Category Archives: In General

Back to School and Contemplating a Master’s

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A common New Year’s Resolution among health professionals is to consider some type of upgrading or new learning. Each January there is a jump in the number of emails requesting information about the Master of Rehabilitation Science program. Although the application deadline isn’t until April 30 it is wise to start contemplating a master’s early, as the paper work itself can take a few weeks.

In addition to the information for prospective learners on the MRSc program website, I recently came across an article that captures many of the same experiences and pay-offs that our graduates report. It is written by a neurosurgeon who returned to do a professional master’s in bioethics.
Back to School Days by Mark Bernstein in Academic Matters, October/November 2010.

It’s definitely worth a read.

November 2010 Grad Reception and Speech

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MRSc Grads: Clare Faulkner, Claudia Hernandez Riano, Jennifer Stephenson and Maureen Duggan. Unable to attend: Caroline Jones, Meg O’Brien and Peter Rowe

There was great debate at this year’s reception: which is harder to overcome — the horizontal sheets of rain that characterize November in Vancouver, or the 6 inches of snow and slush that covered Vancouver during Convocation week? For the graduates who had planned to attend the reception, and had slogged their way through master’s and doctoral programs, the weather was nothing in comparison. For the online Master of Rehabilitation Science graduates, the desire to meet their fellow learners face-to-face overcame any worry about the weather.

Instructors, faculty, family, friends, fellow students and alumni joined the graduates to celebrate their accomplishments. Sue Stanton welcomed everyone and began the formal presentations by suggesting to the graduates that their convocation become another anniversary, “to reflect on, to celebrate, and to recall upon in the future.” Dr. Ross MacGillivray the Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs, Faculty of Medicine brought greetings from the Dean of Medicine Dr. Gavin Stuart, and recalled his various graduations of the past while congratulating those who would cross the stage on Friday. Dr. Lyn Jongbloed recognized both the Doctors of Philosophy Allan Kozlowski and Marc Roig, and presented flowers to Master of Science graduate Rochelle Stokes who was able to attend. The Urban Poling Activator Award was presented by Mandy Shintani and Graham Watts to Sarah Neil. This new award recognizes students who are researching rehabilitation and cancer research.

MRSc Grads’ Speech
Four graduates Maureen Duggan, Clare Faulkner, Claudia Hernandez Riano and Jennifer Stephenson spoke about the online master’s and were also the voices for the graduates who were unable to attend, but of course, sent their messages online. They concluded their speech with:

On the logo of the Online Master of Rehabilitation Science learner’s guide three key concepts are highlighted: Connect – Learn – Succeed. The Fall MRSc 2010 Graduates have all travelled slightly different paths to get to this day but it can be honestly said “we’ve connected, learned and succeeded!”

Click here to listen to the entire speech.

More information on the MRSc Winter 2010 graduates can be found on the MRSc program website.

MRSc Grads Continue to Publish Their Research

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The following research papers were recently published or accepted for publication in peer reviewed journals. Congratulations to the authors who persevered after graduation to publish their research and expand the reach of their new knowledge. This knowledge transfer is vital to rehabilitation practice.

Davidson, K. F., & Bressler, S. I. (2010). Piloting a points-based caseload measure for community based paediatric occupational and physiotherapists. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77(3), 174-180. doi: 10.2182/cjot.2010.01.00

Hurtubise, K., & Carpenter, C. (in press). Parents’ experience with role negotiation within an infant services program.  Infants and Young Children, 24(1).

Widmer, C., & Beach, C. (2010). Use of standardized assessments for low back pain patients: Influence on physiotherapists’ clinical reasoning. Physioscience, 6(1), 2-12. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1245154

If you are a graduate from the program and have published your research or presented it at a recent conference, please let us know by emailing: support@mrsc.ubc.ca.

Many thanks!

November 2010 Graduates and Topics of Research

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Please join us in congratulating our latest graduates. A reception honouring them will be held on November 25, 2010, the evening before their convocation in Vancouver. For further information please contact us at info@mrsc.ubc.ca. Their full abstracts will be posted on the MRSc website by mid-November, under Research For You – Major Project Research.

Maureen Duggan from Burnaby, BC. Outcome Measurement in the Total Joint Arthroplasty Patient: Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of its Use.

Clare Faulkner from Sidney, BC. Comparison of the Norwich Regime to the Static Splinting Protocol for Extensor Tendon Injuries.

Claudia Hernandez from Toronto, ON. Pilot Project to Explore Clinicians’ Experiences and Lessons Learned Related to a Patient Safety Initiative: The SAFE Initiative at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Caroline Jones from Aurora, ON. Usefulness of the WOMAC and the MDHAQ Questionnaires in an Outpatient Osteoarthritis Clinic.

Meg O’Brien from Kanata, ON. Understanding Physiotherapists’ Experiences with Job Rotations

Peter Rowe from Ottawa, ON. The Recent Experiences and Challenges of Military Physiotherapists Deployed in Afghanistan.

Jennifer Stephenson, Kelowna, BC. Characteristics of Successful Intraprofessional Relationships between Occupational Therapists/Physical Therapists and Therapist Assistants.

Connecting with Graduates

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After 5 years of trans-Atlantic studies Claudia Hernandez (left) and Chris Carpenter meet at Claudia’s workplace, the Toronto Rehabilitation Centre. Chris was conducting a seminar at the Centre and is currently at Coventry University in England.

Many of our graduates and their research supervisors meet for the first time at professional conferences, sometimes to present together. This summer, at the Canadian Physiotherapy Congress in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Dr. Chris Carpenter met Peter Rowe to present his research regarding: Recent Experiences and Challenges of Military Physiotherapists Deployed in Afghanistan. Maureen Duggan was unable to attend the Congress but her research,  Outcome Measurement in the Total Joint Arthroplasty Patient: Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of its Use, was presented as part of a larger study led by Alison Hoens.

Help Recall and Record our History

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Dale Graham, May 2008 graduate created a timeline and history Wiki for us. We encourage you to join Dale in capturing more of our history at the Wiki. Dale is presently an instructor in RHSC 581: Writing to Enhance Practice and an active participant in our growing online learning community. Many thanks to Dale for getting us started.