Biography

Patricia Siegel is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico’s Occupational Therapy graduate program. She received her Bachelor of Science at Texas Woman’s University and her post-professional Doctorate at Chatham University, Pittsburg. She obtained a Certification in Hand Therapy in 2009. Dr. Siegel has extensive experience in the rehabilitation of traumatic hand injuries and currently teaches an applied orthopaedics course, kinesiology and a hand therapy elective.

Dr. Siegel co-authored a chapter on Hand Therapy in Tahseen A. Cheema (Ed.) Complex Injuries of the Hand and she co-authored the American Occupational Therapy Association practice guidelines on Rheumatic Disorders. In addition to her teaching and clinic duties, Dr. Siegel has varied research interests in assessments and interventions used by Occupational Therapists and has extensive practice experience in hand therapy.

Personal Statement

As an occupational therapist and certified hand therapist, the anatomy and pathology of the upper extremity has always interested me. As a clinician researcher, having evidence-based practice resources ensures that rehabilitative treatment techniques are effective; however, in rehabilitation the evidence is often insufficient or is outdated. This lack of evidence drives me to performing research and investigating the assessments and Interventions used in orthopeadics and hand therapy.

Areas of Specialty

Hand Therapy

Certifications

Hand Therapy Certification

Languages

  • English

Courses Taught

The courses I currently teach include Kinesiology and Applied Orthopeadics for Occupational Therapists in addition to an elective course in Hand Therapy. The elective course in hand therapy is a popular course I created in 2014.

Research and Scholarship

I co-authored a book, Occupational therapy practice guidelines for adults with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions, published by AOTA press, contributed a chapter in the edited volume Complex Injuries of the Hand (2014) published by JP Medical, LTD (London), in additional to the following publications:

Siegel, P., Jones, B. & Poole, J. (2018). Occupational therapy interventions for adults with fibromyalgia. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 72, 7205395010p1-7205395010p4. Doi:10.5014/ajot.2018.725002

Poole, J. & Siegel, P. (2017). Effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for adults with fibromyalgia: A systematic review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, MS ID#: AJOT/2016/023192

Siegel, P., Watson, M., Apodaca, B. & Poole, J. (2016) Effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for adults with rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, MS ID#: AJOT/2016/023176

Poole, J. & Siegel, P. (2016) Effectiveness of occupational therapy interventions for adults with fibromyalgia: A systematic review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, MS ID#: AJOT/2016/023192