Happy Retirement to Patricia Ohtake

Published August 25, 2022

Above is a photo of Patricia Ohtake wearing a blue shirt and black jacket.

It is with mixed emotions that I announce the retirement of Patricia J. Ohtake, PT, PhD, FAPTA, FNAP, effective September 2022.

Dr. Ohtake has proudly served the interprofessional education and physical therapy communities for the last 27 years at the University at Buffalo, making significant contributions in the areas of research, education, professional service, and leadership. 

Over the last six years, she served as the Assistant Vice President for Interprofessional Education, a nationally recognized program which she developed. Under Dr. Ohtake’s leadership, the IPE program has prepared countless clinicians from fifteen programs across eight schools to improve patient safety and health outcomes through interprofessional collaboration. She co-founded and is co-chair of the SUNY IPE Consortium which brings SUNY schools with health professions programs together to collaboratively advance IPE within the SUNY system. She also serves on American Interprofessional Health Collaborative committees and is a member of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative National Expert Panel.

Dr. Ohtake, an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, is also a recognized national leader in physical therapy education and practice. Well-funded by the NIH and other organizations as principle- or co-investigator, her research has focused on acute and critical care rehabilitation, post-intensive care syndrome, the use of simulation for clinical education, and interprofessional education. Her clinical research involving rehabilitation following ICU care has advanced awareness and clinical practice for people with the physical, cognitive, and mental health impairments associated with post-intensive care syndrome that often occur following critical illness.

In the area of education research, Dr. Ohtake’s work has contributed to the development, implementation, and assessment of interprofessional education pedagogy. Her research has been disseminated in over 80 peer-reviewed publications, and two book chapters. She has also been a consistent presenter at national and international conferences.

Dr. Ohtake was previously elected as a Distinguished Research Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, and more recently, she was named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association. 

As Dr. Ohtake embarks on her retirement, we salute her stellar career in health care. We sincerely thank her for the many contributions she has made to the University at Buffalo and the Schools of Health. On behalf of all of us throughout the UB community, I wish Dr. Ohtake the best of luck on this next chapter in her life.  

 
With warmest wishes,


Allison Brashear, MD, MBA
Vice President for Health Sciences and
Dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences