Kathy Preissner
Clinical Associate Professor, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Occupational Therapy
Office Phone
Office
1919 W. Taylor St., 317B AHSB
Mail Code
811
Office Hours
By appointment
About
Dr. Preissner designs and coordinates fieldwork experiences for students in the MS and OTD program. She contributes to OT 523: Cognition and Perception in Action and provides guest lectures in other MS and OTD courses. Dr. Preissner's scholarly work is focused in two areas: 1) Teaching and learning in occupational therapy education, especially fieldwork education, and 2) The development and testing of self-management education programs for people for people with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers.
Selected Grants
American Occupational Therapy Association, Validation of the Fieldwork Performance Evaluation for the Occupational Therapy Students and Occupational Therapy Assistant Student, Co-PI
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, A Randomized Control Trial of a Teleconference Fatigue Management Program for People with Multiple Sclerosis, Co-PI
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Pilot Research Grants Program, Meeting the Challenges of MS: A Program for Family & Friends – Educational Intervention for MS Caregivers aged 18-49, Investigator
Midwest Roybal Center on Health Promotion, Meeting the Challenges of MS: Providing Support through Problem-Solving – An Educational Program for Caregivers of Older Adults with MS, Interventionist and Module Developer
Selected Publications
Service to the Community
Dr. Preissner partners with the Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to support their educational offerings to caregivers of people with MS. She also recently served on a task force that identified the unmet needs of people with MS in Illinois, developed recommendations, and complied 38 page report which was presented to the 98th Illinois General Assembly.
Leadership in the Profession
American Occupational Therapy Association, Fieldwork Performance Evaluation Revision Team
Illinois Occupational Therapy Association, Education Special Interest Section, Chair (Full board member)
Illinois Occupational Therapy Association, Archives Committee, member (previously chair)
Notable Honors
2016 - Securing the Common Good: Hull-House History (year-long faculty institute), National Endowment for the Humanities
2009 and 2011 - Educator of the Year, College of Applied Health Sciences, Univesity of Illinois at Chicago
2006, 2008, 2010 - Excalibur Award, University of Illinois at Chicago
2010 - Patient and Family Education Award for Best Platform: "Teleconference-delivered fatigue management: Efficacy and Effectiveness” (Finlayson, Preissner, Cho & Plow), Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers
Education
Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education, Northern Illinois University, 2013
Master of Health Science in Occupational Therapy (neurorehabilitation concentration), University of Indianapolis, 2002
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1996