Acosta, Martha Marie

School of Health Professions
Physical Therapy
(210) 567-8753
acostamm@uthscsa.edu

Dr. Acosta received her Bachelors degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas after receiving a Bachelors degree in Pre-Medicine from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After working several years as a clinician, she went on to pursue a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration from Southwest Texas State University. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Preventive Medicine and Community Health (Rehabilitation Sciences). Dr. Acosta has worked in a variety of settings including acute care, rehabilitation, out-patient, long-term care, skilled nursing facilities, psychiatric hospital, and home health. With approximately 35 years of clinical practice, she brings an abundance of expertise and clinical application to the academic setting to enhance student learning of clinical concepts. She has taught previously at the University of Texas at El Paso where the focus of her teaching responsibilities included
management of the adult patient with neurological impairments. She also taught management of health care systems for Physical Therapists as well as geriatric elective courses and hippotherapy.
Dr. Acosta also has been awarded clinical specialist certification by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist (GCS). She also is an item writer for the board certification exam and is a member of the APTA Specialization Academy of Content Experts. Her current teaching responsibilities include topics of clinical foundation skills for first-year physical therapy students and aging across the lifespan for third-year physical therapy students.