Professional Accomplishments Connie J. Seymour, PT, Ph.D., OCS I have been teaching at the University of Massachusetts Lowell since the Fall of 1992. I also practice part-time at Winchester Hospital/Orthopaedics Plus as a staff therapist and clinic mentor. Prior to arriving at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, I served ten years in the military as a physical therapist working in various capacities. My military responsibilities included staff therapist, educator for physical therapy assistant and physical therapy students as well serving as Chief Physical Therapist of an Army Community Hospital. Because of the varied experiences I ve had in the military and various clinical and educational positions here at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, I have developed a number of interests and expertise in physical therapy, education and research. Clinical Expertise Twenty years of clinical experience working in various areas of physical therapy Currently serve as clinician and mentor for Winchester Hospital/Orthopaedics Plus Physical Therapy Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist by American Board of Physical Therapy Examiners in 1997 Certified in Neurodevelopmental Treatment (NDT) for adult hemiplegia Areas of Clinical Expertise o Manual Therapy o Orthopedic Physical Therapy o Physical therapy intervention for the breast cancer patient o Lymphedema management Teaching Responsibilities Fall 2003 Co-developed and taught new online course offered through the College of Education entitled Course Planning in Higher Education. Fall 2002 to Fall 2003 Developed and taught two new hybrid courses to third-year Physical Therapy students. The titles of the courses are Clinical Reasoning in Physical Therapy I and II. These courses were new capstone courses designed to prepare entry-level doctorate physical therapists for autonomous practice. This required preparation for both face-to-face and online portions of the courses. Fall 2002 to Spring 2004 Developed and taught two new online courses in the tdpt program offered through the physical therapy department. The titles of the two new courses are Clinical Reasoning in Physical Therapy and
Expert Practice in Physical Therapy. These courses were designed to prepare practicing physical therapists for autonomous and independent practice without referral. This required learning the format for course preparation and developing new content for the online aspects of the courses. Fall 2000 Develop and Teach Web-Based course on Clinical Decision Making in Physical Therapy. Required course for Advanced Masters Degree in Physical Therapy Fall 1997 to 2001 Differential diagnosis and Clinical Decision Making in Physical Therapy. Required course for Advanced Masters Degree in Physical Therapy. Fall 1992 to Present Introduction to Professional Issues and Clinical Practice in Physical Therapy. Course Taught in Fall for eleven consecutive years. Required course for Graduate Physical Therapy Students. Spring 1992 to Present Musculoskeletal III (Evaluation of the Spine). Course Taught in Spring for ten of last eleven years. Required course for Graduate Physical Therapy Students. Spring 1992 to Present Musculoskeletal III Labs (Three labs per week until 2003 where one lab was taught). Course Taught in Spring for ten of last eleven years. Required course for Graduate Physical Therapy Students. Teaching Innovations 2003 Developed criteria for and served as editor to clinicians recruited to develop unfolding cases as part of a grant received through a Teaching and Learning Grant. 2003 Developed and integrated several unfolding cases (including video and pictures) into the Clinical Reasoning I and II capstone courses. 2002/03 Developed and taught two new hybrid courses to third-year Physical Therapy students. This required learning the format for course preparation and developing new content for the online aspects of the courses. 2002/03 Developed and taught two new online courses in the tdpt program offered through the physical therapy department. This required learning the format for course preparation and developing new content for the online aspects of the courses.
1998 Development of video/cd instructional tape (patient case study) with collaboration of graduate student in the physical therapy advanced master s program in physical therapy. 1996 Performed classroom research on the effectiveness of redesigning a syllabus to enhance learning. A student questionnaire was developed and administered to the students in my Musculoskeletal III, Research Methods in Exercise Physiology, and Clinical Teaching in Physical Therapy courses. Data from the questionnaire was used to further enhance student learning. Recent Professional Presentations Conducted Faculty Development workshops (Learning Centered Syllabus, and Online Assessments) Summer 2003 Conducted Faculty Development workshop during Winter 2003 intersession on Assessment Methods in Higher Education. Presented class to the honors students at the request of Steve Pennell on Physical Therapy as a profession in September of 2002. Presented portion of course offered through the College of Education at the request of Mary Beaudry. The content of the presentation was Assessment in Higher Education Teaching Fall 2002. Conducted several Faculty Development workshops (Learning Centered Syllabus and Online Course Development) during Summer of 2002. Instructor/facilitator for one University of Massachusetts Lowell Teaching Summer Institute entitled Learning Centered Teaching: Enriching Student Learning With On Line Course Materials Summer 2002. Served as Panelist at the 2001 University of Massachusetts Lowell Best Practices in On Line Education Conversation Dinner on the topic of Applying Technology to Achieve Higher-order Learning Objectives. Two hour course presented to the Rehabilitation Department at Lowell general Hospital on Rehabilitation Following Breast Cancer Surgery 2001.
Presented lecture at the first annual College of Health Professions Conference on the topic of Rehabilitation Following Breast Cancer Surgery 1998. Two hour course to the Rehabilitation Department at Faulkner Hospital, West Roxbury, MA on Rehabilitation Following Breast Cancer Surgery 1998. Recent Publications Seymour, Connie. Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy. In National Physical Therapy Examination Review and Study Guide. Siegelman and O Sullivan. International Educational Resources, Ltd., 2004, Chapter 1, pgs. 1-40. Hickey, Edward; Rondeau, Mark; Corrente, James; Abysalh, Jason; and Seymour, Connie. Reliability of the Cervical Range of Motion (CROM) Device and Plumb-Line Techniques in Measuring Resting Head Posture. The Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy, 2000, 8, 10-17. Seymour, Connie and Dybel, Gerard. The Effectiveness of Three Teaching Methods for Gait Analysis Using the Rancho Los Amigos Gait Analysis Checklist. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 1998, 12,3-9. Dhimitri, Kenneth; Brodeur, Suzette; Croteau, Michele; Richard, Stephanie; and Seymour, Connie. Reliability of The Cervical Range of Motion Device in Measuring Upper Cervical Motion. The Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy, 1998, 6, 31-36. Abreu, Natalia; Hutchins, Jennifer; Matson, John; Polizzi, Nicole; and Seymour, Connie. The Effect of Group vs. Home Visit Safety Education and Prevention Strategies for Falling in Community Dwelling Elderly. Home Health Care Management and Practice, 1998, 10, 57-65. Current Scholarly/Research Interests Learning Centered Teaching: Currently collaborating with Dr. Mary Beaudry on several articles focusing on Learning Centered Teaching in Physical Therapy. Clinical Reasoning and characteristics expert practice in physical therapy: Currently collaborating with Northeast Rehabilitation in Salem, New Hampshire in the development of a research project that evaluates the clinical reasoning characteristics of novice and expert practitioners in the area of patient and family teaching. Reliability and Validity of tests and measurements in orthopedic physical therapy: submitted grant to the Orthopedic Specialty Section of the APTA to
study Symptom Localization Testing For The Lumbar Spine, Pelvis, and Lower Extremity. Intervention Strategies in the management of low back pain: Currently working on submitting a grant to The Foundation for Physical Therapy to study the influence of manual traction as an intervention in the management of radicular low back pain with Theresa O Neil, DPT. Evaluation of lifting strategies used by health care workers: Currently developing research project that will investigate effective lifting strategies used by health care workers in collaboration with Dr. Gerry Dybel. Currently serving as research advisor for advanced-master s thesis by Stephen Cannon entitled Secondary Determinants of Disability in Older Homebound Adults