Sarah Doerrer Sarah Doerrer
Assistant Professor of Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences

Office Phone: 202-994-2773
Email: Email
Department: Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences

Education

  • Bachelors in Health Sciences, Misericordia University, 2001
  • Masters in OT, Misericordia University, 2001
  • PhD in OT, Nova Southeastern University, 2019

Biography

Sarah Doerrer has been a practicing clinician since 2001. Her clinical experience includes working with adults with physical disabilities in the practice areas of inpatient rehabilitation, acute care, home health, and outpatient rehabilitation. Most of her career has been focused in the area of hand and upper extremity orthopedic rehabilitation. She is a certified hand therapist and certified lymphedema therapist.

Research

As a researcher, Dr. Doerrer’s interests are in rehabilitation of the hand and upper extremity. She is currently running two clinical trials in collaboration with GWU Medical Faculty Associates Orthopaedics examining effects of early ADL education post DRF. She serves on the research division of the American Hand Therapy Association and is the education chair for the Capital Hand Therapy Association. 

Grants

Dr. Doerrer received two grants for her dissertation research “The Impact of Shoulder Pathology on Individuals with Distal Radius Fracture,” The Benjamin Shaffer Research Endowment Fund in 2018 and The Burkhalter New Investigator Award from the American Hand Therapy Foundation was awarded in 2017. In 2023, Dr. Doerrer was awarded the Judy Bell-Krotoski “Grab the Evidence” Award from the American Hand Therapy Foundation. 

Awards

In 2021 and 2022, The American Society of Hand Therapists awarded Doerrer with the Outstanding Service Award.

Teaching

Dr. Doerrer teaches graduate programs in the entry level Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program (eOTD) and the Post Professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program (pOTD).

  • OT 8001: Movement Science
  • OT 8501: Research in Occupational Therapy Practice I
  • OT 8502: Research in Occupational Therapy Practice II
  • OT 8503: Research in Occupational Therapy Practice III
  • OT 8202: Occupational Therapy for Adult Rehabilitation
  • OT 8232: Case Analysis II

Programs

  • Occupational Therapy

Publications

Naughton, N., Stern, B. Z., Bakshi, P., Goloff, S. E., & Doerrer, S. B. (2024). Patients living with upper extremity arthritis may experience limitations in physical, mental, and social health: A technical report. Journal of Hand Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jht.2023.12.006

Doerrer, S., McAndrew, R. (2024). Proposal and grant writing. In W.R. VanWye & D. Lunsford (Eds.), Health system management and leadership (pp. 39-52). Elsevier.

Ivy, C. C., Doerrer, S., Naughton, N., & Priganc, V. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on hand therapy practice. Journal of Hand Therapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jht.2021.01.007

Priganc, V., Naughton, N., Doerrer, S., Ivy, C. C. (2021). A follow up survey on the impact of COVID-19 on hand therapy practice. Journal of Hand Therapy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jht2021.07.001

Doerrer, S., Reese Walter, J., Priganc, V., Barth, R., & Moss, D. (2021). The Impact of Shoulder Pathology on Individuals with Distal Radius Fracture. Journal of Hand Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jht.2021.09.002

Winkler, S. L., Cooper, R., Kraiger, K., Ludwig, A., Kreuger, A., Gaunaurd, I., Fisher, A. Kairalla, J., Elliott, J., Wilson, S., Esquenazi, A. (2016). Self-management intervention for amputees in a virtual world environment. Recent Advances on Using Virtual Reality Technology for Rehabilitation, PM Sharkey and J Merrick (Eds.). In Merrick, J (ed.) Disability Studies. NY: Nova Science Publishers.

Industry Relationships and Collaborations

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported a financial interest with the health care related companies listed below. These relations have been reported to the University and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts.

  • None