2018 OCS Fast Track

DPT School: Masters from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va

One Thing I hope to get out of this Program: Accountability for continued development of skills and meet APTA criteria for "expert clinician" to allow for future teaching opportunities

My Biggest Professional Fear: Closed minded Referral sources that aren't willing to change referral patterns when better options are available to their patients

Where I will be professionally in 5 Years: managing a clinic and teaching PT how to be better PT's

Short Bio: Currently I work for Pivot physical therapy managing a clinic in downtown Norfolk, Va. We opened the clinic 2 years ago under Tidewater Physical therapy. I've worked for 19 years as a physical therapy, with the last 17 in outpatient physical therapy. I am a big believer in teaching what you know and have worked as a CI for 17 years and development some of my own teaching materials I use for marketing and clinical instruction. I did my certification, residency and fellowship in orthopedic manual physical therapy through the Ola Grimsby Institute and during that time I moved to Little Rock, AR to work with one of the instructors, Rob Tillmen, and I flew up to Cleveland, OH once a month to do the didactic work and throw a lot of bad manipulation on classmates with another instructor, Richard Kring.

Nxt Gen Program: OCS Fast Track

Name: John Salerno

Credentials: PT,DPT

DPT School: Washington University in St. Louis

One Thing I hope to get out of this Program: A more comprehensive understanding of the application of orthopedic strategies in my daily practice.

My Biggest Professional Fear: Knowing that I could have done more to help a patient.

Where I will be professionally in 5 Years: An established therapist who continues to develop his skills.

Short Bio: John is currently a Physical Therapist at Pivot Physical Therapy in Gaithersburg, MD where he is pursuing his Orthopedic Certified Specialist (OCS) certification and Certification in Orthopedic Manual Therapy (COMT) through the NextGen institute. He received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis, MO and his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nxt Gen Program: OCS Fast Track

Name: Katie Thompson

Credentials: PT, MPT

DPT School: University of Oklahoma

One Thing I hope to get out of this Program: To add to my orthopedic skill set to provide the best possible care for my patients

My Biggest Professional Fear: Getting stuck in a "rut"/ professional burn out

Where I will be professionally in 5 Years: Likely still outpatient ortho!

Bio: I graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2010 with an MPT. I have practiced for almost 8 years in outpatient ortho in Tulsa, OK, Chicago and now Northern VA. I moved to NoVa with my husband and golden retriever 1 year ago- joined Pivot in May 2017. I have been contemplating completing the OCS for 3 years!

Nxt Gen Program:OCS FastTrack

Name: Daniel Soler

Credentials: PT, DPT, AIB-VR, FSOAE

PT School:Drexel University

Getting out of this: I am looking to improve my clinical decision making and better my patient care through this program.

Professional Fear: Becoming complacent

In 5 years:I’ll hopefully be continuing to direct a clinic for Pivot or have moved further into a management role. I’d like to explore teaching opportunities within a classroom as well.

Bio:Daniel joined the Pivot Physical Therapy team in August 2016 as a physical therapist and has since become the Clinic Director at the new Connecticut Ave. location. Daniel grew up in South Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, and he enjoys being active outdoors with hiking, skiing, kayaking, or just playing some pick up soccer. Daniel works a lot with people with balance and Vestibular impairments as he is a Vestibular Rehabilitation Specialist and also volunteers regularly to help put into place Pivots DC proactive geriatric functional mobility screening assessments. Daniel is looking to get his Dry Needling certification in early 2018.