of the projects go on to be presented at national conferences or published in rehabilitation journals, “which looks wonderful on a resume,” said Michael Ross, associate professor of physical therapy and faculty development director.
Through the event, students also have the opportunity to apply for funding from the Physical Therapy Department Student Research Fund, which was initiated over a decade ago by former Daemen professor Jack Stachura.
“These monies can go toward the purchase of email lists, instruments for survey-based research studies, and any variety of equipment or tools necessary for data collection in human subject clinical based research,” said Ford. “Numerous student research groups have benefited from the generous donations provided by those in support of our program and students.”
The symposium also benefits professional physical therapists who attend. Approved by New York State for continuing medical education credits, the event allows physical therapists to earn four contact hours of credits approved through the New York State Board of Physical Therapy.
“This is a testament to the high level of research being presented,” said Ross. “It has been extremely well-attended in the past.”
To learn more about how Daemen physical therapy students receive clinical education, click here.