Aaron B. Rindflesch, Ph.D., MPT

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SUMMARY

Aaron B. Rindflesch, P.T., Ph.D., NCS, is an education and rehabilitation researcher. He has published both qualitative and quantitative research on patient education, the effectiveness and use of rehabilitation equipment, and the education of student physical therapists in the clinical and academic settings.

Focus areas

• Patient education. Dr. Rindflesch has reported on common strategies used by physical therapist patient educators, creating a grounded theory to explain the practice.
• Effectiveness and use of rehabilitation equipment. Dr. Rindflesch's research on cervical orthoses quantifies the skin interface pressure produced by commonly available collars when worn. Dr. Rindflesch also reported the results of a case series of patients using an innovative wheelchair seating intervention: the thoracic suspension orthosis.
• Education of student physical therapists in the clinical and academic setting. Dr. Rindflesch uses qualitative and quantitative research methods to report on several aspects of clinical and academic education in physical therapy. Using qualitative research, he describes the ideal clinical experience from the student physical therapist's perspective. Quantitatively, he summarizes the educational, clinical and financial benefits and disadvantages of using a unique model of clinical education — the Mayo Clinic collaborative model — in physical and occupational therapy. Dr. Rindflesch has also identified preadmission variables that predict licensure examination outcomes in physical therapy.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Rindflesch hopes that through his research the best care will be delivered and the best equipment will be used for patients participating in rehabilitation. He aims to research patient, clinical and academic education in order to train student physical therapists using education strategies that are effective and evidence based.