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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.

Valedictorian Speech of May 2012 Master of Rehabilitation Science Grads

Spring 2012 Grads: L-R: Physical Therapist Rebecca Shook, Physical Therapist Sarah Strickey and Occupational Therapist Sabrina Li

On Wednesday, May 23 these three therapists joined the growing number of Master of Rehabilitation Science graduates. Although only Vancouver-based Rebecca Shook was able to cross the stage at convocation, her colleagues Sabrina Li in Hong Kong and Sarah Strickey in Cary, North Carolina in the U.S. were in touch to share the occasion and prepare the traditional joint valedictorian speech. Please join us in congratulating these graduates and enjoy their celebratory words.

It is both thrilling and surreal to be submitting these remarks as we complete our MRSc journey! This program has followed us all through a multitude of life changes from new jobs to new babies to new countries. This program has remained the constant through all these events. It goes without saying that the nature of this program has allowed us to balance the other aspects of our lives while providing us with an invaluable way to stay current, grow as professionals, and develop practical skills to apply to our clinical practices.

Collectively, we have learned some valuable lessons throughout the course of our studies that are worth sharing.

  • Organization pays off
    Without good organization of notes, journal articles, to-do lists and references lists from the beginning, we’re not sure we would be completing this now- at least not with our sanity relatively intact!
  • No man (or woman) is an island
    Completing research in isolation without input from others may seem attractive at first (I get to do it my way, all the time!), but it makes for an inferior product in the end.
  • Research’s spill-over effect
    Through the process of completing this degree we have also internalized knowledge on evidence-based practice, literature searching, writing and referencing and have gleaned a much greater appreciation of what is required to support new ideas and initiatives in practice.
  • Research is fun
    There is an inherent thrill in discovering new information (or confirming your own hypotheses) and then writing about it in a manner that makes it accessible for other clinicians. And the fun doesn’t stop there; research findings lead to more questions which drives us all to keep studying!
  • Research is challenging
    As novice researchers it is easy to underestimate the complexity of conducting research. The amount of discipline and planning that is required to ensure that the integrity of the research is maintained cannot be under-valued.
  • Research takes time
    It is not a process that can be rushed. Allow more time than seems reasonable for every step and attempt to plan for every foreseeable obstacle
  • Buy-in is essential
    When developing or improving rehabilitation services, research is important, but ‘buy-in’ from stakeholders is also important! We need to ‘think outside the box’, then try to understand the stakeholders’ needs and use ‘their’ language.
  • It’s a small world after all
    The greatest advantage of this program is that it can be literally completed from anywhere in the world. The three of us are a testament to that as we cover three countries and two continents. The value of learning from colleagues around the globe has been paramount to our experience.

From our first (admittedly tentative) posts to our final assignments the faculty and staff associated with the MRSc program have encouraged and motivated us to succeed. Without their unwavering support, it would not be possible to complete a program of this magnitude from afar. We would specifically like to thank our major project supervisors, Dr. Lesley Bainbridge, Alison Gerlach, and Sue Stanton, whose guidance and encouragement were instrumental to the success of our major projects. Finally, we wish to thank our families, our friends and our colleagues who supported us in countless ways throughout this experience!

While we have looked forward to completing this degree for quite some time, we also know that we will greatly miss the stimulating discussions we have shared over the years with our fellow learners. Their enthusiasm has continually pushed us to think beyond the boundaries. To all our colleagues who are considering embarking on this journey – go for it; it is a challenging, yet rewarding experience.

Best of luck to all current and future MRSc learners; may you continue to set goals that inspire you!

Sabrina Li, Hong Kong

Rebecca Shook, Vancouver, BC, Canada,

Sarah Strickey, Cary, NC, USA