Your donation to the University of Minnesota’s Occupational Therapy program promotes better health care by enabling the brightest students in the field to access the country’s foremost OT program and contribute to this vital component of the health care sector.
I first graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee with a BSOT in 1981. After working in various clinical practice settings and in differing roles I pursued my advanced degrees in OT. In 2013, I received my post-professional MSOT degree and in 2016, I completed my professional OTD. These were both from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee Wisconsin. During this educational journey spanning many years I have had the pleasure to work as a practitioner in Wisconsin, Ohio and Minnesota.
Job opportunities are available throughout the country, particularly in rural areas and areas that do not have many occupational therapy education programs. Minnesota is an identified workforce shortage area for occupational therapy.
Dr. McGee is a musculoskeletal rehabilitation translational scientist whose clinically-relevant research objective is to improve the health and participation of persons with upper limb musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, as an educator of entry-level and post-professional occupational therapy learners, Dr. McGee’s scholarship of teaching and learning objective is to test the impact of didactic training on learner self-efficacy. His active and past research fall in the following domains:
Fatigue management in chronic conditions, multiple sclerosis, task-oriented approach to CNS dysfunction, stroke, functional outcomes, motor control & motor learning, assessment of hand strength, dexterity, and hand function.
Practice:
Adult Physical Disabilities
Dr. Kruse is currently the Director of Experiential Learning at the University of Minnesota. She has practiced clinically in home health for 9 years, and has additional clinical experience in long-term care and transitional care settings. Dr. Kruse is passionate about aging in place and home safety, along with cognition, memory, and maintaining activities of interest through the lifespan. Her research interests include the role of Occupational Therapy in reducing hospitalizations in the home health setting.
Caregiver education for clients with dementia; exploration of the Cognitive Performance Test as tool for caregiver education and intervention planning for persons with dementia; roles for OT in long term care settings.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning related to Capstone and other experiential learning
The role of emotional contagion and group-level affect within student cohorts. Continued scholarly interests include the scholarship of teaching and learning and the role of occupational therapy within organizational health and wellness.
Acute physical rehabilitation setting working with adults and older adults with a variety of diagnoses.