Dr. Taylor Gore gets to do the job she has longed dreamed of at her alma mater – she began serving as site coordinator and lab instructor for the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program at the Luray-Page County Center in August 2023.
“I’ve always been very interested in teaching,” said Dr. Gore. “I really wanted to give back to the area. My whole goal professionally was to go out and get an education, and then to come back and bring that knowledge to my community.”
A 2011 Clarke County High School International Baccalaureate graduate, Dr. Gore had been a dual-enrolled student at both Laurel Ridge and James Madison University. She was about halfway through high school when she realized that physical therapy might be a good career path for her.
“I always knew I wanted to do something medical,” Dr. Gore said of her early career aspirations. “Physical therapy kind of grew on me.”
Being able to get so many credits completed first at Laurel Ridge was extremely helpful.
“It was an amazing program,” Dr. Gore said of her time in dual enrollment. “I was able to get quite a few college credits completed, and all of them transferred. It was more affordable for me to take my general education courses that way.”
Dr. Gore also chose to take some of her prerequisites for her graduate school at Laurel Ridge while enrolled in her bachelor’s program as a more economic option, completing her second semester of Anatomy and Physiology during the summer session. Dr. Gore’s favorite classes at Laurel Ridge included Microeconomics with Professor Jim Brumbaugh and Calculus with Professor Cyril Petras.
Another benefit of having participated in dual enrollment was the ability for Dr. Gore to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry – the pre-medical pathway – in just three years at Shepherd University. She also had additional time to participate in the music program at Shepherd as an extracurricular, playing played saxophone and percussion for a variety of ensembles, sitting as first chair in the jazz band and touring throughout France with the wind ensemble.
Dr. Gore received a full academic scholarship to attend the university and largely credits that award to the number of credits she started with thanks to being dual enrolled.
Dr. Gore earned her doctoral degree in physical therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018. She also completed the Virginia LEND trainee program, which provides practitioners with additional interprofessional training in neurodevelopmental disabilities across the lifespan. Her particular area of interest in clinical practice is in pediatrics, which is why prior to coming to work at Laurel Ridge she was a physical therapist with Frederick County Public Schools for four years.
Laurel Ridge’s first cohort of PTA students graduated in May 2023. Their degrees were awarded by Germanna Community College, which partners with Laurel Ridge on the program. Lectures are distance delivered from Germanna to the Luray-Page County Center. Dr. Gore’s responsibilities include facilitating the hands-on lab instruction, as well as contributing to the lecture portion of the material. She also serves as the students’ advisor while they are in the program.
Dr. Gore currently lives in Stephens City with her husband Cameron, who is also a Laurel Ridge graduate, and their daughter Georgia. Learn more about Laurel Ridge’s PTA partnership program at laurelridge.edu/PTA
Accreditation Status of the PTA Program
Graduation from a physical therapist assistant education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states.
The Physical Therapist Assistant program at Germanna Community College (including the offering at Laurel Ridge Community College) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), 3030 Potomac Ave, Suite 100, Alexandria, VA 22305-3085; telephone: 703-706-3245; email: [email protected]; website: http://www.capteonline.org. If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 540-423-9844 or email [email protected]. To contact the Germanna PTA Program at Laurel Ridge directly, please call 540-843-0798 or email Dr. Taylor Gore at [email protected] or after May 2024, Dr. Rekha Parameswaran, [email protected].
A link to confirmation of the accreditation status is available on the Germanna PTA Program website or clicking on the CAPTE logo.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.