LMU Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program

05/06/2026

🎓✨ Tomorrow is the day!✨🎓

The LMU OTD program is excited to host our Annual Scholarship Symposium on Thursday, May 7th! 🧠📚

Come support and celebrate our students as they showcase their incredible research and capstone projects—this is an event you won’t want to miss! 👏

💼 OTPs: Earn up to 2 hours of CEU credit for attending!

We can’t wait to see you there! 💙

05/05/2026

What a week it is going to be for our Class of 2026! Yesterday we celebrated their accomplishments with a commencement lunch.

We had twelve students receive a GPA of 3.75 while in the program! They will receive a gold cord to wear at Commencement.

We recognized our Student Ambassadors for all of the hard work they do while on campus assisting with tours, helping with interviews, and assisting with on campus events.

Finally, we recognized the executive board of our Student Occupational Therapy Association and LMU Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity Chapter.

Congratulations to everyone in the Class of 2026!

04/21/2026

On Saturday, some of our students volunteered with GiGi's Playhouse at their Dance for a Difference event. This event helped raise crucial funds that will enable them to open their doors this year to provide 100% FREE educational, therapeutic, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome and their families.

If you would like to donate to this wonderful cause, please follow this link: https://gigisplayhouse.donordrive.com/knoxville-dance-26

04/09/2026

👏 Yesterday, two of our third-year students presented a research poster at the University of Kentucky Appalachian Research Day!

Their project, titled “The Needs of Pregnant and Postpartum People in the Appalachian Region: A Needs Assessment,” was conducted during their second year in the program and is now helping support continued research in this important area.

This outstanding research team included Madison Eadie, Alaina Olson, Jacy Sims, and Kailtyn Wright, under the mentorship of faculty advisor Dr. Jillian Pindar.

Interested in learning more about our research track? Beginning in the first year and culminating at the end of the second year, students gain valuable hands-on research experience throughout the program.

Contact us at OTDAdmissions@lmunet.edu to learn more!

04/07/2026

Second-year students in our wounds and burns lab used some unexpected tools—ripe fruit and tape to simulate the challenges of working with fragile skin. 🍑🩹

Ripe fruit helped demonstrate how easily damaged skin can break down, while tape allowed students to practice safe application and removal techniques to prevent further injury.

These hands-on activities encourage students to think critically about protecting skin integrity while building essential clinical skills in a safe environment.

04/03/2026

Our second-year students continue to prepare for level II fieldwork in Physical Rehabilitation II. In this lab, they reviewed lines, leads, and tubes and learned how to use a Hoyer lift.

03/20/2026

OTD students learned proper body mechanics with ADL and IADL tasks in their Applied Kinesiology course with Dr. Nash this week!

03/20/2026

03/10/2026

It has been a quiet week so far on campus with the students being on spring break, but this picture has kept us laughing!

Our first-year mental health students put their detective skills to work, investigating thoughts and behaviors using a cognitive behavioral approach. Detective Alexa led the case with assistants Ainsley and Rachel.

03/04/2026

The LMU OTD program will be hosting the Annual Scholarship Symposium on Thursday, May 7th. This is an amazing event that highlights our students' research and capstone projects!

If you are an OTP, you can receive up to two hours of CEU credit for attending this event.

We hope to see you there!

02/26/2026

Today we spotlight another student research group!

You are invited to participate in a brief research survey examining primary care providers’ awareness and understanding of Occupational Therapy (OT). The eligibility criteria for participation includes individuals who are actively practicing or have prior experience in primary care as an MD, DO, PA, or NP.

This study is being conducted by a doctoral student in Occupational Therapy at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) as part of the requirements for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program and has been approved by the LMU Institutional Review Board (IRB Protocol: IRB #2025/10/4)

Study Purpose:
The goal of this research is to better understand how primary care providers currently perceive Occupational Therapy in terms of scope of practice, specialization, referral considerations, and therapeutic outcomes.

Survey Details:
• Less than 5-10 minutes to complete.
• Participation is completely voluntary and anonymous.
• No identifying information will be collected.

Survey Link: https://lmu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2348id3NvhKUFUy

Your responses will contribute to a better understanding of how OT can support primary care practice and patient outcomes.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact:
• Principal Investigators: Nicholas Miller, OTD Student, Lincoln Memorial University, Nicholas.Miller@lmunet.edu;Edmond Drake, OTD Student, Lincoln Memorial University, Edmond.Drake@lmnuet.edu
• Faculty Advisor: Acacia Gambrel, OTD, OTR/L, Acacia.Gambrel@lmunet.edu

We greatly appreciate your time and consideration. Please also feel free to forward this invitation to other primary care colleagues who may be eligible to participate.

Thank you for your contribution to this important research.