Ohtake named Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association

Patricia J. Ohtake, UB’s assistant vice president for interprofessional education and associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science in the School of Public Health and Health Professions, has been named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (FAPTA).

The FAPTA designation is the highest honor among American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) membership categories, and only a handful of physical therapists are named as fellows each year. Ohtake is the only UB faculty member to have received this honor.

APTA’s Catherine Worthingham fellows are selected from among physical therapist or life physical therapist members of the association whose contributions over the past 15 years to the profession through leadership, influence and achievements demonstrate frequent and sustained efforts to advance the profession. The recognition, Ohtake said, is a tremendous honor for her contributions in education, research and service to the physical therapy profession.

Throughout her career, Ohtake has made substantial contributions to the profession of physical therapy, and is a recognized national leader in physical therapy education and practice. As a physical therapist educator, Ohtake has shared her decades of acute care physical therapist practice with several thousand physical therapy students at UB.

Early in her career, Ohtake was the recipient of the APTA Margaret L Moore Award for Outstanding New Faculty Member. Her passion for education is characterized by creative approaches to student engagement to facilitate successful learning.

Ohtake has been an early adopter of novel instructional design strategies, including the use of high-fidelity simulation and debriefing with good judgment, team-based learning, and other active learning formats. In 2021, Ohtake’s outstanding teaching was recognized with an American Council of Academic Physical Therapy Teaching Innovation Award.

Ohtake has also made significant contributions to the profession of physical therapy through her service in leadership positions in the APTA and other organizations. Ohtake’s outstanding service to the profession has been acknowledged with the 2017 APTA Lucy Blair Service Award and 2021 APTA-Acute Care Lecture Award.

Ohtake is also an accomplished scientist with over 80 published articles that have served to advance the field. Her physical therapy research is focused on clinical, educational and basic science topics related to physical therapist care of people in acute and critical-care settings. Her expertise is sought as a speaker nationally and internationally.

Ohtake’s career reflects an inspiration consistent with Worthingham’s work and a commitment to advancing the mission of the APTA – building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.