Nicole Avena, OTR/L

Nicole Avena, OTR/L has a Bachelor of Health Science degree and a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from the University of Florida. Nicole is currently an Occupational Therapist Rehabilitation Clinical Specialist at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Outpatient Rehabilitation. She has over 5 years of experience with the pediatric population. Within pediatrics, she specializes in the evaluation and treatment process for Burn Rehabilitation, Orthopedics, Hand Therapy, Constraint Induced Movement Therapy, Splinting/Casting, and NICU Development Follow-Up Clinic. She has also worked as an Occupational Therapist in Adult Hand Therapy and Skilled Nursing Facility settings. Nicole is the leader of Orlando Health’s Hand Special Interest Group (SIG) and she developed a weekly multidisciplinary clinic to include occupational therapy at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children’s Burn Center within the Emergency Department. She was nominated for the Orlando Health Excellence Award from 2022-2024 and achieved the highest level of Orlando Health's Rehabilitation Clinical Ladder from 2021-2023. Nicole has presented for Orlando Health's Adult Rehab Lecture Series on extensor tendon injuries and Pediatric Rehab Lecture Series on burn rehabilitation. She completed a professional presentation in burn and scar management for the Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA) Annual Conference in November 2023. Also, Nicole was accepted for a poster presentation on burn rehabilitation through the Pediatric Trauma Society (PTS) in November 2022 and for the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Annual Conference in March 2024. She has over 1 year of experience participating in the assessment process as the Occupational Therapist on the research study called "Evaluation of Gamified Training for 3D Printed Myoelectric Prosthetic Devices in Children with Upper Congenital Limb Deficiency" for Limbitless Solutions. In her spare time, she enjoys playing soccer, spending time outdoors, and traveling the world.