Student wins outstanding physical therapist award

04/25/2013 2:00 PM

By Steven Johnson ‘13

Emily Pisani, a third year student in Bradley’s physical therapy doctorate program, received the 2012 Outstanding Student Physical Therapist Award from the American Physical Therapy Association.

The award recognizes exceptional physical therapy students or assistant students to who exhibit superior scholastic ability and potential for future professional contribution.

“I never thought that out of all physical therapy and physical therapy assistants in Illinois I would be chosen,” Pisani said. “It is an honor to represent Bradley and it is a testament to the excellence of the program that I was selected.”

Pisani credited her professors for helping her with her studies and clinical performance.

“Without my professors’ support throughout the program—to be involved and strive to achieve all that I could—there is no way I would have accomplished all that I have,” she said. “Without the guidance and encouragement of the department, I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have.”

Pisani began as a representative for her class with both the American and the Illinois Physical Therapy Association and began attending district meetings as well as the IPTA assembly two years ago. Last year, she was chosen to represent her class for the newly reformed Student Special Interest Group within the IPTA in order to communicate with her classmates regarding SSIG activities and to also promote student involvement.

To further encourage her classmates’ involvement, she coordinated a trip to attend the IPTA Student Conclave in the fall of 2012. Additionally, she began participating in the pro-bono clinic that the PT department established with Heartland in order to serve the public and gain more experience with the guidance of our professors.

“My research partner, Sarah Fuller, and I dedicated a large amount of time on our project and were rewarded with the President’s Award at the 2012 Research Expo,” Pisani said. “This enabled us the opportunity to promote our research on a national level on two occasions at the Pediatric Annual Conference and the Combined Sections Meeting.”