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Shala Cunningham, PT, DPT, PhD
Radford University
VA, United States
Dr. Shala Cunningham is an associate faculty member in the Department of Physical Therapy at Radford University. She has almost 30 years experience as a physical therapist and clinical educator. Her research interests focus on the influence of entry-level and residency education on the development of clinical reasoning skills, rehabilitation education in low-resource countries, and best practice for implementing interprofessional education for pre-licensure healthcare students. She has numerous peer reviewed publications and presentations on these topics.

Presenting at CAB 2025:

The development of local interprofessional teams has created a sustainable model for building rehabilitation capacity and advancing rehabilitation in resource-limited settings. The presentation will provide insights into strategies for building effective interprofessional rehabilitation teams to improve workforce capacity, overcoming cultural barriers, and fostering long-term collaborative practice in diverse global contexts.
This presentation examines the successful development and implementation of international rehabilitation workforce initiatives through interprofessional collaboration. By integrating diverse healthcare providers across seven countries, the project created culturally-responsive tools and established a sustainable framework for global rehabilitation workforce development, demonstrating the power of coordinated cross-cultural partnerships.