Category Archives: Our Grads’ Research

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.

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.

MRSc Grad Jennifer Stephenson Makes Learning a Family Affair

Jennifer Stephenson who graduated from the UBC Master of Rehabilitation Science in 2010 was not alone in her studies. Turns out her husband was studying for his PhD and both her daughter and son were completing their undergraduate degrees. On June 7, 2012 Jennifer’s husband Paul and her son Brian graduated from UBC. Her daughter Sarah graduated in 2009. Brian and Sarah are continuing their education at UBC, following their parents’ lead. For the full story, read UBC’s media release.

Jennifer herself has stayed active in the MRSc program by recently offering a webinar based on her major project research: Successful Intraprofessional Relationships between Therapists and Therapist Assistants. The archive, along with others, is available for listening on the MRSc Research Relay Webinars page.

Congratulations to Jennifer and her family!

Spring 2012 Rehabilitation Science Online Programs Graduates

Please join us in congratulating this Spring’s graduates.

Receiving their Master of Rehabilitation Science degree:

  • Sabrina Li
  • Rebecca Shook
  • Sarah Strickey

Read their research abstracts and those from previous graduation classes on the program website.

Receiving their Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation:

  • Lisa Aquilino Haley
  • Paul VanWiechen

The program professors, instructors, staff, alumni and current learners wish them all the best in pursuing excellence in rehabilitation practice.

 

 

 

Wray and Mortenson Win CAOT 2012 Golden Quill Award

Ellie Wray and Patricia Mortenson received exciting news last week from the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT). They have received the Golden Quill Award for the publishing an exceptional article in the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. The paper, Cultural competence in occupational therapists working in early intervention therapy programs, was published in 2011. It was based on the major project research conducted by Ellie as part of the requirement for completing her Master of Rehabilitation Science degree at UBC. Patricia Mortenson was Ellie’s research supervisor.

According to the criteria published on the CAOT website, an exceptional article is one that:

  1. Is rigorously designed or argued,
  2. Demonstrates a high level of scholarship and critical thinking,
  3. Enhances the empirical and/or theoretical foundation of the profession, and
  4. Provides a model for excellent scholarly writing in the field.

Ellie is now an instructor in RHSC 503: Reasoning and Decision Making and Patricia continues to teach in RHSC 501: Evaluating Sources of Evidence in the MRSc program.

Congratulations to both!

Congratulations to the 30th MRSc Graduate Lori Marsh

Although Lori was not able to attend this Spring’s convocation, she takes a special place in the history of the program as our 30th graduate. Lori is a physical therapist on acute orthopaedics at the Ottawa Hospital – Civic Campus. Her reasons for taking a master’s were to be ready for new opportunities created by the expanding scope of physical therapy practice.

At the grad reception held on Tuesday, May 24, Lori’ s research supervisor Dr. Lesley Bainbridge read the following message sent by Lori who is currently on holidays in Ireland.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to say a few words while I’m out of the country.

From my very first post in my first course, Evaluating Sources of Evidence, to sending off my final revision of my major project, this has been an amazing journey. As with any journey, there have been challenges, both academically and personally. Since the fall of 2007 when I started, deadlines have come and gone, and courses were completed, one by one. I have watched two children graduate from high school and one from college. I have said goodbye to my grandmother, a nephew and my father-in-law, and celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary. In addition to my very patient husband, the one constant throughout the four years has been my laptop. While not occupying half of our dining room table, it has traveled to England, France, and New York City. Now on its last legs, it has been replaced by a much lighter, cooler iPad.

In addition to all that I learned through the course of my degree, I learned a few truths.
1.    Don’t leave submissions until the last minute: the server may be down!
2.    Having tech support in the guise of teenagers is invaluable.
3.    Back everything up-twice! USB sticks do die!
And finally,

4.    What an amazing world we live in, where I can sit in my pajamas in my dining room in Ottawa and discuss common issues with a classmate in Hong Kong!

I would like to thank Lesley Bainbridge for her invaluable support and guidance over the past year while I completed my final project.

Thanks must also go to Sue Stanton who regularly checked in during the final course even when she was south of the equator and to Andrea Walus who answered questions no matter how silly they seemed. Finally, I would like to recognize all the learners and instructors I met, worked with and learned from during this degree.

It has been an amazing four years and I have highly recommended this program to my colleagues. One actually listened to me and began her own journey in the fall of 2010!

Lori’s research entitled Isolation and the Older Adult: Best Practices for Physiotherapy Interventions suggests that physiotherapy intervention should be frequent, aimed at preventing loss of function, and started early within a patient stay to prevent de-conditioning in older adults on isolation in acute care. For the full abstract, visit the program website.

Congratulations Lori – may you seize, as a master of rehabilitation science, the new opportunities that await you.

MRSc Grads Continue to Publish Their Research

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

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.

Rehabilitation Science Graduates Poised for Challenges Ahead

On November 26, 2009 over 65 people gathered at the Medical Student Alumni Centre in Vancouver to congratulate recent graduates in the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Programs. Ben Mortensen and Sharon Smith received their Doctor of Philosophy; Jenny Garden, Marylyn Horsman and Helia Sillem received their Master in Science; and Kathy Davidson, Karen Hurtubise, Kathy Hatchard, Twila Mills, Darlene Russell, and Ellie Wray received their Master of Rehabilitation Science.

From left to right: Marylyn Horsman, Ben Mortensen, Sharon Smith, Jenny Garden and Lyn Jongbloed. Missing: Helia Sillem

From left to right: Marylyn Horsman, Ben Mortensen, Sharon Smith, Jenny Garden and Lyn Jongbloed. Missing: Helia Sillem

Susan Stanton, Coordinator of the Rehabilitation Science Online Programs was the master of ceremonies for the evening and introduced Dr. Tal Jarus who congratulated the graduates on behalf of the Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (OS&OT) Department. She warmly reminded them that they weren’t to just hang their degree on the wall and rest. Rather, with their new knowledge and skills, they now had more responsibility. “With a new lense to see the world, you must think critically — ask lots of questions and encourage others to do so as well.”

Dr. Susan Harris congratulated the graduates on behalf of Dr. Jane Garland of the Department of Physical Therapy and highlighted the history of the graduate programs. Since 1993 when the Master of Science program started, the two departments have grown from 120 undergraduate students to 335 graduate students, with the PhD program starting in 2003 and the online Master of Rehabilitation Science program in 2005. Susan has watched the Rehabilitation Science Graduate Programs become enriched due to their interprofessional focus. She explained that learners come from a variety of backgrounds including people living with disability and their supervisors as well.

The present chair of the Rehabilitation Science Research Graduate Programs Dr. Lyn Jongbloed described the event as one which celebrates change and the arrival of new times for the graduates, as they celebrate their achievements and the culmination of academic journeys. She introduced the graduates who had an opportunity to thank their supervisors, many of who were able to attend the event, their families and colleagues. They also chose to say a few words about their journeys. There were common themes of personal growth and a desire to make significant changes to their practice community.

Online Graduates Complete the Evening
Karen Hurtubise delivered the joint valedictorian speech prepared collaboratively and of course, online. Listen to the speech.

She described the gift of comradeship that emerged between the learners, the professors and the advisors, despite the online nature of their communication. “Unique challenges of building a relationship which relies solely on the written word. Despite initially longing to hear voices and see faces, we did establish wonderful relationships with our classmates and instructors. In fact, today, although many of us had not met face-to-face, we greeted each other as long lost friends.”

From left to right: Kathy Davidson, Karen Hurtubise, Ellie Wray, Kathy Hatchard, Sue Stanton and Twila Mills. Missing: Darlene Russell

From left to right: Kathy Davidson, Karen Hurtubise, Ellie Wray, Kathy Hatchard, Sue Stanton and Twila Mills. Missing: Darlene Russell

The graduates were explicit in describing the ways in which they had grown while in the program. “We have become analysts and consumers of, and contributors to, the evidence that supports our practice… We have evolved into knowledge translators, skillful advocators, effective educators and evaluators, innovators, visionaries and leaders.”

Recognition and warm thanks were extended to their research supervisors, employers, agency sponsors, instructors and program staff who supported their research projects and academic journeys. “Thank you for believing in us and our ideas and commitment to bettering the services we deliver.”

Read the MRSc graduates’ research abstract on our program website.