Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science Grand Rounds

The Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science hosts bimonthly Grand Rounds that is open to all clinicians and researchers interested in the topic of rehabilitation. Presentations are held every other month from 7am to 8am via zoom (registration is not required.)

Tuesday June 09, 2026 7:00 - 8:00am PST

"Evidence-Based Resilience: The Foundation for Optimal Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions" - Dr. Heidi Garske, PhD

For our next session, we have invited Dr. Heidi Garske who will discuss how in an era where the demands on health professions education continue to grow, intentionally fostering resilience within learning environments is essential to supporting student success. Yet, resilience remains an elusive construct—difficult to define, measure, and reliably cultivate in educational settings. This presentation synthesizes over 60 years of interdisciplinary resilience research to identify consistent findings across diverse contexts and professions. Attendees will be introduced to a practical, evidence-based framework for resilience that can be applied directly to teaching and learning environments in health professions education programs. Join Heidi to explore how a clearer understanding of resilience can transform educational practice and outcomes.  

Dr. Heidi Garske, PhD is an experienced physical therapist with more than 36 years of clinical practice across diverse care settings. Her expertise centers on pediatrics, including early intervention and neonatal intensive care. Her clinical career includes roles with John Muir Health, California Children’s Services, Kaiser Permanente, and Sutter Health, as well as 15 years in private orthopedic outpatient practice prior to transitioning into academia.

For the past 12 years, Dr. Garske has been a faculty member at Samuel Merritt University, where she teaches in both the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Bachelor of Health Sciences programs. She was part of the inaugural team that developed and launched the Bachelor of Health Sciences program. From 2018 to 2025, she served as Director of Clinical Education for the DPT program, leading efforts to strengthen partnerships among clinical sites, educators, and students, and to enhance the quality of clinical learning environments.

Her teaching spans pediatric physical therapy, teaching and learning, health equity, professional development, and interprofessional communication. Dr. Garske is also one of a select group of instructors in Northern California certified to teach the American Physical Therapy Association Credentialed Clinical Instructor Program Level I course, and she contributes on the national development team for the upcoming Level III course, which is scheduled to launch in late 2026.
Dr. Garske earned her PhD in Education and Leadership. Her doctoral research examined evidence-based resilience as a practical, teachable framework to support and strengthen student learning. In the health professions, resilience has often been viewed as a fixed personality trait, making it difficult to foster consistently. Her work reframes resilience as a process supported by environmental factors that can be developed and applied—an approach that has the potential to enhance and optimize learning and professional practice.

This session will be recorded and uploaded here. Session Moderated by Rich Souza & Cathy Hoang (meeting ID: 943 6389 2109; passcode: 137414). join us via zoom here!

Upcoming 2026 Speakers

• Tuesday October 13, 2026: Dr. Jessica Bath, PT, DPT, PhD
• Tuesday December 8, 2026: Dr. Riley Bove, MD, MSc

Eligibility to present at Grand Rounds:

• People with relevant expertise in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science are eligible for this program.
• This includes but is not limited to colleagues, peers, speakers from all professional levels (Junior-Senior investigators, Assistant Professors, Professors), research, clinical, basic science, etc. within UCSF or outside of UCSF.
• If you have suggestions for topics to discuss or an interest in speaking at an upcoming Grand Rounds session, please contact Dr. Cathy Hoang at [email protected]. 

UCSF does not use race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories in the selection process.

Recent Grand Rounds Talks:

If you missed one of our recent Grand Rounds discussions, please check out the recordings linked below!