Vanja Strojnik, a graduate of the PT Program from the Ljubljana University, Slovenia, began her career working with neurologic patients. Her initial clinical expertise was the use of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in the rehabilitation of cerebral palsy children, stroke victims, and subjects with TBI. In this period of her career Vanja authored or coauthored several professional papers.
In the US, Vanja started her tenure at PSJMC in 1989 and has advanced her knowledge and expertise with course work in orthopedic and manual therapy, balance and neuro therapies, covering adult and geriatric patients. Together with the advancement of her clinical skills, she has also invested effort in perfecting her skills in management of the physical therapy environment. She is now the Senior PT, in charge of the PSJMC outpatient PT Unit. She supports the department with programs on Outcome Measurements and Patient Satisfaction.
Her current clinical practice consists of a broad scope of orthopedic, neuro, geriatric and vestibular patients. Having completed advanced coursework in orthopedic rehabilitation through NAIOMT, neurologic rehabilitation and geriatric rehabilitation Vanja successfully combines her extensive knowledge and experience treating her patients.
Vanja has passionately specialized in vestibular rehabilitation. She has received credits for a considerable number of courses in this field presented by leaders in vestibular and balance rehabilitation. She also received extensive training in fall interventions in the elderly. Vanja is most often sought out for her extensive experience regarding diagnosing and management of “dizzy” patients. She is working closely with the neurologists in the area. She has set up a consistent referral base with local physicians due to successful outcomes she obtains with her “dizzy” patients.
Vanja is a recipient of numerous awards for her contributions to TAI and PSJMC: the James B. McKillip Award, the Mission Spirit Award, the Core Value Award of Excellence, and was nominated for the Core Value Award of Compassion.
Vanja contributes to the work of the clinic by mentoring and instructing students from high school to PT interns, providing community based lectures and participating at health fairs.
