What do Nursing, Communication, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy all have in common?
They are all among our strongest academic programs at the University of Indianapolis. But what makes these programs so great?
- The School of Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) includes three years of clinical instruction, during which students receive hands-on experience in local health care facilities
- Most faculty at the Krannert School of Physical Therapy continue to practice on a part-time basis, allowing students to gain exposure to real-world situations through presentations with live patients.
- For undergraduate students who are interested in jumpstarting their graduate education, the schools of Physical and Occupational Therapy also offer special programs for early admission.
UIndy’s Department of Communication also fares well in preparing students for real-world jobs. Majors like Public Relations, Journalism, and Sports Information are each complemented by great opportunities for students to get hands-on training during their undergraduate careers. At UIndy, students have the chance to work for the campus newspaper The Reflector, the campus radio station WICR 88.7 FM, which reaches 22 counties in the state of Indiana, UIndy TV 5, or the student-run public relations agency, Top Dog Communication.
If you are a high school junior, and are interested in learning more about any of these programs, come check out our Spring Preview Days:
Health Professions Preview Day: Monday April 1st, 2013 8:00a.m.–1p.m. EST
RSVP Now at: http://admissions-orig.uindy.edu/rsvp/fhpd/
Nursing Preview Day: Wednesday April 3rd, 2013 10:00a.m. EST
RSVP Now at: http://admissions.uindy.edu/visit/son
Communication Preview Day: Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 8:30a.m. EST
RSVP Now at: http://admissions.uindy.edu/rsvp/previewcomm
Each of these events will include academic presentations, tours of the facilities, and opportunities to hear from faculty and current students. Come and learn how our excellent faculty, programs and opportunities can help prepare you to achieve your goals!!

On a personal level, two of our faculty members serve as great role models to students and staff. In addition to her full-time job as a nursing professor, Dr. Marjorie Porter serves as the Executive Director for the Good Shepherd Community Clinic located in the First Presbyterian Church in Martinsville, Indiana. The clinic was started in April 2006 by the health ministry at the church. Funded primarily by the Kendrick Foundation and donations from community groups and individuals, Dr. Porter and several others got the clinic up and running. The clinic is open every Saturday morning and serves uninsured Morgan County adults who are below federal poverty guidelines. Approximately 250 adults are seen each year. The clinic requires a staff of three MDs, one Nurse practitioner, one psychiatrist, one diabetes nurse educator, 12 Registered Nurses, four pharmacists, one social worker, and many lay volunteers to support its mission. 

Fourth year doctoral student, Emily Johnson, from the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Indianapolis writes about her studies and her volunteer opportunities:

Have you ever been, or considered going, to Belize to provide professional service or as a service-learning student? During the past 3 years, I have fallen in love with my “adopted second home," and have had the privilege of taking several of our MOT and UIndy pre-occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students and a couple of School of Occupational Therapy faculty there with me on a yearly basis to provide brief OT intervention. This summer I am ever so excited to be teaching Seminar in International Practice, which will allow me and my co-trip leader, Krannert School of Physical Therapy faculty member Dr. Bill Staples, to take 5 postprofessional OT and PT students, 5 DPT students, and 2 OT/PT guests to Belize for 2 weeks in July for service-learning and service-provision activities with a wide variety of Belizean partners. One of the really neat things about these trips is that we are pioneers in most senses of the word (although we do stay in air-conditioned accommodations!), as there are currently no practicing OTs (that I’m aware of) and very few practicing PTs in Belize.
Belize is a developing country, who just won her independence from Great Britain in 1981. As a fairly new nation, she is working to develop sustainable infrastructures, and take care of her people, who comprise a mix of rich cultural backgrounds and lifestyles (including people of Mayan, Mestizo, Asian, Lebanese, Mennonite, Indian, and Creole descent, along with many “ex-pats” who have emigrated there from the U.S., Canada, and Europe). The national language is English; although of course there are those who primarily speak Spanish or one of the Mayan dialects. Belize is truly a beautiful country, with her numerous ruins, caves, beaches, and other “tourist attractions”, but what really brings me back there time after time, and makes me long to be there once I return home, is the openness and friendly, welcoming nature of everyone whom I’ve met there—all are so appreciative of our therapeutic and service-related gifts, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem to us.
When I went on my first spring trip there in 2009 as a co-trip leader of a student trip, I worked to gather oral histories from residents of a retirement center in San Ignacio. The following year I took 3 MOT students back with me to the same facility. Last year, we grew to 8 MOT students, 2 faculty, and a school in addition to the retirement center. This summer, we will partner with the original facilities plus 2 additional retirement centers, another primary school, CARE-Belize (which is like our first-steps, serving children from birth to school-age), NaRCIE (the National Resource Center for Inclusive Education), for school-aged children, a karate club, 2 local physicians, and a hospice nurse providing home care in San Ignacio and Belize City. Whew! The word is out! But I believe we are up to the challenge, despite limited resources—we have brave hearts, after all!






2010 National Midwifery Week
As a member of the next generation of physical therapists, I am very encouraged and enthusiastic about the direction that the APTA is taking the profession.
CSM as an elected member of the Student Assembly Board of Directors (SABoD) was one of the best experiences I have ever had.