Research Relays Start Again March 8

The Reseach Relays are back again this year. Alumnus Kathy Davidson is coordinating these with the assistance of our Administrative Manager Claire Carigi.

The following two webinars are booked so far. Watch for further confirmations!

March 8 – noon to 1 pm PST
The effects of weak hip abductors or external rotators on knee valgus kinematics in healthy subjects: A systematic review
Presenter: Glenn Cashman

April 5 – noon to 1 pm PDT

Physiotherapists’ use of chronic disease self-management practices with patients in a hospital setting
Presenter: Sarah Strickey

Further information and registration is available on the MRSc program website.

Call for Posters – PABC Practice Forum April 27, 2013

The UBC Department of Physical Therapy has released a Call for Abstracts for posters to show at the upcoming PABC Practice Forum. The deadline is April 1. UBC Master of Rehabilitation Science or Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation learners or recent alumni may wish to participate.

Here are the three categories:

1) CASE STUDY SUBMISSIONS. Case studies may highlight a novel technique or area of practice, an unusual or interesting clinical finding or scenario, a unique or particularly successful approach, or a “practice pearl” of wisdom.

2) PROGRAMS. Therapists, educators or administrators who work in, or have developed, a rehabilitation or education program may present its features and/or outcomes of interest to PABC members.

3) ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPER OR WORK IN PROGRESS. This submission format is intended to provide PABC members who are graduate students (or grad students supervised by PABC members) an opportunity to present their original research.

If you are interested, please contact Alex Scott at: ascott@interchange.ubc.ca for further information.

TV Regular and MRSc learner Jodi Boucher Promotes New Class on Body After Baby

Jodi is becoming a regular on Calgary Breakfast Television!

Last Friday she was interviewed about her new “Your Body after Baby Physiotherapy Class”.  Jodi told UBC Rehabilitation Science Online Programs Director Sue Stanton that she did all the groundwork (needs assessment and curriculum development) for RHSC 509 – Facilitating Learning in Rehabilitation Contexts. This is one of the core courses in the Master of Rehabilitation Science (MRSc) program.

View the segment on Breakfast TV Calgary’s website.

Read more on Health Reporter Leah Sarich’s blog. The piece was in relation to the Oscars and whether Hollywood celebrities can really bounce back that quickly from having a baby.

Great job Jodi! Perhaps you’ll have some Hollywood Stars coming your way soon.

Congratulations November 2012 Grads – MRSc Valedictorian Speech

On November 22, 2012, faculty, instructors, staff, learners, colleagues from the rehabilitation community and families joined together to congratulate the graduates of the rehabilitation science graduate programs.

Doctor of Philosophy graduates include:

  • Shalini Lal
  • Mineko Wada

Master of Science graduates include:

  • Allison Ezzat
  • Stephanie Glegg

Master of Rehabilitation Science graduates include:

  • Kim Mullens
  • Mireille Delorme
  • Tammam El-Khodor

The Vancouver Yacht Club decorated for the holidays added to the celebrations which were enriched through carefully crafted speeches by the graduates, graduate program directors Dr. Lara Boyd and Sue Stanton, and Faculty of Medicine Vice Dean Academic Dr. Frederick Mikelberg. Dr. Mikelberg’s speech is also posted on this blog.

The November 2012 MRSc valedictorian speech humorously and thoughtfully captured what it’s like to study for a master’s while working full-time and balancing life’s other commitments. MRSc Program Director Sue Stanton completed the evening’s celebrations with some simple but very wise advice that she received from her grandpa.

Please listen to these speeches. Unfortunately at the present time the speeches work best using a recent version of Internet Explorer. We are working to correct this.

In the first few minutes Sue recognizes all the 2012 MRSc graduates with special acknowledgement of May 2012 grad Rebecca Shook who won a peer-nominated research award.

The Master of Rehabilitation Science (MRSc) graduates’ research abstracts and those from previous graduation classes are available on the program website.

Please join us in congratulating our November 2012 graduates.

UBC Vice Dean of Academic in Faculty of Medicine Congratulates November 2012 Rehabilitation Science Grads

On November 22, 2012 Dr. Frederick Mikelberg attended the joint graduate reception for the Master of Rehabilitation Science, and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Science graduates. His speech is reproduced here with his permission.

I’m very pleased to be a part of this celebration of your accomplishment. And I am very much aware that a speech from the Vice Dean is not what makes this day special for you. 

It’s probably fair to say that I was more eager to speak to you today than you were eager to hear me, because I am very new to my role as Vice Dean. And since representing the Faculty of Medicine, at events like this, is now one of my responsibilities, I need all the practice I can get.

But I also have a personal connection to rehabilitation sciences that added to my eagerness. My wife, before stepping out of the workforce, was a physical therapist herself. I can tell you that physical therapy was a profession and calling that she took to heart. So if there is one insight I can bring to you today, it is this: Rehabilitation professionals make for good partners. But then, you probably already knew that.

One thing you also probably know, as rehabilitation professionals: The range of your expertise, and the significance of your role in our health system, is so much greater than the public truly comprehends. This, too, I learned from my wife. And believe me, she does not let me forget it.

  • Helping people cope with chronic illness, such as COPD…
  • Helping others adapt to permanent disabilities such as spinal cord injury…
  • Or to regain basic movement after a stroke…

These are weighty responsibilities.

 By providing care for people in such a wide range of circumstances, and often desperate circumstances at that, each of you serves as ambassadors of the profession, representing the power of occupational therapy and physical therapy to help individuals regain some or all of what they have lost. As you continue your careers, I urge you to embrace that role.

Approach every new patient, and their families, as persons to be enlightened through the quality of your care.

 In the process, I urge you to approach every new patient as someone who can teach you a thing or two.
 Maybe those lessons will be about the human condition – about vulnerability, resilience, stubbornness, or about our responsiveness to simple but heartfelt words of encouragement.
 Or maybe those lessons will be about the limits of your own knowledge.

Yes, it’s true. Even though you have earned advanced degrees, your education is far from over. There are still major gaps in your knowledge of rehabilitation science, and the roles it can play in our health care system. But that should come as a bit of a relief, because none of us – no matter how long we have practiced – can be expected to know all there is to know.

What’s most important is that you know the pathways to access the information you need, and to access the people who might be able to help you with this piece or that. Don’t be afraid to let your patients, as well as collaborating health care professionals, see that dimension of your work.
 It’s better to show them your curiosity, your determination and your commitment, than to get caught up in maintaining a façade of omnipotence. Having pursued advanced knowledge about rehabilitation, I have no doubt that you — more than most people —  realize that there’s always more to learn.

And you should be particularly proud that you are helping to contribute to the corpus of research in rehabilitation science, thus helping the various professions included under that umbrella to come into their own, and most likely, evolve even more dimensions.

So perhaps I’m preaching to the choir here. Maybe that’s just an unavoidable hazard of graduation speeches. Or maybe it’s a rookie’s mistake. But that shouldn’t detract from its importance, and its relevance to the rest of your careers. So before I commit the other rookie’s mistake of going on too long, I would like to extend my congratulations to you, and to let you know how proud I am of your accomplishment, and of your contribution to our scholarship in the health sciences.

Good luck to you.

MRSc Learner Jodi Boucher Appears on Calgary Breakfast TV

Jodi Boucher was in touch with Sue Stanton today. She was interviewed as part of the Calgary Breakfast TV segment on Stress Incontinence. The reporter contacted Jodi after reading an article in the online magazine Calgary’s Child magazine. Jodi wrote the article, Bladder leaks are no laughing matter…a common but unspoken problem, as one of her assignments in RHSC 581: Writing to Enhance Practice. She is a Calgary-based physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor rehabilitation and a graduate student in the Master of Rehabilitation Science (MRSc) program at the University of British Columbia.

Watch Jodi at:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/1980061138001.000000/stress-incontinence–nov-20th/ (1:30-2:12)

Read her article:
Boucher, J. (2012, March-April). Bladder leaks are no laughing matter…a common but unspoken problem. Calgary’s Child Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.calgaryschild.com/health-and-safety/1054-bladder-leaks-are-no-laughing-matter-a-common-but-unspoken-problem

Welcoming Claire Carigi to the Rehab Science Online Programs

It’s my pleasure to introduce Claire Carigi as our new Administrative Manager. We are fortunate to have her join us. Claire graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanistic Studies and holds a Human Resources Management Certificate from BCIT.

She has extensive experience in distance learning having worked for the Commonwealth of Learning for nine years where she was the bilingual (French/English) educational coordinator for five UN agencies, supporting up to 1200 learners per year. More recently Claire has tutored communications courses for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees while practicing as a massage therapist. Her knowledge of rehabilitation practice is another great asset for the program.

Claire will join us on October 9, 2012. Her contact address will be: info@mrsc.ubc.ca and telephone: 604-827-5374.

We look forward to working with Claire to build the Rehabilitation Science Online Programs.

Andrea’s Farewell Party

From left to right: Associate Director Mary Clark, Administrative Manager Andrea Walus and Director Sue Stanton

On Wednesday, August 22 we held a Farewell Party for Andrea Walus with over 25 faculty and staff attending. Great appreciation was expressed by everyone at the party and on our blog, including many learners who will also miss Andrea’s exceptional support in navigating the UBC systems and completing the many tasks needed for successful online learning.

In recognition for her 7 years of service in the various rehabilitation science programs, including the management of the organizational transition to the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (OS&OT), everyone contributed to a gift card for the Gourmet Warehouse. Andrea was thrilled and plans to stock up on all the various spices and gadgets she’ll need for the two French cooking courses she is taking this Fall. We’re all waiting for the dinner invitations later this year!

As of August 24, Andrea is on her way to a new position as Development Coordinator with the Faculty of Applied Sciences effective September 4. Our Administrative Manager position is posted and Andrea will help to orient the new person, as soon in September as possible. In the meantime, please continue to email info@mrsc.ubc.ca and either one of the program directors or a staff person from the Department of OS&OT will help you.

Introducing the Master of Rehabilitation Science Course-Based Option

Learners starting the UBC Master of Rehabilitation Science (MRSc) program this September or later will have the option of choosing to complete the major project courses or other elective courses.

“This option was pursued due to some learners finding it difficult to arrange the necessary work-site support to complete their research. We are still encouraging learners to pursue the major project due to the benefits of learning how to conduct small scale research projects that have a direct impact on practice,” explained Program Director Sue Stanton.

RHSC 589 Major Project II will also increase from 3 to 6 credits. This change was made to provide learners the time and credits to increase the size of their research projects and increase research dissemination possibilities.

The various pathways through the UBC Rehabilitation Science Online Programs can be viewed on the program website under Choose Your Path.

Questions regarding these changes can be sent to info@mrsc.ubc.ca.

Congratulations and Fond Farewell to Andrea Walus

Congratulations to Andrea Walus, our Administrative Manager who has accepted a more senior role as a Development Coordinator with the Faculty of Applied Science. We wish her every success in the new role and will greatly miss her dedication in supporting learners, faculty and staff.

Since joining us in August, 2010 among other support activities, Andrea has streamlined recognition event processes, and contributed to the development of administrative processes to support program evaluation activities and the new Research Relays. Prior to the online programs, Andrea spent five years in various administrative roles in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy Department.

Although Andrea leaves us on August 24, 2012 she will return occasionally to orient the new manager once he/she has been appointed.  Interim support will be provided by the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy staff. You will be advised as soon as a new manager is appointed. We encourage everyone to continue communicating with us at info@mrsc.ubc.ca

Please join us in congratulating Andrea on her promotion.