D1 Mentor and Student Match Form
Part I will be completed by Mentor and will provide a description of the projects available in the laboratory.
Part II will be completed by the Student. The student will describe their learning objectives and the reason
that the laboratory is a good match for their professional goals.
Part III records the agreement of the Student and Mentor to work together on a specific project within the
laboratory.
PART I Lab Description
Student Name:
Mentor
Bobbi Pineda, Ph.D., OTR/L
Email address
Pineda_r@kids.wustl.edu
Phone number
314-286-1304
Description of 2 year project:
Environmental and Medical Factors and their Effects on Function Following
Premature Birth: This lab experience allows the student to learn about assessing
medically fragile infants in the complex environment of the NICU. Students learn
basic competencies for the neonatal therapist (complications of prematurity, medical
interventions, the NICU environment, parenting, therapeutic interventions including
feeding, and how to intervene with a medically fragile and immature infant in a
complex environment). Students gain skills to be able to conduct neurobehavioral
assessments during early infancy (0-3 months).
Following the accumulation of knowledge related to prematurity, the NICU,
parenting in the NICU, and therapeutic interventions for the high risk infant, each
student chooses the direction of their project, guided by the mentor. Areas of study
may include, but are not limited to: premature infant development, the effect of the
environment, stress in the premature infant, the role of parenting, predictive validity
of neurobehavioral assessments, functional outcome of high risk infants, full term
infant behavior, environmental factors of the NICU, and bottle or breastfeeding.
Students learn about the research process from idea conception to publication.
Students will participate in writing all sections of a research paper. Students learn
about searching and critiquing available literature, formulating a research question,
operationalizing variables for investigation, designing methods, conducting statistical
analyses using SPSS (independent samples t-tests, chi-square analysis,
nonparametrics, linear and logistic regression), and maneuvering through the
publication process. Doctoral students have much opportunity to work on leadership,
teaching and mentoring throughout the lab experience. Conference presentations and
publication are encouraged when it fits with the student’s career aspirations.
Ideal projects (that fit into what the lab currently has to offer and needs investigating)
for this group of OTD students would be:
1. Oral feeding performance at term and associations with feeding and growth
in the 1st year of life
2. Light exposure in the NICU
3. The long term developmental effects (at follow up) of neonatal positioning in
the NICU (Dandle Roo and traditional NICU positioning)
4. Abnormal neuro signs and associations with outcome
5. Visual development of the premature infant
6. Caregiver concern and intent to access therapy at NICU discharge and
associations with early intervention service implementation
7. Psychometrics of neurobehavioral evaluations (Dubowitz, Premie Neuro)
8. Feeding behaviors of children with different diagnoses (cardiac disease, brain
injury, prematurity)
9. Caffeine exposure and associations with early neurobehavior
10. Differences in neurobehavior between twins; differences between singletons
and multiples
11. Early reflexes and associations with outcome
12. Pilot testing a new feeding evaluation
13. Sensory processing disorders among infants born prematurely
14. NICU based therapy services and associations with early neurobehavioral
outcome
15. Auditory evoked potentials (hearing screening) related to noise exposure in
the NICU.
Expectations (time, lab hours, transportation needs, etc.)
Over the winter holiday break, students will be expected to read a premature infant book
designed for parents of preemies in preparation for being immersed in education to
achieve minimum competencies needed for working in the NICU. Flexibility in
scheduling is necessary, and students can expect to dedicate 8-10 hours per week at the
Patient Oriented Research Unit (Northwest Tower), with trips to Barnes and St Louis
Children’s, over each 3 credit semester (each credit equals 1 hour in lab). The focused
student who utilizes lab time efficiently should not require much additional time outside
of lab (except in the half of the first semester when studying will be essential to establish
basic NICU knowledge). The student will also be expected to participate in weekly
meetings to become acclimated to the research environment and multidisciplinary team
as well as participate in regular meetings with the research mentor. This experience will
require a strong student capable of interacting with fragile infants who may be intubated,
have intravenous lines, are attached to cardiovascular monitors, etc and the parents of
these infants who may be experiencing significant stressors.
This lab experience requires a highly motivated student, who can perform well within a
working lab, has good problem solving abilities, self management skills and can meet
deadlines in a highly structured environment. Strong writing skills are expected. It is
expected that students have a strong interest in pursuing OT in a pediatric setting (and
that accumulated knowledge will transfer into the clinical setting upon graduation) and/or
are interested in research. Many opportunities for presenting, publishing and achieving
leadership are available within the lab.
PART II Student Self-evaluation
List your learning objectives for working in this laboratory:
How will this laboratory experience help you achieve your professional goals?
Describe your successful learning style and level of self-directedness:
Part III Mentorship Agreement
Student Name and Campus Address:
Title or Brief description of doctoral project (focus and form of project will be
determined after completion of OT572):
Student Signature & Date:
Mentor Signature & Date:
*Original signatures required