Physical therapy students don white coats

From left: Lindsey Michael, physical therapy class of 2010; Chelsea Schauer, classes of 2001 and 2005; Physical Therapy Alumni Chapter board member and assistant professor Tammy Roehrs, class of 1990; and Kimberly Laird, physical therapy class of 2010; at the Jan. 11 PT white coat ceremony. Schauer is the white coat sponsor for Michael and Roehrs is the white coat sponsor for Laird. (Photos contributed by Lenal Bottoms, UNMC alumni affairs)

From left: Sara Macklin, physical therapy classes of 2002 and 2005 and president of the UNMC Physical Therapy Alumni Chapter, is a white coat sponsor for Elizabeth Mostek, physical therapy class of 2010.

Nick Reiss, physical therapy classes of 2000 and 2005 and Physical Therapy Alumni Chapter board member, and Suzanne Wing, physical therapy class of 2010, at the recent White Coat ceremony. Reiss sponsored Wing’s white coat.

Forty-one physical therapy students from the Class of 2010 received their white coats earlier this month.

It was the second year the UNMC Physical Therapy Alumni Chapter sponsored such a ceremony, which includes students taking a professional pledge to accept the responsibilities that accompany the practice of physical therapy.

Students also found, inside the pocket of their white coat, the name of a UNMC physical therapy education alumnus who sponsored the coat.

In all, 43 alumni and faculty members from eight different states including South Dakota, Minnesota, Virginia, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and Nebraska, contributed 64 sponsorships, said Kim Cuda, director of UNMC’s Alumni Affairs office.

“We’re grateful to our proud alumni and faculty for serving as sponsors and encourage each student to contact and thank their sponsors,” Cuda said. “The partnership provides a great networking and mentoring opportunity for our students and keeps our alumni connected to UNMC.”

Each participant in the Jan. 11 program — from Sara Macklin, president of the Physical Therapy Alumni Chapter and 2002 and 2005 graduate, who welcomed the group to keynote speaker Michael Berlin, president and CEO of Excel Physical Therapy and a 1977 alum — was a graduate of UNMC’s physical therapy education program.