Nathan Short

(260) 702-9623
nathan.short@huntington.edu

Joined the Huntington University faculty in 2014.

Nate Short has been with the HU OTD Program since its inception in 2014 and currently serves in the roles of associate professor and assistant director. Prior to moving to Fort Wayne, he worked with the Indian Health Service in New Mexico. Short provided the rehabilitation needs for a hand surgery clinic, established a hospital-wide ergonomics program, and served patients primarily in an outpatient setting. He also established an OT contracting business providing services across the spectrum of practice including home-based pediatrics, rehabilitation, in addition to school settings.

Short’s primary area of expertise is hand and upper extremity rehabilitation and as a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) he remains clinically active in a local outpatient therapy clinic. He obtained his undergraduate degree in psychology from Lee University & attended Belmont University for his doctorate in occupational therapy. He earned his PhD from Kingston University in London, England in Health and Social Care in 2020.

Short is the author of Functional Anatomy for Occupational Therapy and OT Guide to Goniometry and MMT, foundational textbooks that are widely used in both OT and OTA programs. His research interests include upper extremity rehabilitation, cross-cultural practice, and the societal and clinical impact of technology. He has published and presented numerous research studies related to these topics. Short also provides peer-review for scholarly journals within the field as well as expert witness testimony regarding the functional impact of injury.

Nate also leads international service learning (ISL) experiences providing seating and mobility services for individuals with disabilities. This experience is integrated in the OTD curriculum and Short has served with students in Romania, Haiti, Guatemala, and Peru. Additionally, he has been an invited lecturer in China, El Salvador, and Israel.

For his advancement of the profession internationally and scholarly contributions, he received the AOTA International Service Award and was added to the Roster of Fellows.

In his free time, Nate enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, playing tennis, reading, and traveling.

 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10