Marie Newkirk is a senior physical therapist practicing in acute care at NYU Langone Medical Center. She currently works in the Neurological ICU and the stroke step down unit. Prior to that she worked on the transplant and women's floor where she routinely saw patients after mastectomy and reconstructive surgeries. She also has experience working in the Women's Health outpatient physical therapy department where she would see patients post-mastectomy and reconstruction after they were discharged from the hospital. She has worked with the interdisciplinary team to create a presentation for nursing on Stroke Education Across a Continuum of Care and has given in-services to nursing on safe patient handling. She recently became named to the board for a non for profit organization called Keeping Us Abreast, an organization for women who have undergone or are considering reconstructive surgery. Her doctorate in physical therapy is from the University of Scranton. In this interview, Marie discusses: Roles a physical therapist plays in working with patients who experience a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery; treating patients who would benefit from reducing arm size resulting from lymphedema; for patients who will undergo breast surgery, how their preoperative level of activity can influence recovery after surgery; many other topics.
