Faculty Focus Friday | Q&A With Dr. Jyoti Heiple, Assistant Professor at the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy (ASOT)

Faculty Focus Friday is a Q&A series that highlights individual faculty members in various academic programs around Spalding University. This week’s featured faculty member is Jyoti Heiple, assistant professor at the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy (ASOT).

I decided to teach at Spalding because I like the sense of community here. The cohort sizes are small, which lends an opportunity to support students on a personal level during their academic journey at ASOT. The focus is more on teaching and sharing clinical knowledge with students versus a heavy emphasis on scholarship related to research. Although, I do enjoy presenting research initiatives at state and national conferences to support the evidence-based practice brought into the classroom.

I have over 20 years of clinical experience primarily with upper extremity injuries as a board-certified hand therapist (CHT). I have been a faculty member at Spalding since 2019 and enjoy teaching anatomy, adult rehabilitation, and orthopedic/ work industry courses. My research interests include evidence-based occupational therapy assessment and treatment approaches related to upper extremity injuries.

ASOT has a phenomenal OT program that is supported by faculty who are well-respected specialists in the field. Classroom sizes are small, providing students personalized attention from faculty who can foster competent and confident entry-level practitioners.

A major lesson I hope students take from our program is to continue to seek the “why” in what they are doing, whether it is the treatment they are providing for patients or something related to their personal lives. I want students to explore best practices to make the profession even better for the next generation. I teach compassion and understanding not only from the patient’s perspective, but also from working with family members, colleagues, and really, whomever is at the receiving end.

I absolutely love college basketball, so I have a basketball hoop on the back of my door where on occasion, I may get a few shots in and hear the crowd go wild!

Occupational therapy organically aligns with Spalding’s mission statement. My teaching style involves not only teaching students to restore peacefulness to patients, but also peacefulness to the community and themselves through compassion, understanding, and patience.