Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae

Norma Murphy Arras, MA, OTR/L, CHT
Instructor, Division of Plastic Surgery
Director, Hand Therapy Center

E-mail: plastics@siumed.edu

Brief Biography

Norma Arras is an occupational therapist at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy from Washington University in St. Louis. Upon graduation, she worked briefly for Alton State Hospital as an activity therapist. For the next 18 years, Ms. Arras worked for Memorial Medical Center as Director of Occupational Therapy. Ms. Arras joined SIU in 1989 as director of the Hand Therapy Center. In 1980, Ms. Arras earned her Master of Arts Degree in Health Service Administration from Sangamon State University in Springfield.
Ms. Arras is a certified hand therapist. She is an affiliate member of the American Association for Hand Surgery and a Charter Member of the American Society of Hand Therapists.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 217-545-0885.

• American Occupational Therapy Certification, Issued 1-71
• Illinois Occupational Therapy, Issued 1984
• Hand Therapy Certification, Issued 5-91

• Sangamon State University, Springfield, Illinois
  Master of Arts Degree in Health Service Administration, 1980
• Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
  Bachelor of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy, 1970
• Illinois College, Jacksonville, Illinois
  General Studies, 1966-1968

• 1989 - Present:Administrative Director, Hand Therapy Center, SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois
• 1986-1989: Hand Therapist, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
• 1972-1986: Director of Occupational Therapy, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
• 1971-1972: Staff Occupational Therapist, Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, Illinois
• 1970-1971: Activity Therapist, Alton State Hospital, Alton, Illinois

• Organized Ken Flowers course "Evaluation and Management of Wrist Injuries". Held April 9 and 10, 1999
• Member, Lincolnland Community College OTA Advisory Board. 1998 - Present
• Author of "Work Evaluation - Focusing on Function" - manuscript, outline, and slides to be presented at Regional Review Course for Hand Therapy in June 1995. (submitted February 1994)
• Chapter submitted with Robert Russell, M.D. and William Zamboni, M.D., "Tendon Transfer: Surgery and Rehabilitation", submitted for publication, January, 1992
• Invited speaker, "Splinting Principles and Techniques", Northwestern University, August 24, 1991
• Chair, Occupational Therapy Examining Board, Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, 1984-1991
• Invited Speaker, "Hand Therapy: Tendon Injuries and Low Profile Dynamic Splinting". Iowa Occupational Therapy Conference, May 13, 1989
• Invited Speaker, "Hand Symposium". Southern Illinois University (SIU) Medical School, March 25, 1983.
• Served as Chairman of Ways and Means Committee, American Society of Hand Therapists, 1980 - 1983
• Co-Author of poster session displayed at The American Burn Association Annual Meeting, April 1981. Topic: Oral Commissure Splint
• Co-Author of paper accepted and presented at American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual Meeting, January, 1981. Topic: Results in Replanted Upper Extremities
• Invited Speaker, "Making the Hand Work". SIU Medical School, March 21, 1980
• Invited Speaker, "The Acutely Impaired Hand". SIU Medical School, March 16, 1979
• Speaker at "Multidisciplinary Approach to Rehabilitation". Memorial Medical Center, July 11, 1978
• Speaker at "Principles in Burn Management Symposium". Springfield, Illinois, March 16, 1977
• Served on the Board of Directors of Visiting Nurses Association of Sangamon County, 1972-1974

• American Occupational Therapy Association (1970 - Present)
• Illinois Occupational Therapy Association (1970 - 1984, 1990 - 1992)
• American Burn Association, Associate Member (1975 - 1988)
• American Society of Hand Therapists, Associate Member (1978 - 1989) Charter Active Member (1990 - Present)
• American Associaton for Hand Surgery (1995 - Present)

• Instructional Audio tapes #1-11 by Current Clinical Concepts. May 15 to June 7, 2000
• "Manual Edema Mobilization for Hand and Arm Edema" presented by Sandra Artzberger, MS, OTR, CHT. St. Louis, MO April 1-2, 2000
• "Evaluation and Management of Wrist Injuries" presented by Ken Flowers, PT, CHT. Springfield, IL April 9-10, 1999
• "Evaluation and Management of Wrist and Elbow Injuries". Madison, WI November 13-14, 1998
• The Shoulder presented by Sandy Burkhart, P.T., Ph.D. Springfield, IL June 22-23, 1996
• Valpar International Corporation Training Session. Springfield, IL April 30, 1996
• Blankenship Functional Capacity Evaluation . St. Louis, MO September 23-25, 1994
• Upper Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorders Evaluation, Management, Problems and Solutions. San Diego, CA February 25-27, 1994
• Training on Lido Workset. Sacramento, CA November 10-11, 1993
• "Upper Extremity Compression Neuropathies". St. Louis, MO, November 6, 1993
• "Comprehensive Approach to Challenging Wrist Problems". St. Louis, MO, April 16-18, 1993
• "Lido Workset Evaluator Certification Program". Chicago, IL, September 27, 1992
• A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Phoenix, AZ, November 5-6, 1992
• "Occupational Ergonomics; Principles to Address Musculoskeletal Injuries". St. Louis, MO, March 26-27, 1992
• "Industrial Rehabilitation Residency" by Matheson Associates. Dallas, TX, December 3-7, 1990
• "Hand Therapy Certification Review Course". St. Louis, MO, May 4-6, 1990
• "Electrical Modalities". Chicago, IL, April 21, 1990
• A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD, September 16-19, 1988
• Joint Mobilization Seminar presented by Christine Moran, RPT. Hand Center in Indianapolis, IN November 21, 1987
• "Functional Capacity Evaluation of the Hand and Upper Extremity". Chicago, IL October 9-10, 1987
• American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX September 13-15, 1987
• "The Negotiation Skills Clinic". St. Louis, MO July 25, 1985
• "Communicating with Power and Effectiveness". St. Louis, MO April 26, 1985
• American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA February 3-5, 1984
• "Hand Rehabilitation Correlated with Surgery". Philadelphia, PA March 19-23, 1983
• American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT). Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA March 3-6, 1983
• "Manual Muscle Testing", presented by Florence Kendall, RPT. Chicago, IL October 7-8, 1982
• "Neurorehabilitation", presented by Shereen Farber, OTR. St. Louis, MO June 25-26, 1982
• Visited Raymond Curtis Hand Center. Baltimore, MD March 18, 1982
• "Rehabilitation of the Hand". Philadelphia, PA March 13-17, 1982
• A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA January 15-17, 1982
• A.S.H.T. Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV January, 1981
• "Functional Cast Workshop". November 30 - December 1, 1979. Presented by Rolyan, Inc.
• Visited St. Paul Ramsey Hospital in St. Paul, MN for two days practicing burn face mask procedure with Elizabeth Rivers, OTR, May 7-8, 1979
• "Rehabilitation of the Hand" presented by Irene Hollis, OTR. Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, IL, September 7-8, 1978
• Coordinated and Attended "Certification Workshop in the Administration and Interpretation of the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests", Memorial Medical Center. Springfield, IL October 28-30, 1977
• Visited four days at The Hand Rehabilitation Center. Indianapolis, IN September, 1977
• Visited three days at Hand Splinting Unit. Dr. Harold Kleinert's Office, September, 1977
• "Hand Rehabilitation: A Total Approach" presented by Irene Hollis, OTR. Evanston, IN June 10-11, 1977
• Seminar on "Neurodevelopmental Treatment - Bobath Method - Adult Hemiplegia". Peoria, IL June 7-9, 1976
• "Sensory Integration in Mental Health and Behavior Problems", Presented by Lorna Jean King, OTR, FAOTA. Springfield, IL May 21-22, 1976
• "Motor Planning Deficits in Children: Identification, Educational Implications and Remediation", April 12-13, 1976
• "Certification Workshop in Administration and Interpretation of Southern California Sensory Integration Tests". Kansas City, KS September 10-12, 1975
• "Third National Workshop for Rehabilitation Personnel in Sensorimotor Treatment Techniques". St. Louis, MO December 10-14, 1974
• "Perceptual Motor Dysfunction" presented by A. Jean Ayres, Ph.D., OTR, FAOTA. September 27-28, 1974
• Visited Shriner's Burns Institute in Galveston, TX for three days to study burn splinting with Barbara Willis, MA, OTR, November, 1973
• Attended Course in Upper-Extremity Prosthetics and Orthotics at Northwestern University. Chicago, IL March, 1972