Page 7 - OPTA Access September 2017 Volume 45, Issue 2

OPTA | September 2017 | 7
STUDENT ESSAY WINNERS RECAP
APTA Combined Sections Meeting Recap
Matt Burnett, SPT - Cleveland State University
More than 15,000 PTs and PTAs congregated in
San Antonio, Texas for four days for the 2017 Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) I chose to attend CSM because I viewed it as an opportunity to see the eld of physical therapy from all different aspects, under the same roof
Some of the highlights from the Combined Sections Meeting were the hundreds of vendors present and cool new products to test out, a wide variety of presentations from all different sections of the APTA, many poster presentations on any topic you could imagine, and taking part in discussions with many of the leaders and fellow therapists in our profession
I used this time to attend a variety of educational sessions from all different elds of PT. I was able to attend a session from the Sports PT section, a session from the Orthopedic section, a session from the Acute Care section, and a session from the Neurologic section, among other presentations. Nowhere else, other than CSM, can you nd so much variety and high-quality PT research!
In addition to all the educational bene ts from CSM,
I was able to reconnect with some old friends who are emerging leaders in the profession I had the pleasure of meeting and shaking hands with many different therapists from across the country, as well as internationally I was also able to attend a presentation and see multiple posters presented by individuals and groups from the OPTA
In addition to the great time at conference, I explored the beautiful city of San Antonio and enjoyed the perfect weather Highlights from the city include seeing The Alamo, enjoying a stroll on the Riverwalk, and chowing down on some Texas BBQ
I would like to conclude by thanking everyone involved with the student scholarships for selecting me to attend the conference I had a great time and feel that attending CSM was a great step in my development as a professional I look forward to staying involved with the OPTA/APTA and my attendance at CSM has inspired me to attend more national and state conferences in the future!
Left: Our student essay winner, Allison Gaier, SPT, couldn’t leave D.C. without snapping a photo of the U.S. Capitol Building.
Right: A photo collage of our essay winner, Allison Gaier, SPT, showing her #ChoosePT pride!
APTA Federal Advocacy Forum Recap
Allison Gaier, SPT – University of Dayton
I rst want to thank the OPTA for selecting me as
one of the Student Essay Challenge winners to attend the Federal Advocacy Forum this past March The Federal Advocacy Forum is an annual event sponsored by the APTA in Washington D C that brings therapists and students together to meet with legislators to discuss the issues relevant to our profession This three-day conference educated the attendees about the issues, discussed strategies on how to talk with representatives and their aides, and also provided a networking opportunity with people from all over the country
The conference started Sunday night with an opening session and a welcome reception At the reception, I was able to talk with people from all over the country in the course of one evening I met therapists and students from Texas, Illinois, Florida, and Washington, and it was great to hear everyone’s story. Each person’s background was varied; I met clinic owners from Ohio, representatives from the Private Practice Section in Oregon, directors of clinics in multiple states, students in various levels in school and women’s health PTs to name a few. Additional networking opportunities came with breakfast each day and at the PT- PAC Party on Monday night
With this year being an election year there was a session on Monday which talked about the power of making connections. The speaker, who formerly worked in a counter terrorism role, reiterated through many graphs how having any connection with a legislator will help progress your cause He gave examples of the Trump family and how each member’s social network interacted with certain political causes or groups of people The diversity of the social network for each person (especially in the political arena),