Susan W Vanston, MS, PT

Susan W Vanston, MS, PT, is a research Physical Therapist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  She has over 24 years’ experience as a licensed physical therapist, working extensively in the clinical and research settings. In the past 7 years, Susan has worked as a research physical therapist, implementing studies that address the psychosocial aspects of recovery from disability.  These patient populations include those individuals recovering from spine surgery, orthopedic lower extremity trauma, mild traumatic brain injury, and ACL knee reconstruction.   Susan has been extensively trained in Motivational Interviewing (MI), a method that works on facilitating and engaging intrinsic motivation within the client in order to change behavior.   Susan implements this MI method of patient engagement into her research studies and has noticed profound effects on both patient engagement and patient outcomes.  Additionally, Susan has numerous research publications and enjoys national speaking engagements to present her research. Susan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Middlebury College, and a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Rhode Island.

Outside of work, Susan enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 children (who are triplets), cooking and hiking with her dog.