Rheumatologists on the Move

Maura Daly Iversen Named Catherine Worthingham Fellow by APTA

Dr. Iversen

Maura Daly Iversen, PT, DPT, SD, MPH, FNAP, FAPTA, associate editor of The Rheumatologist, was recently named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow—the highest honor among the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) membership categories.

According to the award announcement, Worthingham “motivated others to make an impact within the physical therapy profession. … She was also a visionary who demonstrated leadership across the domains of advocacy, education, practice, and research.” Dr. Iversen received the Worthingham Fellow award because of “her outstanding record of service to the profession via research, education, and practice.”

Dr. Iversen is an advocate for both her patients and colleagues through her active membership in such organizations as the National Arthritis Foundation, the Massachusetts chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, the APTA and the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative. One can look at the institutions of higher learning with which Dr. Iversen is affiliated—including Northeastern, Harvard and Sweden’s Karolinska Institute—as well as the more than 50 physical therapy students at the MS, DPT and PhD/postdoctoral levels she has mentored to understand her dedication to education. One of her several research interests is integrating behavioral science theories into patient physical activity.

All of the above contribute to her philosophy that care for rheumatoid arthritis patients, as well as others with physically debilitating conditions, must be patient centric. Someone in a wheelchair may be able to perform the tasks they need to in life.

“We [physical therapists] shouldn’t tell them they have to get out of the chair,” Dr. Iversen says. The key is to develop goals and strategies that personally fit the patient.

Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, Becomes the ACR President-Elect

Dr. Von Feldt

The president-elect of the American College of Rheumatology is Joan M. Von Feldt, MD, MSEd, professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She will assume office on Nov. 10, 2015, at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Since joining the ACR in 1991, she’s served on seven committees and groups and been on the Board of Directors since 2009.

She says, “The ACR offers congeniality, leadership training and opportunities to connect with new people, ideas, places and things—education, research, patient care and advocacy for reimbursement issues. It’s wonderful to be part of an organization that shares goals regarding excellence in patient care.