What can a movement pattern or an assessment score tell us—and how do we connect those findings to what matters most to the patient?

In this episode of the Lewis University Health Science Podcast, Dr. Arvie Vitente welcomes Kirk Hammer, SPT, Lewis University DPT Class of 2028, for a case-based conversation about Parkinson disease. They follow Henry, a fictional patient who wants to return to volunteering at his church library, to explore the connections among movement, safety, assessment, and meaningful participation.

The conversation examines movement patterns such as bradykinesia, rigidity, freezing, and festination, along with nonmotor concerns and the role of the interprofessional care team. Dr. Vitente and Kirk also discuss medication ON and OFF states, orthostatic symptoms, and why the patient’s current response should guide the examination.

Listeners will hear practical discussions of Hoehn and Yahr staging, the MDS-UPDRS, Mini-BESTest, and cognitive Timed Up and Go, including common interpretation mistakes and the importance of documenting exactly what was tested. The episode also considers related conditions that warrant further medical evaluation.

Throughout the discussion, the focus returns to the person behind the findings: understanding fatigue and quality of life, listening to the patient’s priorities, and translating examination results into clear SOAP documentation and meaningful goals. The central message: assessment is not just about producing a score—it is about understanding how the findings relate to the life someone wants to live.

Join Dr. Arvie Vitente and Lewis University DPT student Miranda Carlson, Class of 2028, for a practical review of traumatic brain injury. Explore injury mechanisms, MRI basics, acute safety, the Glasgow Coma Scale, Rancho levels, and assessments of consciousness, attention, and memory. Clinical examples and review questions connect classroom concepts to safer, more informed physical therapy decisions.

A clinical deep dive into stroke neuroanatomy and diagnostic reasoning with Dr. Arvie Vitente and Megan Baker, SPT. The discussion moves past simple motor weakness to break down the clinical discriminators behind cortical syndromes, pushing behavior, cerebellar emergencies, and classic brainstem crossed signs.

Dr. Arvie Vitente and Sebastian Trevino-Ramirez, SPT, discuss stroke from a physical therapy perspective—from emergency recognition and basic pathophysiology to lesion localization, examination, outcome measures, and participation-focused clinical decision-making. Using Maria’s case, they connect clinical findings to functional meaning and defensible next steps in patient care.

In this episode, Dr. Arvie Vitente will review the essentials of vestibular rehabilitation for physical therapists, with a practical focus on how to evaluate and treat patients who present with dizziness, vertigo, gaze instability, and imbalance.

In this episode, Dr. Arvie Vitente breaks down the anatomy of the pelvic inlet and pelvic outlet in a clear and clinically meaningful way. Learn the key bony landmarks that define the boundaries of the true pelvis, including the sacral promontory, arcuate line, pectineal line, ischial tuberosities, and sacrotuberous ligaments.

Dr. Vitente explains the difference between the true and false pelvis, clarifies common misconceptions, and connects this foundational anatomy to real-world physical therapy practice. From pelvic floor rehabilitation to load transfer and childbirth mechanics, this episode helps you visualize the pelvis in three dimensions and understand why orientation matters.

Perfect for DPT students, clinicians, and anyone who wants to strengthen their anatomical reasoning.

In this episode, Dr. Arvie Vitente walks through the deep gluteal and posterior hip region, where powerful movers, precision stabilizers, key ligaments, and high-stakes neurovascular structures converge. Using a list as a roadmap, you’ll connect anatomy to palpation, movement, and clinical reasoning for hip and buttock symptoms.

In this episode of the Health Science Podcast, Dr. Arvie Vitente guides listeners through the hip and deep gluteal musculature using a comprehensive, clinically oriented approach. Leveraging the Complete Anatomy app, this episode reviews muscle origins, insertions, innervation, and actions, and then connects anatomy to functional movement assessment. Designed to bridge foundational anatomy with clinical reasoning, this episode emphasizes how muscle structure, nerve supply, and line of pull influence movement and stability.

In this episode of the Health Science Podcast, Dr. Arvie Vitente walks listeners through the anatomical foundations needed to understand the sacral plexus. Beginning with spinal nerve organization and numbering, the discussion builds through ventral and dorsal rami, major nerve plexuses, and then focuses on the structure, branches, and clinical relevance of the sacral plexus. This episode connects anatomy to movement, gait, and clinical reasoning for rehabilitation professionals.

In this episode of the Health Science Podcast, Dr. Arvie Vitente provides a step-by-step, listener-friendly walkthrough of the Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA)—a validated tool designed to assess professionalism in interprofessional settings.

Rather than discussing professionalism in the abstract, this episode helps educators, clinical instructors, and learners make professionalism observable, assessable, and coachable across team-based learning, simulation, and clinical education.

Listeners are guided through:

• The purpose of the IPA
• How to use the rating scale
• All six domains and every item, explained in plain language
• Practical tips for teaching, feedback, and assessment

This episode pairs perfectly with the IPA Instrument PDF, which includes the exact wording of every item.

Download: IPA Instrument PDF ⁠https://www.interprofessionalprofessionalism.org/uploads/1/8/8/6/1886419/ipa_instrument.pdf⁠

Developed by the Interprofessional Professionalism Collaborative.

Citation: Frost J, Hammer D, Nunez L, Adams J, et al. The intersection of professionalism and interprofessional care: development and initial testing of the interprofessional professionalism assessment (IPA). Journal of Interprofessional Care. 2018,1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2018.1515733

The Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment (IPA) evaluates an entry-level health professional’s demonstration of professionalism when interacting with members of other professions.

Key features:

• Can be used for self-assessment or external evaluation
• Applicable to students, peers, supervisors, and subordinates
• Designed as a summative assessment, but easily adapted for formative use
• Ideal for interprofessional education (IPE), simulation, and clinical learning environments

This is not just a student tool—it’s a professional growth and coaching tool.

This episode offers three practical applications:

1. Pre-brief & debrief tool for simulations or IPE activities
2. Midpoint and final reflection framework in clinical education
3. Intentional use of “N/O” to identify and create learning opportunities

The IPA helps move professionalism from implicit expectations to explicit, coachable behaviors.

About the Host

Dr. Arvie Vitente is a Professor of Physical Therapy and Director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Lewis University. His work focuses on competency-based education, interprofessional collaboration, and assessment strategies that support real-world professional practice.

Share This Episode

If you teach, supervise, or learn in interprofessional environments, share this episode with:

• Faculty colleagues
• Clinical instructors
• Preceptors
• Interprofessional education teams

Because professionalism improves when expectations are clear, observable, and shared.