University of Utah, Physical Therapy & Athletic Training
Learn more about Dr. Magel's Projects
Dr. Jake S. Magel is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training in the College of Health at the University of Utah. He has over 15 years of clinical experience specializing in the management of patients with complex chronic orthopedic conditions and in the management of patients with musculoskeletal conditions who take prescription opioids for pain management. His research career has focused on developing and refining interventions for patients with musculoskeletal pain. Dr. Magel is currently a Principal Investigator for an NIH funded clinical trial investigating the integration of physical therapy with mindfulness-based interventions for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain and long-term opioid treatment. He is also currently the Principal Investigator for Foundation for Physical Therapy funded and University of Utah funded studies that aim to improve the knowledge and skills of physical therapists for the management of patients taking prescription opioids for pain. These studies have provided him the opportunity to engage with and lead teams of physical therapists, physicians, social workers and biostatisticians. He has collaborated with Drs. Fritz and Gordon, the MPIs on the “University of Utah Program to Provide Pain Research Knowledge (UP3RK),” on multiple research projects involving patients with pain and patients taking prescription opioids for pain and I am excited to participate on UP3RK as a mentor.
Dr. Magel shares Drs. Fritz’ and Dr. Gordon’s commitment to mentoring the next generation of investigators dedicated to clinical pain research that improves the lives of persons with chronic pain and related conditions. In his role as an Associate Professor in the College of Health at the University of Utah, he has personally mentored and served as the chair or as a committee member for 8 Rehabilitation Sciences PhD students. Dr. Magel has also been the research mentor for more than 25 University of Utah Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residency residents and taught and mentored more than 30 Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Fellows and approximately 500 Doctor of Physical Therapy Students. His extensive mentoring experience has fostered an ability to Align Expectations with those of the mentee. While bringing the mentee into his own projects, Dr. Magel encourages and supports the mentee to explore their interests and initiate their own projects with his support. In Addressing Diversity, Dr. Magel is keenly aware that he is a middle-aged White male and strive to understand the unique experiences of those with genders and or racial and ethnic backgrounds that are different from his own. He has attended multiple diversity, equity and inclusion seminars offered by the University of Utah. Moreover, Dr. Magel worked on the Navajo Indian Reservation as a physical therapist clinician for eight years, which taught him the skills required to effectively manage patients from a culture quite different from the culture in which he was raised.
Dr. Magel routinely Assesses a Mentee’s Abilities and their Level of Understanding longitudinally during the mentoring relationship. This relationship does not end when the mentee leaves the University of Utah; he continues to have mentoring relationships with past PhD students after they have left his institution. Dr. Magel views mentoring toward independence to be a critical aspect of the mentoring relationship. The fact that his most recent PhD student, for whom he served as committee chair, is currently a successful university faculty member with recent funding is testament of my ability to Foster Independence. Dr. Magel is a graduate of the VPCAT program which supported his development of Effective Communication skills. He attended and actively participated in 2 VPCAT sponsored leadership and communication seminars. These seminars provided him with foundational skills with which to mentor professionals from different professional, academic and social backgrounds. Finally, in Promoting Professional Development, Dr. Magel commits to having dedicated mentorship meeting time allocated to the PhD students and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Residents. During these meetings, we discuss a variety of aspects of professional development, included but not limited to, research development, the importance of publishing the results of research and strategies for promotion.