No better place to be during March Madness than Chapel Hill NC teaching Visual Vestibular Refinement. Especially for a couple of guys from Lincoln, NE [ AKA home of the Sweet Sixteen bound Nebraska Cornhusker basketball team!] Ron and I were welcomed and graciously hosted by all the great practitioners from Advance Physical Therapy in Chapel Hill. Their support and dedication to PRI over the years has been amazing. Along with the staff of Advance PT, the rest of the North Carolina contingent and their years of experience with the science of PRI led to a wonderful weekend of diving deeper into the role of the visual and vestibular system and its interaction and impact on upright function. We were able to discuss the role of upright podal sense in the processing of orientation and visual perception and prescription that we hope will be helpful to all of our attendees.
The high level interaction of a group of attendees that understand the science of PRI and the need for interdisciplinary management was inspiring to us all. Special thanks to Tracy-Lynn Schuster and Molly Miller for their spontaneous discussion on the benefits and process of integrating with optometrists and their personal experiences with it. Your 5-minute discussion was a master class we wish we had on tape for others to hear.
I also would like to specifically thank the trio of Vestibular Certified Therapists from the Atlanta area. Ann, Jennifer and Allison were able to help us link the role of upright podal sense and visual processing with the vestibular system, which is a piece that they reminded us is not part of the several Vestibular Certifications they have already received. We look forward to seeing how they utilize the information in this course with their expertise in the vestibular rehab world.
We also cannot thank our Optometric attendees for their open-mindedness and contribution to this course. Having people with their background engage and learn with us helps us all out. Alecia, Jackie, Nancy, and Sandy, it was a pleasure having all of you with us!
Lastly I cannot thank Josh Olinick enough for his taxi service to and from the airport and for taking me on a visual/vestibular calming hike in the woods upon arriving in North Carolina.
It truly was an honor teaching this course to this supportive experienced passionate group of professionals!
– Torin Berge
