Norma Murphy Arras, MA, OTR/L, CHT
Instructor, Division of Plastic Surgery
Director, Hand Therapy Center
Credentials
American Occupational Therapy Certification, Issued 1-71
Illinois Occupational Therapy, Issued 1984
Hand Therapy Certification, Issued 5-91
Education Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois
Master of Arts Degree in Health Service Administration, 1980
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy, 1970
Illinois College, Jacksonville, Illinois
General Studies, 1966-1968
Employment History
1989 - Present:Administrative Director, Hand Therapy Center, SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois
1986-1989: Hand Therapist, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
1972-1986: Director of Occupational Therapy, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
1971-1972: Staff Occupational Therapist, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
1970-1971: Activity Therapist, Alton State Hospital, Alton, Illinois
Professional Activities
Author of chapter on ‘Industrial Rehabilitation” for Test Prep for the CHT Exam, 3rd edition
Published by American Society of Hand Therapists
Organized Jonathan Cooper course ‘Clinical Applications in Functional Testing and Rehabilitation for
Upper Extremity” Springfield IL, May 27, 2011
Certification as Vocational Evaluator received from Quest Medical Group 2005
Recipient “Outstanding Committee Member Award” from American Society of Hand Therapists,
September 2005
Organized Ken Flowers course "Evaluation and Management of Wrist Injuries". Held April 9 and 10, 1999
Member, Lincolnland Community College OTA Advisory Board. 1998 - Present
Author of "Work Evaluation - Focusing on Function" - manuscript, outline, and slides to be presented at
Regional Review Course for Hand Therapy in June 1995. (submitted February 1994)
Chapter submitted with Robert Russell, M.D. and William Zamboni, M.D., "Tendon Transfer: Surgery and
Rehabilitation", submitted for publication, January, 1992
Invited speaker, "Splinting Principles and Techniques", Northwestern University, August 24, 1991
Chair, Occupational Therapy Examining Board, Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, 1984-1991
Invited Speaker, "Hand Therapy: Tendon Injuries and Low Profile Dynamic Splinting". Iowa Occupational
Therapy Conference, May 13, 1989
Invited Speaker, "Hand Symposium". Southern Illinois University (SIU) Medical School, March 25, 1983.
Served as Chairman of Ways and Means Committee, American Society of Hand Therapists, 1980 - 1983
Co-Author of poster session displayed at The American Burn Association Annual Meeting, April 1981.
Topic: Oral Commissure Splint
Co-Author of paper accepted and presented at American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual
Meeting, January, 1981. Topic: Results in Replanted Upper Extremities
Invited Speaker, "Making the Hand Work". SIU Medical School, March 21, 1980
Invited Speaker, "The Acutely Impaired Hand". SIU Medical School, March 16, 1979
Speaker at "Multidisciplinary Approach to Rehabilitation". Memorial Medical Center, July 11, 1978
Speaker at "Principles in Burn Management Symposium". Springfield, Illinois, March 16, 1977
Served on the Board of Directors of Visiting Nurses Association of Sangamon County, 1972-1974
Professional Organizations
American Society of Hand Therapists, Associate Member (1978 - 1989) Charter Active Member (1990 Present)
American Occupational Therapy Association (1970 - 1998)
Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (1970 - 1984, 1990 - 1992)
American Burn Association, Associate Member (1975 - 1988)
American Association for Hand Surgery (1995 - 2010)
Continuing Education
“Coding and Billing for Therapy and Rehab”. Presented by Cross Country Education, St.Louis MO,
January 25, 2013
“Clinical Applications in Functional Testing and Rehabilitation for Upper Extremity”, presented by
Jonathan Cooper May 27, 2011
“Clinical Applications in Functional Testing and Rehabilitation for Upper Extremity Using Primus”,
presented by Baltimore Therapeutic Equipment December 3-4,2009
A.S.H.T Annual Meeting, Phoenix AZ, October 7, 2007
A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting, Atlanta GA, September 14-17, 2006
“The Blankenship System FCE home Study Course”. Sponsored by Quest Medical Group, Inc.
December 2005
‘Whole Body Kinesio Taping”, sponsored by Keep Pace Inc. Springfield IL May 14, 2004
‘Less Common Nerve Compression Syndromes”. Presented by Allen Van Beek, MD. Visiting professor SIU
March 10, 2004
‘The Hand: An Interactive Study for Therapists” sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy
Association , February 2002
Instructional Audio tapes #1-11 by Current Clinical Concepts. May 15 to June 7, 2000
"Manual Edema Mobilization for Hand and Arm Edema" presented by Sandra Artzberger, MS, OTR, CHT.
St. Louis, MO April 1-2, 2000
"Evaluation and Management of Wrist Injuries" presented by Ken Flowers, PT, CHT. Springfield, IL April
9-10, 1999
"Evaluation and Management of Wrist and Elbow Injuries". Madison, WI November 13-14, 1998
The Shoulder presented by Sandy Burkhart, P.T., Ph.D. Springfield, IL June 22-23, 1996
Valpar International Corporation Training Session. Springfield, IL April 30, 1996
Blankenship Functional Capacity Evaluation . St. Louis, MO September 23-25, 1994
Upper Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorders Evaluation, Management, Problems and Solutions. San
Diego, CA February 25-27, 1994
Training on Lido Workset. Sacramento, CA November 10-11, 1993
"Upper Extremity Compression Neuropathies". St. Louis, MO, November 6, 1993
"Comprehensive Approach to Challenging Wrist Problems". St. Louis, MO, April 16-18, 1993
"Lido Workset Evaluator Certification Program". Chicago, IL, September 27, 1992
A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, November 5-6, 1992
"Occupational Ergonomics; Principles to Address Musculoskeletal Injuries". St. Louis, MO, March 26-27,
1992
"Industrial Rehabilitation Residency" by Matheson Associates. Dallas, TX, December 3-7, 1990
"Hand Therapy Certification Review Course". St. Louis, MO, May 4-6, 1990
"Electrical Modalities". Chicago, IL, April 21, 1990
A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD, September 16-19, 1988
Joint Mobilization Seminar presented by Christine Moran, RPT. Hand Center in Indianapolis, IN
November 21, 1987
"Functional Capacity Evaluation of the Hand and Upper Extremity". Chicago, IL October 9-10, 1987
American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX September 13-15, 1987
"The Negotiation Skills Clinic". St. Louis, MO July 25, 1985
"Communicating with Power and Effectiveness". St. Louis, MO April 26, 1985
American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA February 3-5, 1984
"Hand Rehabilitation Correlated with Surgery". Philadelphia, PA March 19-23, 1983
American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT). Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA March 3-6, 1983
"Manual Muscle Testing", presented by Florence Kendall, RPT. Chicago, IL October 7-8, 1982
"Neurorehabilitation", presented by Shereen Farber, OTR. St. Louis, MO June 25-26, 1982
Visited Raymond Curtis Hand Center. Baltimore, MD March 18, 1982
"Rehabilitation of the Hand". Philadelphia, PA March 13-17, 1982
A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA January 15-17, 1982
A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV January, 1981
"Functional Cast Workshop". November 30 - December 1, 1979. Presented by Rolyan, Inc.
Visited St. Paul Ramsey Hospital in St. Paul, MN for two days practicing burn face mask procedure with
Elizabeth Rivers, OTR, May 7-8, 1979
"Rehabilitation of the Hand" presented by Irene Hollis, OTR. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, IL,
September 7-8, 1978
Coordinated and Attended "Certification Workshop in the Administration and Interpretation of the
Southern California Sensory Integration Tests", Memorial Medical Center. Springfield, IL October 28-30,
1977
Visited four days at The Hand Rehabilitation Center. Indianapolis, IN September, 1977
Visited three days at Hand Splinting Unit. Dr. Harold Kleinert's Office, September, 1977
"Hand Rehabilitation: A Total Approach" presented by Irene Hollis, OTR. Evanston, IN June 10-11, 1977
Seminar on "Neurodevelopmental Treatment - Bobath Method - Adult Hemiplegia". Peoria, IL June 7-9,
1976
"Sensory Integration in Mental Health and Behavior Problems", Presented by Lorna Jean King, OTR,
FAOTA. Springfield, IL May 21-22, 1976
"Motor Planning Deficits in Children: Identification, Educational Implications and Remediation", April 1213, 1976
"Certification Workshop in Administration and Interpretation of Southern California Sensory Integration
Tests". Kansas City, KS September 10-12, 1975
"Third National Workshop for Rehabilitation Personnel in Sensorimotor Treatment Techniques". St.
Louis, MO December 10-14, 1974
"Perceptual Motor Dysfunction" presented by A. Jean Ayres, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA. September 27-28, 1974
Visited Shriner's Burns Institute in Galveston, TX for three days to study burn splinting with Barbara
Willis, MA, OTR, November, 1973
Attended Course in Upper-Extremity Prosthetics and Orthotics at Northwestern University. Chicago, IL
March, 1972