With the recent Salus University merger, Drexel University College of Medicine has expanded its portfolio to include additional graduate programs in high-demand health sciences and rehabilitation professions.

Salus boasts a long and prestigious history dating back to 1919. Over the years, the school has grown and expanded its offerings, becoming a leader in the education of health professionals.

Several of Salus’ renowned programs have joined the College of Medicine. The programs will benefit from the College’s existing resources while continuing their tradition of excellence. Salus also brings to Drexel some of the largest and most complex clinical facilities in its health portfolio – The Eye Institute, Pennsylvania Ear Institute and Speech-Language Institute. The expertise residing at these clinical facilities will benefit interprofessional training and research in collaboration with Drexel’s clinics, colleges and schools. Here is an overview of the programs and the directors who lead them:

Salus at Drexel University Physician Assistant Studies Program

The Salus at Drexel University Physician Assistant Studies program is patient-centered with a primary care philosophy and holistic approach, so students appreciate the need to not only care for the patient but also care about the patient.

Early and extensive clinical training combined with innovative teaching through small group and case-based learning are integral to the program. The second year is dedicated entirely to clinical rotations that provide direct patient care experiences in primary and specialty care disciplines. Students in the program receive:

• A strong basic science and pathophysiology foundation.
• Anatomy instruction with an on-site full cadaver dissection lab, augmented with virtual anatomy facilities. Innovative, evidence-based instruction, which is integral to the development of critical thinking skills.
• Observational patient care, which is introduced in the first year.

Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a Master of Medical Science degree.

Rachel Ditoro, EdD, MSPAS, PA-C, is director of the Salus at Drexel PA Studies program. She says that among the program’s core teachings are “communication, building empathy, and trying to help students become providers patients will go to and feel good about.”

She stresses to incoming and current students the expectation that “not only will they be trained and competent enough to pass their board exams, but the medical education they’re getting at the University will allow them to be successful, compassionate clinicians.”

Global, Interprofessional and Specialized Programming

Global, Interprofessional and Specialized Programming (GISP) designs and implements master’s, certificate, micro-credential, interprofessional and continuing education for health care professions in collaboration with Drexel University’s colleges and external partners. GISP provides innovative degree programs and professional development offerings, including interprofessional education for collaborative practice (IPECP) to improve student, patient, client and community outcomes both nationally and internationally.

Melissa Vitek, OD, EdD, FAAO, PNAP, is director of GISP. A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, she is also director of the MSc in Clinical Optometry and the Advanced Placement OD programs, and she is an instructor and coordinator in the Interprofessional Evidence Based Practice course.

Blindness and Low Vision Studies

Salus’ Blindness and Low Vision Studies programs, which are part of GISP, include four subject areas, each of which offers a master’s degree or certificate:

• Low Vision Rehabilitation (LVR)
• Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
• Teacher of Students With Visual Impairments (TVI)
• Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)

Fabiana Perla, MS ’93, EdD, COMS, CLVR, is chair of the Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) programs. She has worked extensively to provide direct services to individuals who are visually impaired, while also teaching and securing federal and local grants to support graduate students and enhance staffing in the field of blindness and low-vision impairment. Perla has gained an international reputation through her publications and presentations in the profession of orientation and mobility.

Low Vision Rehabilitation

The MS and certificate programs in low vision rehabilitation (LVR) prepare professionals to work in clinical rehabilitation and educational settings with people who have low vision. LVR specialists conduct functional visual assessments and provide instruction on skills to improve the individual’s performance in activities of daily life using optical devices, non-optical devices and/or assistive technology. Graduates work in settings including optometric practices, low vision clinics, and veterans affairs medical centers.

Kerry Lueders, MS ’99, COMS, TVI, CLVT, is director of the LVR program. She graduated in 1999 from the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) master’s program at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.

Additionally, she provides low vision therapy at The Eye Institute, offering services through the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center, where she also mentors LVR interns and fourth-year Doctor of Optometry students. “There is a shortage of personnel in our field, and our programs are kind of unique across the country,” she says. “We need more students, we need to recruit, and we need to get the word out more that this is such an important need.”

Teacher of Students With Visual Impairments

The Teacher of Students With Visual Impairments (TVI) Master of Education and certificate programs are competency-based teacher preparation programs offering coursework and practical experiences that develop the knowledge and skills required for the instruction of infants, children and youth who are blind or visually impaired, and those with multiple disabilities.

Katherine Alstrin, EdD, TVI, COMS, is the TVI program director. “I like to think we are modeling the breaking down of silo walls that is needed for true transdisciplinary collaboration,” she says. “The certificates you earn in the BLVS department are applicable across a variety of professions and are needed, in great demand, everywhere.”

Orientation and Mobility

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists teach children and adults with blindness or vision impairments critical skills to remain oriented in their environment, as well as specific mobility skills to travel safely, efficiently and as independently as possible within the home, at school, at work and in the community.

The O&M master’s and certificate program offer full-time and part-time options, and the majority of the curriculum is taught online, with a summer residency and one additional week in the fall on campus. The program culminates with an internship.

Jamie Maffit, MS ’06, COMS, CLVT, is the director of the O&M program. She provides low vision rehabilitation therapy at the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center housed at The Eye Institute of Drexel University. She works closely with low vision optometric interns who are studying how to evaluate patients’ vision and the referral process for rehabilitation services.

Vision Rehabilitation Therapy

The Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) master’s and certificate programs prepare professionals to provide services in adaptive activities of daily living and independent living skills to blind or visually impaired individuals across the lifespan.

Programs can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis and are mostly delivered online, with an eight- to 10-week summer on-campus residency and an internship.

Lachelle Smith, MS ’03, CVRT, VRT, is director of the VRT program. The profession attracts a diverse group of individuals from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, including but not limited to special education, disability services, rehabilitation studies, social work, psychology, occupational therapy, financial services careers, health care professions (including doctors and nurses) and so much more.

“The clients we serve get to choose the level of independence they are most comfortable with, and I get to empower them with knowledge, skills and resources to help them achieve that goal,” says Smith. “I’m not just helping them; I’m helping them help themselves. That’s the enlightenment, empowerment and encouragement I enjoy passing on to our students. And, then when you do that, you see them pass that information along to others — that’s the best feeling.”

Biomedicine

The Biomedicine Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Master of Science (MSc) graduate research degree programs allow students to specialize in any area of health science, including but not limited to:

• Optometry
• Audiology
• Occupational therapy
• Physician assistant studies
• Rehabilitation sciences
• Biological sciences
• Clinical medicine

Master’s and doctoral graduate students in the Biomedicine programs will be trained and challenged to:

• Use effective means of reviewing literature.
• Find and master the most specific and sensitive research techniques.
• Produce and manage data with sensitivity to quality assurance.
• Understand ethical and confidentiality mandates.
• Publish findings using methods that maintain the integrity of the research and its interpretation.

Darryl Horn, PhD, is the director of Biomedicine programs and the Post-baccalaureate program in Health Sciences. He earned a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and did his postdoctoral research in the Department of Cancer Biology at Scripps Research Institute. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Charles B. Cairns, MD, the Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Dean of the College of Medicine, and senior vice president of medical affairs and of Drexel Health operations, expresses excitement and enthusiasm for the merger. “Salus University’s reputation as an exceptional educational institution for health professionals is a testament to the quality of these programs and the students they attract,” says Cairns. “I look forward to collaborating with these leaders as we develop synergies across the outstanding programs that are part of our College of Medicine community.”

— Mike Morsch