Michael D Moorhouse

Michael D Moorhouse, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor

Business Phone: (352) 273-6564
Business Email: mmoorhou@phhp.ufl.edu

About Michael D Moorhouse

Mike Moorhouse, PhD is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Moorhouse received his PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Florida in 2008 and his MHS in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2001. As the BHS program director from 2013 to 2023, he was directly responsible for the educational and advising needs of more than 400 pre-health junior and seniors, and is heavily involved student life as he is faculty advisor to four different student organizations. Dr. Moorhouse’s research interests include undergraduate pedagogy, hazardous substance use among young adults, and measurement theory.

Positionality Statement:

As a white, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied male, I recognize that my privilege insulates me from experiencing social and systemic discrimination, racism, oppression, rejection, or micro aggressions that many people have and continue to experience in their daily lives. This privilege is an inescapable part of my “identity” – something that has allowed me to never have to prove myself because of my sex, or be uneasy walking into a room where no one looks like me, or deny my authentic self for fear that family and friends will reject me. Moreover, my privilege has allowed me to navigate life largely unaffected by discriminatory practices, prejudicial policies, and implicit/explicit bias.

My lens, my values, my motivations have all been heavily influenced by my upbringing and my own lived experiences related to self-worth and inferiority. It is these experiences that drive me to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion inside and outside the classroom. I believe that we are all an intersection of vertical and horizontal identities that should be celebrated and affirmed, rather than hidden or oppressed. To that end, I strive to make safe and affirming spaces for all students regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status; and hope to grow by becoming more educated and better understanding of the impact of social injustices.

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2015-2022
HSC4930 Special Topics
2009,2011-2024
HSC3801 Clinical Observation / Health Care Volunteer Work
2013-2024
HSC4970 Public Health and Health Professions Senior Honors Thesis
2009,2012-2014,2014-2024
HSC4905 Individual Study
2015-2016,2018-2024
HSC4913 Supervised Research Experience
2020-2023
PHC6941 MPH Applied Practice Experience
2020-2023
HSC2000 Introduction to Health Professions
2013-2014,2017-2020,2019-2022
PHC7979 Advanced Research
2016,2018-2024
HSC4008 Professional Development for the Health Sciences
2012-2020
PHC6601 Seminar in Contemporary Public Health Issues
2012-2020
PHC6946 Public Health Internship
2020-2023
HSC4608L Critical Thinking in Health Care
2009-2024
RCS4451 Rehabilitation Aspects of Substance Abuse
2013-2021,2023-2024
PHC6937 Special Topics in Public Health
2013,2019
PHC6917 Supervised Research Project
2017-2019,2021-2024
HSC3057 Research Methods and Issues in Health Science
2014-2018,2022-2024
PHC7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2018
MHS7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation
2011,2013-2016,2016-2018
PHC6945 Public Health Practicum
2015
RCS4415L Therapeutic Communication Skills Laboratory
2015
HSC3661 Therapeutic Communication Skills with Patients, Families and the Health Care Team
2006,2008-2014,2014
RCS6905 Individual Work
2013
PHC2100 Introduction to Public Health
2012-2013
PHC4943 Service Learning Practicum 1
2008,2010-2011
RCS4930 Special Topics
2011,2021
PHC6905 Independent Study
2009,2011
RCS4800 Rehabilitation and Human Services Practicum 1
2010
RCS6945 Adv Rehab Couns Pract
2009
RCS6412 Rehab Coun Theor/Prac
2009
RCS4804 Advanced Rehabilitative Services Practicum
2009
RCS6458 Sub Abuse Rehab Couns
2022
CLP6940 Supervised Teaching
Teaching Philosophy
Generally speaking, my teaching philosophy is best captured by the Thomas Aquinas quote, “A general rule applies generally. And, the more you descend into the particulars the more it’s no longer a general rule.” Too often people believe complex issues and human behavior can be understood superficially or with simple solutions. Seemingly now more than ever, the reverence of expert opinion and scientific evidence has been upended by tweets, sound bites, and Facebook posts; honest curiosity has been replaced by knee-jerk judgement; and the need to “win” a debate has taken priority over equity and compromise. To encourage a more nuanced approach to understanding human behavior, I use my training as a rehabilitation counselor to ask thought-provoking questions and encourage students to challenge their automatic, judgmental thoughts. When teaching social science coursework, I caution students about what Chimamanda Ngozi terms The Danger of the Single Story – an oversimplified generalization of people or behavior based upon little, if not biased, evidence. Rather, I encourage them to think about an individual’s story where we examine one’s behavior knowing that each person is an intersection of unique experiences, values, and beliefs whose behavior is effected by individual, relational, community, and societal parameters. With that as the backdrop, I incorporate curiosity and Casuistic Reasoning to challenge dogmatic beliefs about the behavior. For example, someone who deals drugs to a member of their own family is reprehensible behaviorally and morally bankrupt. If we judge this behavior without context, we naturally stop being curious and fail to examine this behavior further. However, if we reflect on why someone may provide drugs to a family member, we might consider that in their own way they are trying to prevent them from putting themselves in compromising situations to get money to then spend that money on drugs. In essence, accepting one’s behavior is categorically different than trying to understand one’s behavior. If we solely operate as to whether behavior is acceptable or not, we fail to recognize context and likely fail to identify and implement meaningful change strategies. Following each semester, I review course evaluations to determine what I can do to improve and consult with the instructional design team to identify ways to improve the course. For example, I facilitate a team-based learning course called Critical Thinking in Healthcare. This course serves as a capstone experience for students where they work in small groups and build upon what they have learned in the program to assess and diagnose patients (i.e., TAs). As there are several patient cases, each student rotates as the “leader” of the group. After each case, students evaluate one another and the group leader then uses the feedback to reflect upon their leadership style. For the first year, student feedback directly impacted the leader’s grade (albeit minimally) so students were reluctant to provide honest feedback as they did not want to be at all responsible for negatively impacting a classmate’s grade. Thus, feedback was always positive and relatively generic. Based upon the course evaluations and my own experiences with the assignment, I sought out the instructional design team to retool the assignment whereby a comprehensive rubric was provided and one’s quality of student feedback was graded rather than the leader. The assignment resulted in a more positive experience and conversation about providing honest feedback.

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-6564
Emails: