Esther Haskvitz, PT, PhD, ATC

Esther received her bachelor's degree with majors in elementary education and physical education from Washington University in St. Louis. She studied athletic training and earned an MEd from the University of Virginia and completed an MS degree in physical therapy at Texas Woman's University in Houston. Her PhD in exercise physiology is from the University of Virginia. She has practiced physical therapy in a variety of settings including acute care, out-patient orthopedics and sports medicine, geriatric extended care, sub-acute brain injury, and pediatric rehabilitation. She primarily teaches the research and evidence-based practice courses and serves as the Program Director for the Transitional DPT Program. Her current research is in the development and status of the PT profession, physical activity, and clinical practice issues.

Teaching Responsibilities

Professional PT Curriculum (entry-level):
PTY 647 Analysis of the Professional Literature in Physical Therapy
PTY 769 Capstone Experience: Faculty-Mentored Research Project

Post-Professional Curriculum (tDPT):
PTY 647 Analysis of the Professional Literature in Physical Therapy
PTY 768 Capstone Experience: Evidence-Based Practice and Case Report
PTY 769 Capstone Experience: Faculty-Mentored Research Project

Current Scholarly Activities

In collaboration with Dr. Julia Chevan, PT, PhD, MPH, OCS, at Springfield College I investigated the physical activity levels of physical therapy professionals. Data collection is complete and the manuscript is being written.

Also in collaboration with Dr. Chevan I am investigating occupational prestige in physical therapy. Two students did a part of this work as their faculty mentored research.

With student investigators at both The Sage Colleges and Springfield College we investigated the effectiveness of a weight-bearing indicator for teaching patients partial-weight-bearing gait. Further work is being planned to continue to develop this device.

Also, a new book titled Applied Sports Medicine for Coaches was written in collaboration with Dr. James Johnson and Dr. Barbara Brehm of Smith College and was recently published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.