Whether you work in the area of orthopedic, geriatric, neurological, cardiopulmonary or pediatric physical therapy, you are needed! Join students from UBC’s Department of Physical Therapy for this fun and fast-paced mixer where you will have the opportunity to impart your pearls of wisdom to the next generation while enjoying a beverage in a casual atmosphere. Students will have the opportunity to learn about different career paths in their field, and maybe even find a mentor!

Event Details:

Tuesday June 5
5:30-7:30pm
Coppertank Grill, 3162 W. Broadway, Vancouver

Please join us for this complimentary event! Light refreshments will be served.

Advance registration is required, and some biographical information from each participant will be requested.

Registration: 

http://alumni.med.ubc.ca/2018/04/19/physical-therapists-in-motion-a-student-and-practitioner-mixer

This past March I had the unique opportunity to lead a life sciences workshop for high school students in Chetwynd, BC. This community science outreach program (Geneskool) was funded by Genome BC. The workshops are designed to support the life sciences curriculum delivered in BC schools, by inviting UBC graduate student volunteers to present on select topics in genetics and forensic biology to high school science students. Through participation in an interactive crime scene investigation case, students were tasked with solving a murder by applying their critical reasoning skills through the examination of evidence collected through blood-typing, finger-print analysis, and DNA extraction activities.  As a scientist, it was fun to help the students appreciate how the scientific method can be applied in the context of a crime scene investigation as well as integrate the different skills and knowledge they have learned through their classroom education.

In addition to the delivery of workshop activities, we were encouraged to discuss our academic background and research interests to demonstrate examples of the different opportunities that exist for students aspiring to pursue further education and potentially careers in the life sciences. As both a physiotherapy and a PhD student, I was able to engage in discussion as both an ambassador for science and for physiotherapy practice. I used this as an opportunity to invite students to share their understanding of what physiotherapy is, which revealed how their perceptions of the role of our profession in health care are informed by their own personal experiences with physiotherapy services. For most students, these experiences were limited to treatment following orthopedic injuries.

When I introduced the topic of stroke rehabilitation in the context of my PhD research, I was impressed by the level of student interest and engagement. Despite not being as forthcoming when asked “What is a stroke?” many of the students raised their hands when asked if they knew anyone who had a stroke. This not only speaks to the far-reaching impact of this chronic disease, but also identified a knowledge gap among this youth demographic. The discussion that followed gave me the opportunity to share some basic information about the pathology of stroke and the role of physiotherapy in rehabilitation following neurological injury.

My teaching experience in Northern BC reminded me of how clinicians and clinical scientists have an important role to play in knowledge translation with respect to community education. By representing these two fields I was able share, inform, and hopefully inspire youth to consider pursuing careers in life science or health-related fields.

For more information about the Geneskool community outreach program, you can visit the following web site: https://www.genomebc.ca/education/what-is-geneskool/

Beverly Larssen is a student in the MPT/PhD combined program.  She will graduate from the MPT program this Fall.  She was also just awarded a CIHR doctoral fellowship to support her PhD work, a significant achievement given that this competition had only a 12% success rate.  Ms. Larssen plans to study the impact of bimanual robotic training on recovery from stroke.

By Tori Etheridge, Physiotherapist

When I first graduated from MPT school, I was the typical eager, over-excited and driven new grad. I couldn’t wait to get out there and work with people. I spent my first few years trying everything including acute medical, high acuity, emergency, outpatient rehab, private MSK, and neuro. This is one of the great, yet challenging parts of our profession–the opportunities are endless. Physiotherapy can be defined in so many ways and we have such a vast array of skills that can be utilized in a variety of settings.

At times I felt frustrated. After all the years of school I felt unsure about what I wanted to do and felt I was still not skilled enough to work in any particular area. After speaking with fellow classmates, I think this can be a common feeling. There are some who know exactly what they want to do and where they want to work, but for those of us who don’t it can be a little overwhelming.

From these experiences, I have learnt a few things that I would like to pass along to new grads:

1) Try everything

The more experiences I had, the more I learnt about myself as a practitioner and the type of treatment approaches which worked best for me and those that did not. New opportunities that come your way can seem intimidating, and a lot of the time we may feel we aren’t good enough or know enough to take them on. The truth is, we may actually not have the skills or knowledge yet but we definitely have the training to problem-solve, think critically and figure it out. As long as we are honest about our skills and willing to learn, there is a lot we can achieve. My “try everything” mentality was put to the test when I found myself on my way to Africa with a suitcase full of prosthetics not knowing at all what to expect or how to prepare. It was here I learned many lessons, importantly, how to communicate and learn from other people and cultures who approach rehabilitation differently. I have my goals, and the patients have theirs. Its important to take the time to ensure we understand what our patients need from us, even if its not what we think they need at that moment. If you take the time to truly listen to your patient and they will tell you what they need and how to treat them. Embrace the chaos. You can’t always control the situation and sometimes it leads you to learning more.

2) Admit to what you don’t know, but be confident about what you do know

As new grads, I think a lot of us feel we are expected to know it all and be “experts.” As I moved around I realized how much there was that I didn’t know–it was a lot. Having the ability to admit this graciously and use it as opportunities to learn and grow is key. This vulnerability is usually well received, and its important to be honest with yourself and those around you. Its okay to not know exactly what to do, that’s why we work in teams and have other physiotherapists to communicate with. On the other side of this, be confident with what you do know and use this to support your team and grow together. As a newer grad working in emergency (with physiotherapy not being common in most emergency departments) I felt many other health care practitioners didn’t have an awareness of the skills and knowledge we have as a profession. Use these opportunities to show the knowledge we have and why we are a necessary and important part of the care plan for our patients. Advocate for our profession and show others the vast variety in our skill sets and how we can be a valuable member of the rehabilitation team.

3) Continually challenge your own beliefs, biases and treatment approaches

Be critical of yourself and why you do what you do! I personally feel the danger zone comes when we begin to do things because “this is the way it has always been done.” Analyze why you do what you do, and don’t be afraid to try new things to see if it can impact your patient’s outcomes. There is a vast amount of research out there and its important we are aware of it and continually trying to implement research into clinical practice. It is for this reason, I have expanded my portfolio to work in clinical research a few days a week. This is not a typical career path for physiotherapy, and if I am being honest when I was in school I did say to myself “research was not for me.” Following my own advice and challenging this previous belief, I took a position working on a clinical trial for mTBI using a neuromodulation devise to facilitate neuroplasticity when combined with targeted physiotherapy. It was this position that showed me how important our knowledge of patient care and rehabilitation can be to the research realm. If we can combine our minds with others, very innovative technologies and therapy techniques can be developed. This again showed me how our skill set can be used in other settings. I am now working for HealthTech Connex and trying to utilize my knowledge and skills to see how I can be of use for clinical trials even if they are not exclusively “physiotherapy-based.”

These three tips, simple as they may be, were a crucial component for me to be able to develop a career that had components of both clinical and non-clinical work. This has expanded my skill set, knowledge base, and led to my thinking about physiotherapy in an entire new way.

Tori Etheridge is a registered Physiotherapist and a member of the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia  (PABC) and Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). Tori graduated from UBC with her Masters of Physiotherapy and her Bachelors of Kinesiology. Currently, she works publicly at an outpatient chronic pain clinic and privately in neurological research. She spent the last year on a study looking at the outcome of a neuromodulation device paired with targeted physiotherapy for chronic gait and balance deficits in post concussion individuals. She is passionate about patient engagement and has written pieces for both PABC and Pain BC. In 2016, she also had the opportunity to participate in a global health initiative through UBC’s sustainable orthopedic and trauma group and traveled to Uganda, Africa to aid with the opening of an amputee and trauma clinic. In the future, she hopes to continue working with individuals who have chronic pain and post concussive syndrome.

In the last newsletter, we asked readers to complete a survey on running and knee joint health. Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Jean-Francois Esculier has analyzed surveys and will be presenting findings at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Conference in Liverpool, England (April 26-29, 2018) as well as at the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Minneapolis, USA (May 29-June 2, 2018).

Summary of Survey Results:

A total of 114 non-runners (52 without, and 62 with knee OA), 388 runners (338 without, and 50 runners with knee OA) and 329 healthcare practitioners (27 MDs, 149 PTs, 85 ATs, 14 DCs and 55 identified as other) completed the survey. There was a high level of uncertainty about running and knee joint health, especially in those with pre-existing KOA and 17% of the non-runners reported they had stopped running because of their diagnosis and 80% of runners stated that they would decrease running if they were diagnosed with knee OA. Sixty six percent of the general public reported that they had sought information about running and knee joint health; the most frequent source of information was their PT (33%). Research to date has not fully elucidated answers to the questions such as, will running, especially long-distance running, lead to knee OA or will people with knee OA speed degenerative changes if they engage in running. Likely, there are multiple factors that need to be considered on a case-by-case basis in order to make recommendations, but more research is needed about running and knee joint health to optimize evidence-based clinical recommendations. This highlights the need for PTs to stay informed of the latest research on running and OA.

Members of the Motion Analysis and Biofeedback Lab at UBC are working to answer these questions; for example, they are currently undertaking a study to evaluate the effects of running on cartilage in those with and without knee osteoarthritis.

More detailed information about the survey results are here: Running KOA Survey

Dr. Jean-Francois Esculier is supported by a Fellowship award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is supervised by faculty member, Dr. Michael Hunt.

Jeremy McAllister, telerehabilitation project manager

Jeremy McAllister will be working as a project manager on the recently funded telerehab project. Telerehab will offer a clinical placement model for teams of entry-level rehabilitation students (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology / speech-language pathology) through virtual, mentored contact with patients in local, remote, urban and rural areas of British Columbia. This will include both discipline-specific and inter-professional learning, and training for both sides of the mentoring relationship (students and preceptors). Course content will be developed to educate students in the use of telerehabilitation. In addition, Evidence-based telerehabilitation start-up session-kits will be offered to clinical faculty preceptors and their students in the private and public practice setting. This work will be undertaken with community partners, Vancouver Health, Fraser Health, Providence Health, Northern Health and PainBC as well as academic and clinical members of Faculty of Medicine.

Jeremy began his career journey in physiotherapy 22 years ago. He graduated from UBC’s School of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1996. He has worked in the Fraser Valley extensively since that time, primarily in outpatient musculoskeletal physiotherapy. After 15 years of work, Jeremy began a Masters of Health Administration (MHA) with UBC’s School of Population and Public Health with a desire to impact rehabilitation and medicine more broadly. It was during this time that he developed a strong interest in eHealth and its potential application to physiotherapy in Canada.  He received the Malcolm T. McEachern Award for the best MHA graduate research project for his work in this area.  Jeremy currently consults to physiotherapy associations on both the national and provincial level to apply eHealth initiatives such as Telehealth and electronic medical records to assure quality and efficiency of rehabilitative care in Canada. Jeremy also continues to work in multidisciplinary clinical management as well as maintain a small amount of orthopadedic clinical work.

The UBC Physiotherapy Student Society is hosting the UBC Physiotherapy Tennis Open on Friday, July 20th 2018. The event will take place at the UBC Tennis Centre. This is a great opportunity to network and meet with MPT students as well as other physiotherapists in a fun night of competition. A post-tournament reception will be held for players at the Gerald McGavin Rugby Centre and will include presentations of awards, drinks, and a silent auction. The tournament is open for players of all skill levels from beginner to advanced. Participants can sign up as a single or request to play with another partner. The link to ticket purchase is via an eventbrite page (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ubc-physiotherapy-tennis-open-tickets-45221409453). This is a major fundraiser for the MPT Graduate Dinner and Dance.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available, if you are interested or know anyone that would like to sponsor you please email ubcptopen@gmail.com.

Pat Camp’s work with Carrier Sekani Family Services is featured in “Pathways” along with a piece on MPT graduate Josina Rhebergen. Check out the link FoM Pathways: Beyond the Boundaries (Pat’s work is in Chapter 1 and Josina is in “Snapshots”).

Dr. Lara Boyd is the BC and National spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s recently released report on stroke in women.  She was featured by several news organizations.

CPSR’s Dr. Lara Boyd talks to Global News about gender differences in stroke. https://t.co/MirhbXcoPb

— StrokeRecovery (@HSFCSR) June 10, 2018

By Tori Etheridge, Physiotherapist

When I first graduated from MPT school, I was the typical eager, over-excited and driven new grad. I couldn’t wait to get out there and work with people. I spent my first few years trying everything including acute medical, high acuity, emergency, outpatient rehab, private MSK, and neuro. This is one of the great, yet challenging parts of our profession–the opportunities are endless. Physiotherapy can be defined in so many ways and we have such a vast array of skills that can be utilized in a variety of settings.

At times I felt frustrated. After all the years of school I felt unsure about what I wanted to do and felt I was still not skilled enough to work in any particular area. After speaking with fellow classmates, I think this can be a common feeling. There are some who know exactly what they want to do and where they want to work, but for those of us who don’t it can be a little overwhelming.

From these experiences, I have learnt a few things that I would like to pass along to new grads:

1) Try everything

The more experiences I had, the more I learnt about myself as a practitioner and the type of treatment approaches which worked best for me and those that did not. New opportunities that come your way can seem intimidating, and a lot of the time we may feel we aren’t good enough or know enough to take them on. The truth is, we may actually not have the skills or knowledge yet but we definitely have the training to problem-solve, think critically and figure it out. As long as we are honest about our skills and willing to learn, there is a lot we can achieve. My “try everything” mentality was put to the test when I found myself on my way to Africa with a suitcase full of prosthetics not knowing at all what to expect or how to prepare. It was here I learned many lessons, importantly, how to communicate and learn from other people and cultures who approach rehabilitation differently. I have my goals, and the patients have theirs. Its important to take the time to ensure we understand what our patients need from us, even if its not what we think they need at that moment. If you take the time to truly listen to your patient and they will tell you what they need and how to treat them. Embrace the chaos. You can’t always control the situation and sometimes it leads you to learning more.

2) Admit to what you don’t know, but be confident about what you do know

As new grads, I think a lot of us feel we are expected to know it all and be “experts.” As I moved around I realized how much there was that I didn’t know–it was a lot. Having the ability to admit this graciously and use it as opportunities to learn and grow is key. This vulnerability is usually well received, and its important to be honest with yourself and those around you. Its okay to not know exactly what to do, that’s why we work in teams and have other physiotherapists to communicate with. On the other side of this, be confident with what you do know and use this to support your team and grow together. As a newer grad working in emergency (with physiotherapy not being common in most emergency departments) I felt many other health care practitioners didn’t have an awareness of the skills and knowledge we have as a profession. Use these opportunities to show the knowledge we have and why we are a necessary and important part of the care plan for our patients. Advocate for our profession and show others the vast variety in our skill sets and how we can be a valuable member of the rehabilitation team.

3) Continually challenge your own beliefs, biases and treatment approaches

Be critical of yourself and why you do what you do! I personally feel the danger zone comes when we begin to do things because “this is the way it has always been done.” Analyze why you do what you do, and don’t be afraid to try new things to see if it can impact your patient’s outcomes. There is a vast amount of research out there and its important we are aware of it and continually trying to implement research into clinical practice. It is for this reason, I have expanded my portfolio to work in clinical research a few days a week. This is not a typical career path for physiotherapy, and if I am being honest when I was in school I did say to myself “research was not for me.” Following my own advice and challenging this previous belief, I took a position working on a clinical trial for mTBI using a neuromodulation devise to facilitate neuroplasticity when combined with targeted physiotherapy. It was this position that showed me how important our knowledge of patient care and rehabilitation can be to the research realm. If we can combine our minds with others, very innovative technologies and therapy techniques can be developed. This again showed me how our skill set can be used in other settings. I am now working for HealthTech Connex and trying to utilize my knowledge and skills to see how I can be of use for clinical trials even if they are not exclusively “physiotherapy-based.”

These three tips, simple as they may be, were a crucial component for me to be able to develop a career that had components of both clinical and non-clinical work. This has expanded my skill set, knowledge base, and led to my thinking about physiotherapy in an entire new way.

Tori Etheridge is a registered Physiotherapist and a member of the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia  (PABC) and Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA). Tori graduated from UBC with her Masters of Physiotherapy and her Bachelors of Kinesiology. Currently, she works publicly at an outpatient chronic pain clinic and privately in neurological research. She spent the last year on a study looking at the outcome of a neuromodulation device paired with targeted physiotherapy for chronic gait and balance deficits in post concussion individuals. She is passionate about patient engagement and has written pieces for both PABC and Pain BC. In 2016, she also had the opportunity to participate in a global health initiative through UBC’s sustainable orthopedic and trauma group and traveled to Uganda, Africa to aid with the opening of an amputee and trauma clinic. In the future, she hopes to continue working with individuals who have chronic pain and post concussive syndrome.

In the last newsletter, we asked readers to complete a survey on running and knee joint health. Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Jean-Francois Esculier has analyzed surveys and will be presenting findings at the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Conference in Liverpool, England (April 26-29, 2018) as well as at the American College of Sports Medicine conference in Minneapolis, USA (May 29-June 2, 2018).

Summary of Survey Results:

A total of 114 non-runners (52 without, and 62 with knee OA), 388 runners (338 without, and 50 runners with knee OA) and 329 healthcare practitioners (27 MDs, 149 PTs, 85 ATs, 14 DCs and 55 identified as other) completed the survey. There was a high level of uncertainty about running and knee joint health, especially in those with pre-existing KOA and 17% of the non-runners reported they had stopped running because of their diagnosis and 80% of runners stated that they would decrease running if they were diagnosed with knee OA. Sixty six percent of the general public reported that they had sought information about running and knee joint health; the most frequent source of information was their PT (33%). Research to date has not fully elucidated answers to the questions such as, will running, especially long-distance running, lead to knee OA or will people with knee OA speed degenerative changes if they engage in running. Likely, there are multiple factors that need to be considered on a case-by-case basis in order to make recommendations, but more research is needed about running and knee joint health to optimize evidence-based clinical recommendations. This highlights the need for PTs to stay informed of the latest research on running and OA.

Members of the Motion Analysis and Biofeedback Lab at UBC are working to answer these questions; for example, they are currently undertaking a study to evaluate the effects of running on cartilage in those with and without knee osteoarthritis.

More detailed information about the survey results are here: Running KOA Survey

Dr. Jean-Francois Esculier is supported by a Fellowship award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is supervised by faculty member, Dr. Michael Hunt.

Jeremy McAllister, telerehabilitation project manager

Jeremy McAllister will be working as a project manager on the recently funded telerehab project. Telerehab will offer a clinical placement model for teams of entry-level rehabilitation students (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology / speech-language pathology) through virtual, mentored contact with patients in local, remote, urban and rural areas of British Columbia. This will include both discipline-specific and inter-professional learning, and training for both sides of the mentoring relationship (students and preceptors). Course content will be developed to educate students in the use of telerehabilitation. In addition, Evidence-based telerehabilitation start-up session-kits will be offered to clinical faculty preceptors and their students in the private and public practice setting. This work will be undertaken with community partners, Vancouver Health, Fraser Health, Providence Health, Northern Health and PainBC as well as academic and clinical members of Faculty of Medicine.

Jeremy began his career journey in physiotherapy 22 years ago. He graduated from UBC’s School of Rehabilitation Medicine in 1996. He has worked in the Fraser Valley extensively since that time, primarily in outpatient musculoskeletal physiotherapy. After 15 years of work, Jeremy began a Masters of Health Administration (MHA) with UBC’s School of Population and Public Health with a desire to impact rehabilitation and medicine more broadly. It was during this time that he developed a strong interest in eHealth and its potential application to physiotherapy in Canada.  He received the Malcolm T. McEachern Award for the best MHA graduate research project for his work in this area.  Jeremy currently consults to physiotherapy associations on both the national and provincial level to apply eHealth initiatives such as Telehealth and electronic medical records to assure quality and efficiency of rehabilitative care in Canada. Jeremy also continues to work in multidisciplinary clinical management as well as maintain a small amount of orthopadedic clinical work.

The UBC Physiotherapy Student Society is hosting the UBC Physiotherapy Tennis Open on Friday, July 20th 2018. The event will take place at the UBC Tennis Centre. This is a great opportunity to network and meet with MPT students as well as other physiotherapists in a fun night of competition. A post-tournament reception will be held for players at the Gerald McGavin Rugby Centre and will include presentations of awards, drinks, and a silent auction. The tournament is open for players of all skill levels from beginner to advanced. Participants can sign up as a single or request to play with another partner. The link to ticket purchase is via an eventbrite page (https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ubc-physiotherapy-tennis-open-tickets-45221409453). This is a major fundraiser for the MPT Graduate Dinner and Dance.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available, if you are interested or know anyone that would like to sponsor you please email ubcptopen@gmail.com.

Pat Camp’s work with Carrier Sekani Family Services is featured in “Pathways” along with a piece on MPT graduate Josina Rhebergen. Check out the link FoM Pathways: Beyond the Boundaries (Pat’s work is in Chapter 1 and Josina is in “Snapshots”).

Dr. Lara Boyd is the BC and National spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s recently released report on stroke in women.  She was featured by several news organizations.

CPSR’s Dr. Lara Boyd talks to Global News about gender differences in stroke. https://t.co/MirhbXcoPb

— StrokeRecovery (@HSFCSR) June 10, 2018