As an experienced physical therapist and educator, Dr. LaFay has published and presented nationally on factors associated with PT student performance, clinical instructor teaching effectiveness, and clinical education collaboration and leadership. Her clinical background spans practice settings and patient/client populations, with contemporary practice in home health and hospital-based acute care. She has a consultant practice focused on ergonomic assessment, injury prevention and worksite wellness.
She is passionate about service to the profession and has served on the board of ACAPT’s National Consortium of Clinical Educators (NCCE) and is a current member of ACAPT's Strategic Initiative Clinical Education Terminology Panel, which culminated in the development of the Physical Therapist Clinical Education Common Terminology. She is currently a member of the ACAPT Clinical Education Common Terminology Dissemination Task Force, the APTA Clinical Reasoning Curricular and Assessment Consortium Teaching Compendium Task Force, and APTA Nominating Committee. Other professional service engagement at the state and regional level in New York has been to the APTA New York Practice Committee and the executive board of the NY-NJ Clinical Education Consortium.
As a lifelong resident of a rural community in upstate NY, Dr. LaFay is committed to the population health needs that impact medically underserved communities.