Rate My Professor Krusemark Cortni

Cortni Krusemark, OTD, OTR/L, is the Program Director and Assistant Professor for Briar Cliff University’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program, a position she has held since joining the university in 2019 as its founding director. The program, which launched with its inaugural cohort in mid-June, utilizes a block curriculum model that integrates community-centered experiential learning from the first year at the Briar Cliff Clinic and culminates in extended clinical rotations of 8 to 14 weeks. Krusemark earned her Bachelor of Arts in Health Science from Wayne State College in 2003 and her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Creighton University in 2004. Following graduation, she provided occupational therapy services in Omaha for individuals with brain and spinal cord injuries before relocating to the Siouxland area in 2009. There, she served as an Assistant Professor at Creighton University and as Therapy Clinic Director at Twelve Clans Unity Hospital in Winnebago, Nebraska, for ten years, working across diverse settings including rural, outpatient, sub-acute, neurorehabilitation, acute trauma, and academic environments. She also functioned as a clinical instructor during this period.

In addition to her administrative and teaching roles at Briar Cliff University, where she also instructs courses in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, Krusemark has contributed to scholarship through several presentations. Notable works include platform presentations on "Narrative is Destiny" at the 2021 Iowa Occupational Therapy Association Fall Conference and "Visual Skills and Their Impact on Learning and Mental Health" at the 2021 Northwest Area Education Agency Conference. She co-authored posters on topics such as the Chronic Pain Program (2020 Pro Bono Network Conference), the effectiveness of distance-based interprofessional education (2020 AOTA Education Summit), and inter- and intra-rater reliability of a practical evaluation tool (2020 APTA Educational Leadership Conference). Krusemark received Briar Cliff University’s Innovation Award in 2022 for her creative contributions to higher education and was recognized for five years of service in 2024. She holds memberships in the American Occupational Therapy Association, Iowa Occupational Therapy Association, and Nebraska Occupational Therapy Association, and is a Credentialed Leader in Academia by AOTA. Her community involvement includes serving on the advisory boards of the Siouxland Center for Active Generations and Briar Cliff’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, as well as leadership roles in the Community Initiative for Native American Families and Dixon County 4-H Council.