Master Clinician Program

The Master Clinician program was created “to promote an environment that fosters and rewards clinical excellence by creating a system that is self-generating and self-sustaining. The goal of the program is not to replace specialist certifications endorsed by professional associations, but rather to serve as an area of opportunity for therapy leaders to pursue advanced clinical skills and knowledge in areas of passion.”

By Kendra Winters, OTR/L, CTO, Pennant ID Therapy Resource

Please join me in congratulating Hannah Simpson, DPT, GCS, on attaining her Master Clinician in the focus area of APTA Geriatric Certified Specialist (GCS).

Master Clinician is a time-consuming and rigorous process by which exceptional clinicians are recognized. Here are some thoughts from Hannah:

“I started at Meadow View as a student in 2021, being placed here only because my rotation had cancelled on me at the last second during the pandemic. I did not have a passion in geriatrics, and like most PT students, was once an athlete and thought that was the direction I wanted to go in. I quickly fell in love with this setting because of the interdisciplinary team, medical complexity, and how fulfilled I felt working with this population.

After graduating, accepting a job at Meadow View was an easy choice. Shortly after I started, I moved over to the transitional care unit (TCU), focusing on short-term skilled rehab. I have stayed on TCU since then and have truly loved it. I enjoy the medical complexity and clinical challenges I get to overcome. I love getting to be a positive aspect of a challenging time for a patient and working with the interdisciplinary team to ultimately send them home.

I feel as though I have grown a lot as a clinician over the years, specifically my communication and leadership skills on TCU. I strongly believe the strongest clinicians and leaders are those that can connect and build relationships with their patients/colleagues. I think my relationship building, communication skills, and geriatric clinical knowledge are my biggest strengths. I think my biggest weakness is my organization skills. I prefer to be active

and working with patients and not doing paperwork or in meetings. I have, however, created some strategies over the years, improving my organization to make sure I am the best teammate I can be for my team and provide the best possible care for my patients.

I feel as though my knowledge, skills, and dedication to my patients will set me apart as a Master Clinician. My leadership and administrative skills have also grown, most recently by championing Meadow View's stroke rehab certification with the American Heart Association this year.”

If you have a clinician who would love guidance from Hannah, please reach out!

By Sarah Smith, OTR/L, CLT, DOR, The Healthcare Resort of Leawood, KS

With great excitement, we announce that Allison Piszczek has earned her Master Clinician in Abilities Care. Allison is an occupational therapist at the Healthcare Resort of Leawood. Her dedication, compassion and commitment have been such an inspiration to us at Leawood. She has helped grow the Abilities Care program and has had such a positive impact on the facility. She has touched the lives of many residents, and we couldn't be prouder of her. Well done, Allison!

 By Kylar Meyer OTR/L, CLT, CTO, Emerald Therapy Resource, Kansas

 I’d like to officially announce to the organization that Andrea Morrow, COTA/L, Outpatient TPM, has been awarded Master Clinician in Functional Core and Pelvic Floor. Please join me in congratulating Andrea for her hard work and continued leadership. Andrea leads the outpatient therapy team at Rock Creek of Ottawa.

Please help me in congratulating Braden Sides, COTA/L, for his hard work and continued leadership. Congratulations, Braden, on being awarded Master Clinician in Lymphedema! Braden is a member of the therapy team at Shawnee Post Acute Rehabilitation and is currently completing the DORiTO program.