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ASSOCIATION OF CANA

DIAN OCCUPATION

AL THERAPY UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS

ACOTUP/ACPUE is a national organization that promotes and develops occupational therapy education and research with an understanding

of issues in a global context.

NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 27 – 2016

NEWS FROMDALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY

Diversity is the key when it comes to providing stu-dents with a well-rounded repertoire of field-work opportunities. At Dalhousie University,

some of this diversity comes through role-emerging place-ments that build on community partnerships. One such part-nership, which has now evolved into six full-time fieldworkplacements, is with the YWCA’s “Women in SupportedHousing” program.

In this “housing first” program, there is a focus on findingsuitable options for women who struggle to find housing be-cause of addictions or mental illness, women fleeing fromabusive relationships, or those who have been in conflict withthe law. Once housing is established, the focus shifts to pro-viding the support necessary to keep them housed, and tobuild, strengthen, or rebuild a meaningful life. The occupa-tional therapy student pairs (under the preceptorship of anoccupational therapist and in interprofessional collabora-tions) play an important role at this point, supporting thewomen to overcome personal and environmental barriers,and work toward individualized goals relating to life skills andpersonal care, education or work, and healthy social/leisure/recreation.

This partnership has been mutually beneficial, as studentsgain a transferrable skill set, and the women appreciate theopportunity to work on life-changing goals. We continue toexplore innovative funding options to promote sustainabilityof this valuable learning opportunity.

www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/inpr/afhoce/afhoce/prpr/up-load/WISH-YWCA_en.pdf

ACOTUP’s 6th ANNUALGENERAL MEETINGIS COMING UP!

ACOTUP is happy to announce that their sixthAGM and committee meetings will be occur-ring in beautiful Banff, Alberta this year! Don’t

forget to book your hotel and travel arrangements! Pleasenote that the Annual General Meeting and the EducationInnovation Forum Meeting are open to all ACOTUP mem-bers, and all other meetings are by invitation. This year, theBoard has decided to hire a strategic planning facilitator toassist in the future development of the association and theirstrategic plan.

Monday, April 18 2016Annual General Meeting Time - 8:30 AM

Monday, April 18 2016Board of Directors Strategic Planning Session - 9:00 AM

Monday, April 18 2016CUFE Meeting - 1:00 PMTuesday, April 19 2016CUFE Meeting - 8:30 AM Tuesday, April 19 2016

Curriculum Coordinators Meeting Time - 8:30 AMTuesday, April 19 2016

Education Innovation Forum Meeting Time - 1:00 PM

All meetings will take place during local time at the Fairmont Springs Banff.

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STUDENTS COACHING STUDENTS: AN ODYSSEY IN OT AT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY

ABRIDGED VERSION – FOR FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

STUDENTS’ VOICESImposter syndrome. A phenomenon that has emerged

for many of us over the course of our occupational therapyclinical education, but never quite so prominently as duringour first placement experiences. Each day, we are chal-lenged to absorb tremendous amounts of new knowledgewith our ardent anticipation to get out there and… dowhat? What does it mean to be a student occupationaltherapist (SOT), exactly? What does it look like? Two stand-alone pillars exist, one of thought and one of action, with-out a bridge in sight. It is at this stage that our professionalidentities are called into question and our perceived im-poster syndrome can itself become a barrier to learning.

Exactly which topics do you explore with SOTs beforebeginning their clinical education to prepare them for theodyssey that is First Placement? With this in mind, we, theMcMaster Occupational Therapy Class of 2016, were in-spired to develop an hour-long presentation and an accom-panying pocket guide What To Know When You’re OnPlacement. These provided a foundation to launch an in-augural student-to-student discussion, incorporating prac-tical tips related to making evaluation run smoothly,strategies for handling conflict on placement, how and whyto maintain work-placement balance, and tips for commu-nicating with your preceptor. For each topic, the desig-nated presenter shared a personal anecdote fromplacement – often this involved learning from a blunder –as well as the nuggets of wisdom that we added to ourtoolkit from these moments to be used pro re nata.

The Let’s Lunch Together event took place a few weekspreceding the start of placement for first-year students. Stu-dents had been informed of their placement settings andhad logged some time researching their settings to under-stand their practice area broadly. First year SOTs were in-vited to a lunch with volunteers from our year. Studentswere grouped into tables representing similar practiceareas: first years based on their upcoming placement, andvolunteers from our class assigned according to past place-

ment experiences. An upper year mentor introduced thesession, emphasizing both the conversational nature of theevent and the opportunity to ask those “burning ques-tions”. By having a student-guided session, a distinction wascreated between formal clinical preparation and the casualmentorship intended for this event.

The Let’s Lunch Together session had unexpected pos-itive consequences for our class. During our coaching, wereflected on how much we had learned in one year. Ithelped us understand our current level of knowledge anddetermine our own learning gaps in preparation for ourfinal placements, building confidence in our developingskills, and in our own capacity for self-directed learning. Thispresented itself as yet another opportunity to engage in thereflective process associated with clinical education at Mc-Master, and helped us solidify our previous year of learning.In short, we took another leap in our own journey towardsdeveloping our professional identities, as we helped ourfirst-year peers take their first steps towards being practicingstudent occupational therapists.

AN EDUCATOR’S VOICETo say that I was impressed with the energetic and ev-

idence–informed approach of our second year SOTs in cre-ating and delivering these sessions would be anunderstatement. The students brought a very importantpeer-to-peer relationship to their work with the first yearSOTs that enhanced learning and understanding aboutwhat they could expect as students entering their first prac-tica. It was very gratifying to see our senior students apply-ing their competencies to facilitate the competencydevelopment with the incoming class. This process had astrong impact on senior students’ understanding of theirown growth in order to successfully engage their studentcolleagues.

YEAR 1 & 2 COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT:A WIN-WIN OUTCOME

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In devising this initiative, the senior class hoped to re-duce the “unknown unknowns” by identifying “known un-knowns”, which in turn would lessen the first year students’apprehension toward that first day of placement. Knowingthere will come a time, when prompted with a question orscenario, that you have no immediate response and sub-sequently send yourself into a tailspin of self-doubt. Thetruth is, we’ve all been there… as have our preceptors. Nor-malizing the experience – accepting the inevitability of it– allows us to embrace it for what it is: a rite of passage.That moment in time (frozen as it may feel) offers tremen-dous opportunity for personal learning and growth. Thisexperience adds a layer of new meaning to the competen-cies being evaluated, a daunting process to navigate for astudent entering his/her first clinical placement.

There is strong support for the event to continue in the

future, marking a natural transition concurrent with theCBFE-OT stages of learning development. Collectively, thisinitiative spurred bonding between first- and second-yearstudent occupational therapists by sharing our vulnerabili-ties, and in turn nurturing individualized development ofprofessional competencies. Imposter syndrome dissipatesas we embrace what lies ahead: learning in acknowledgingour lapses, comfort in knowing we are in good company,freedom in addressing our fears, and ultimately pride aswe progress in our OT odyssey.

Our Writing Team: Jill Wyman, Maital Falkovitz, MaraFontana, Sarah Hobbs, & Lorie Shimmell

For correspondence, please contact us through:shimmelj@mcmaster.ca

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PRESS RELEASE: Montreal: To stay current withwhat’s happening at McGill’s School of Physical & Occu-pational Therapy (SPOT), check out the School’s websitewww.mcgill.ca/spot or join the group on Facebook orLinkedIn.

Dr. Keiko Shikako-Thomas, Assistant Professor atSPOT, has been awarded a Canadian Research Chair(CRC) in Childhood disability:participation and knowledgetranslation. From McGill’sstatement, "CRCs are grantedto outstanding researchers ac-knowledged by their peers asworld leaders in their fields.The CRC program was createdto enable Canadian universi-ties to attract and retain established and emerging world-class researchers." And, from the Federal announcement,“Nearly 1,700 Canada Research Chair holders are workingat over 70 postsecondary institutions across the countryin a wide range of fields. The Research Support Fund sup-ports a portion of the costs associated with managing re-

search at Canadian institutions such as administrative sup-port, training costs for workplace health and safety, main-tenance costs for libraries and laboratories, andadministrative costs.”

Dr. Patrice (Tamar) Weiss was SPOT’s 6th EdithAston-McCrimmon Lecturer. The event, an inspirationallecture by a nationally or internationally known person,usually having a topic related tothe field of rehabilitation, wasextrememly well-attended, andDr. Weiss challenged all in at-tendance to consider “Disrup-tive Technologies inRehabilitation”. See SPOT’sEAM pages for more informa-tion, and for photos of theevent. (photo credit: S.C.Marshall)

IN OTHER SPOT NEWS: Dr. Isabelle Gélinas was honored with the Associa-•tion for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED) Dis-tinguished Service Award for her service and support

NEWS FROM McGILL UNIVERSITY

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in the area of mobility for persons with disabilities, dueto her significant role in the Driving Rehabilitationdossier at SPOT, and for her contributions to clinicalpractice, teaching and research.Dr. Raphael Lencucha, Assistant Professor at SPOT, in-•vites all to two upcoming Global Health events. On Fri-day March 11, attend “From social theory to globalpolicy: Reflections on disability, human rights andglobal health” with Dr. Jerome Bickenbach, followedthe next day Saturday March 12 with the conference,“Moving forward together: Advancing rehabilitation ina global context”. See SPOT’s GH pages for details:http://www.mcgill.ca/spot/initiatives/global-healthDr. Anita Menon, Assistant Professor at SPOT, is•thrilled to invite all academics, clinicians and studentsto the 1st National Knowledge Translation Conferencein Rehabilitation: Knowing, Sharing, Doing on May 4& 5, 2016. See SPOT’s website KT pages for more de-tails:

https://www.mcgill.ca/spot/knowledge-translationDr. Heather Lambert, Faculty Lecturer at SPOT, is co-•chair of the 2016 edition of the Rehabilitation ResearchColloquium. This event is hosted alternately by McGilland Queen’s Universities, and highlights the researchefforts of graduate students in rehabilitation acrossCanada and the Northern States. This year’s event isFriday May 6th. See SPOT’s website pages for moredetails: https://www.mcgill.ca/spot/initiatives/colloquium-2016Associate Director of SPOT, Dr. Laurie Snider invites•all McGill Alumni(ae) to the McGill Alumni Receptionat this year’s CAOT Conference, in Banff, Alberta. TheReception will be held on Thursday evening, April 212016. Look for signage and come on by to say helloand catch up with friends and classmates, and talk withthis year’s Muriel Driver speaker, SPOT’s own Dr. Is-abelle Gélinas!

The project ‘Adoptez une école’ aims to improvesuccess rates and school perseverance amongprimary and high school students. The project

rests on the development of partnerships between schoolsand colleges, universities, private organisations and thecommunity that will support the creation of large intiativecontributing to the academic success of students.

The OT program joined the project in 2015 through theestablishment of a 3-year partnership with the school boardand two primary schools. To date, 60 students involved inthe master’s course in Advanced paediatrics were provided

a concrete environment to support the development of spe-cific skills and attitudes aligned with the content taught dur-ing their master’s course. Students had the opportunity toobserve children while in class and to participate withschool teachers in the elaboration and follow up of inter-vention plans. The timely aspect and ‘ecological’ environ-ment undoubtedly adds value to the teaching at themaster’s level but most importantly, through this project,the OT program played an active role within the Montrealcommunity in addressing some needs of an undeservedpopulation.

L’UNIVERSITÉ DE MONTRÉAL PARTNERS WITHTWO PRIMARY SCHOOLS AS PART OF THEMONTREAL INITIATIVE ‘ADOPTEZ UNE ÉCOLE’

(ADOPT A SCHOOL)

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OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STUDENTS GAININTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH QEII

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMHEATHER ALDERSEY, PHD

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, QUEEN’S NATIONAL SCHOLAR

In March 2015, Queen’s School of RehabilitationTherapy (SRT) was pleased to announce that itwould be a host site for Queen Elizabeth II (QEII)

Diamond Jubilee Scholarships in International CommunityBased Rehabilitation (CBR). The unique QEII program runsfrom 2015-2018. Students selected for this prestigiousscholarship are named “Queen Elizabeth Scholars.” TheQEII scholarship programs “aim to activate a dynamic com-munity of young global leaders across the Commonwealthto create lasting impacts both at home and abroad throughinter-cultural exchanges encompassing international edu-cation, discovery and inquiry, and professional experi-ences.”

One component of the SRT’s QEII scholarship will en-able sixteen Occupational Therapy students to have Com-munity Development and Advanced Clinical Practicum in

low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries. Thissummer, an inaugural class of four Canadian OT QE Schol-ars will travel to India and four OT QE Scholars will travelto Tanzania. We plan to select eight more OT QE Scholarsfor the 2016-2017 school year.

Throughout their time in the program, QEII Scholarswill engage with each other and with QEII Scholars fromacross Canada and other Commonwealth countries. Theseconnections will support the development of a global net-work of leaders committed to enabling positive change incommunities throughout the world.

For more information about the QEII Scholars pro-gram, visit: http://www.queenelizabethscholars.ca/

Also, to follow along with Scholar journeys around theworld, check out the QEII Scholars Board here:http://www.queenelizabethscholars.ca/qescholars/

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As part of our revised University of AlbertaMScOT curriculum, students complete a one-week Introductory Fieldwork Placement during

the fall term of their first year, in addition to the 1000+hours of clinical education that they complete later in theprogram. The purpose of this early exposure to occupa-tional therapy (OT) practice is three-fold:

1. Opportunity for students to witness and partici-pate in real, live OT practice and confirm their interest inour profession.

2. Opportunity for students to gain basic knowledgeabout the OT role in a particular practice setting and createa context for OT practice that can be built on during class-room learning.

3. Opportunity for students to demonstrate profes-sionalism, engagement and begin practicing their thera-peutic use of self.

This placement is framed as one of the practical learn-ing activities within our Year 1 (3 credit) academic courseentitled OCCTH 503: Professionalism, Supervision & the In-tentional Relationship.

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS & EVALUATIONThe following are the student expectations for the In-

troductory Fieldwork Placement:Throughout the placement, students are expected•to be engaged, eager learners who demonstratebasic time management skills and the ability to com-municate appropriately with clients and colleagues.At some point during the placement, students must•establish therapeutic rapport with at least one client.By the end of the placement, students must articu-•late to their clinical educator what occupationaltherapy is and explain the role for OT in that partic-ular practice setting.

At the end of the placement, students are simply, butformally, evaluated by their primary clinical educator usingthe Professional Behaviour Rubric (©DalU) to note and ad-dress with any concerns regarding performance manage-ment, professional interactions & responsibilities,communication, etc. Students are not evaluated as passingor failing this practical learning activity and a grade is notassociated with their performance or clinical competenceduring this placement.

ASSIGNMENTSStudents complete an Introductory Fieldwork Place-

ment Reflection, submitted one week after their place-ment, worth 10% of their grade in OCCTH 503. Threestandard questions* guide their written reflection. The in-tention of this assignment is to provoke students to delib-erately and critically reflect on how their classroomlearning, up to that point in the MScOT program, appliedto what they witnessed and experienced in the clinical set-ting.

Students also create and deliver a short presentation(8 min) about their placement to their OCCTH 503 semi-nar groups. Students are encouraged to share highlightsand honest impressions from their one week exposure ex-perience. Many students use the questions from their writ-ten reflection to structure their oral presentation. Seminargroups are comprised of ~10 students so each student alsoreceives detailed information about ~9 other practice set-tings regarding the perspectives and experiences of theirpeers.

Informal feedback, gathered from fieldwork advisorymeetings, site visits and 1:1 consultation with key commu-nity stakeholders, has indicated that the Alberta OT com-munity is willing to support this introductory placementand suggests that the length and positioning of the place-

AN EARLY EXPOSURE TO OT PRACTICE: OUR UofA MScOT INTRODUCTORYFIELDWORK PLACEMENT TAKES OFF

CORI SCHMITZ & JUTTA HINRICHS

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ment appears to be appropriate and sufficient for studentlearning.

During the first two years of coordinating this place-ment, our program has received an abundance of offers,despite the need for the offers to be centralized in andaround Edmonton (main campus) and Calgary (satellitecampus). We were told that some clinicians, who were cu-rious about student supervision, used this opportunity tooffer a one-week placement in order to ‘trial’ the fieldworkprocess. There is also evidence that some of these new clin-ical educators have gone on to supervise the longer (7week) Level 1, 2 and 3 fieldwork placements which occurlater in our MScOT program.

Feedback to date from faculty and instructors appearsto validate one of our original purposes: to enhance class-room learning post-placement. There is evidence that stu-dents make use of the clinical and procedural informationthey pick up during the Introductory Fieldwork Placementto engage more readily and thoroughly with course con-tent, including classroom discussions. Students often offerexamples of what they have witnessed while on fieldworkto augment, support or question the academic contentthey are learning in the classroom.

After two years of revised curriculum implementation,our UofA Department of OT is now positioned to formallyevaluate the scheduling, evaluation and impact of this firstyear Introductory Fieldwork Placement.

*Assignment questions available on request.

REFERENCES & RESOURCESHealth Sciences Education & Research Commons.

(n.d.) IP Learning Pathway Competency Framework. Uni-versity of Alberta: Edmonton, Alberta.http://www.hserc.ualberta.ca:82/en/TeachingandLearn-ing/Curriculum/InterprofessionalLearningPathway/Inter-professionalLearningPathw.aspx

MacKenzie, D., Landry, K., Beagan, B. & Champion, M.(2004). Professional Behaviour Rubric. School of Occupa-tional Therapy, Dalhousie University: Halifax, Nova Scotia.http://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/faculty/facu l t y - h e a l t h - p r o f e s s i o n s / o c c u p a t i o n a l -therapy/ELPC%20Policies/Professional%20Behaviour%20Rubric_Final.pdf

AUTHORSCori Schmitz is the Academic Coordinator of Clinical

Education of the MScOT program and an Assistant Profes-sor at the University of Alberta Faculty of RehabilitationMedicine, Department of Occupational Therapy in Ed-monton, Alberta. cori.schmitz@ualberta.ca

Jutta Hinrichs is the Calgary & Southern Alberta Clini-cal Education Coordinator and an instructor at the Univer-sity of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine,Department of Occupational Therapy satellite campus inCalgary, Alberta.

Name of Researcher: Bonnie Kirsh, University of TorontoDegrees and Professional Qualifications (including fel-lowships): PhD (Applied Psychology); Doctoral Fellowship(SSHRC), M.Ed. (Adult Education and Counselling), BSc(OT)Area of Research: Community mental health; Work inte-gration; Supported employment; Workplace mentalhealth; Stigma; Homelessness; Supported housing; Mentalhealth of injured workers.

Research Related Awards and Honours: Muriel Driver Memorial Lectureship Award, CAOT•(2014)Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Alumni•Association Achievement Award (in recognition of out-standing contribution to the profession of occupa-tional therapy by a graduate of University of Toronto)(2013)Enabling Occupation Research Award, Department of•

ACOTUP RESEARCHERS’ PROFILES

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Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy(2010)

Grants / Funding History: B. Kirsh, T. Krupa, K. Dobson (PIs). (2010-16). Anti•Stigma Initiatives in Canadian Workplaces: Researchon Implementation and Effects. The Mental HealthCommission of Canada ($400,000).B. Kirsh (PI), T. Krupa, L. Cockburn, J. Bickenbach.•(2002-05). The Social Construction of Work Integra-tion: Is there a Canadian Context? Social Sciences andHumanities Council (SSHRC) ($69,570).B. Kirsh (PI), B. Beardwood, L. Cockburn, G. LeBlanc,•P. McKee, & M. Polanyi. (1999-01). The Needs and Ex-periences of Injured Workers: A Participatory ResearchProject. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board(WSIB): Solutions for Workplace Change competition($130,266).

Research Collaboration: One of my most important re-search collaborations has been with the Mental HealthCommission of Canada. I began my involvement with theMental Health Commission right at its inception, as a mem-ber of its Workforce Advisory Committee. This committeewas comprised of employers, human resource profession-als, workplace consultants, service providers, union repre-sentatives, researchers, people with lived experience andothers, so the exchange of information and perspectiveswas extremely rich and diverse. Several key research areasrelated to workplace mental health and work integrationfor people with mental illnesses emerged from our discus-sions, and resulted in a number of significant research proj-ects, including our Aspiring Workforce project. I thenbecame involved in additional research projects with theCommission, including the At Home/Chez Soi project,Canada’s largest homelessness initiative, and the OpeningMinds project, the largest systematic effort in Canadian his-tory focused on reducing stigma related to mental illness.To view this profile in its entirety, please click hereh t t p : / / w w w . a c o t u p -acpue.ca/English/sites/default/files/Profiles/Bonnie%20Kirsh%20%28University%20of%20Toronto%29.pdf

Name of Researcher: Claire Dumont, Université duQuébec à Trois-RivièresDegrees and Professional Qualifications (including fel-lowships): PhD (Public Health); MSc (Public Health); BSc(Health Sciences, OT)Area of Research: Development and validation of the As-sessment of Computer Task Performance; Technologies toimprove the participation of people with cognitive disor-ders (traumatic brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, andothers); Positive approaches to health (empowerment, self-determination, sense of self-efficacy); Clinical and evalua-tive research, and health and social technology assessment. Research Related Awards and Honours:

Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation Award,•Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation ResearchGrant ($5,000) (2005) Summer Institutes 2003, training organized by the•Canadian Health Research Institute (CHRI) and theFRSQ ($2,000) (2003)Quebec Health Research Fund (FRSQ) Fellowship for•the completion of a PhD (excellence fellowship)($78,646 for two years) (2001)

Grants / Funding History: Carbonneau, H., Dumont, C., Dugas, C., Roult, R., &•Trudeau, F. (2012-15). Choosing to Win; The Challengeof Healthy Habits for Youth Living with a Disability.Evaluation of the Alter Go Athletic Challenge Program,the Chagnon Foundation ($318,000). Dumont, C. (2011-14). The Use of Information Tech-•nology to Improve Social Participation of People WhoHave an Autism Spectrum Disorder. New ResearcherProgram, Quebec Society and Culture Research Fund(FQRSC) ($39,600). Lefebvre, H., Gélinas, I., Pelchat, D., Swaine, B., Du-•mont, C., Michallet, B. (2005-06). Matching FamilyMembers of People with Head Trauma to Services Of-fered by the Care Continuum. SAAQ-REPAR-Ministryof Health and Social Services (MSSS) ($87,500).

Research Collaboration: The development and validationof the Assessment of Computer Task Performance hasbeen an opportunity to work in collaboration with manyresearchers and clinical practitioners. There are versions foradults and for children, in English and in French. Publica-

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tions take into account researchers who have been asso-ciated with this production at one stage or another. Re-searchers from other countries have asked to translate itinto their language (Hebrew, Dutch, Chinese). The estab-lishing of norms by age in the children’s version has re-quired the recruiting of many participants, in severalregions of Quebec. Many students have worked as re-search assistants in data collection. Some have worked incompilation, analyses, and the preparation of the final re-port.

One of the main results of my doctoral studies is thatself-determination and the sense of self-efficacy are thebest predictors of social participation among people withhead trauma. These results have brought a closer relation-ship with researchers with a positive perspective on health(positive psychology, ecological approaches, etc). I pub-lished a book with some of these researchers and somecollaborations have happened as a result.

As a professor at l’Université du Québec à Trois-Riv-ières, I have grown closer to teams of researchers in placeat this university. The Mauricie and Centre-du-QuebecCentre for Rehabilitation from Intellectual Deficiency andAutism Spectrum Disorders has university institute status,and is affiliated to the Université du Québec à Trois-Riv-ières. Many Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières re-searchers, as well as those from other universities inQuebec, are therefore associated with it. As a researcherassociated with this Institute, several collaborations aretherefore possible. This Institute has for example an infra-structure to support researchers and several funding pro-grams are available. To view this profile in its entirety, please click hereh t t p : / / w w w . a c o t u p -acpue.ca/English/sites/default/files/Profiles/Claire%20Du-mont%20%28UQTR%29%20.pdf

WESTERN UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY “STARTED THE ENGINES” FOR THE LAUNCH OF THEMASTER OF CLINICAL SCIENCE INDRIVING REHABILITATION THERAPY.

On January 8th 2016, seven post-professionaloccupational therapists started their trainingas driving rehabilitation therapists in the

School of Occupational Therapy’s newest Master of Clini-cal Science in Driving Rehabilitation Therapy (MClSc DRT)program. The students, all working clinicians, were ex-posed to an on-campus orientation weekend. This week-end included exposure to: meeting the faculty, staff, clinicaland research mentors; using the university’s on-line learn-ing management system; managing literature searches witha reference librarian; negotiating advanced technology,

such as Blackboard collaborate and participating in exten-sive training sessions conducted by our educational instruc-tion designer; having in-vehicle in-traffic and on-road, aswell as driving simulator and clinical testing rotations; par-ticipating in a NMEDA (National Mobility Equipment Deal-ers Association) lunch and learn seminar; getting exposureto the use of adaptive equipment and in-vehicle technolo-gies; and starting with lectures in the Research course andthe Models, Theories and Foundations of Driving Rehabil-itation. Although the weekend was full of scheduled activ-ities, participants enjoyed social opportunities with the

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faculty and staff in sponsored luncheons and a catereddinner.

Dr. Sherrilene Classen, the Founding Director of theprogram is very pleased with the orientation weekend.She views this event as the launch of “a creative idea,deeply embedded in a scholarly model of driving rehabil-itation practice and science, and fueled by emerging so-cietal needs demanding excellent clinical services infitness to drive screening, assessment and intervention formedically at-risk drivers through the lifespan. This innova-tive program focuses on further developing occupationaltherapists, and other health care professionals, throughspecialized skills, advanced practice behaviours, leader-ship activities, and the critical appraisal of research in thearea of driving rehabilitation. The outcome of the programis to have a cadre of driving rehabilitation therapists,specifically trained, to answer to the complex mobilityneeds of society.”

Students will continue with their course work over thenext three semesters and revisit campus for an on-siteweekend of competency training, and then competencytesting. During this time they will also defend their re-search projects. Dr. Alvarez, the research course instructorcomments: “the coursework in the program is designedto provide students with the necessary knowledge andskills to become scholarly driving rehabilitation therapistscommitted to evidence-based practice. For example, theresearch course is currently preparing students to identify,critically appraise, critique, and integrate best evidenceinto their driving rehabilitation practice”.

We expect to graduate our first cohort of students inFebruary 2017. The Graduate Chair of the program Dr. Jef-frey Holmes states that he was “both impressed with thenational reach as well as the clinical diversity that was ap-

parent when the first class of the DRT program arrived.The unique experience that each student brings will en-hance the breadth of shared learning that is offered bythis innovative program, and will provide a rich opportu-nity for students to expand their professional knowledgeand help develop them as leaders in the field of DrivingRehabilitation.”

This is a wonderful time to thank all who were in-volved in the many steps to develop, refine and imple-ment the program. The MClSc DRT is truly the end

product of the continued work of colleagues in the Schoolof Occupational Therapy, internal and external reviewers,scholars, scientists, educators, driver rehabilitation special-ists, administrators, professional organizations, and manyother stakeholders in the driving rehabilitation world. Up-ward and onward!

Front: Dr. Liliana Alvarez, Dr. Sherrilene Classen, Ms. Crystal TseMiddle: Ms. Amy Leung, Ms. Anne Wylie, Ms. Karla Crawford, Ms.Andrea Baker, Ms. Susan TrainiBack: Dr. Miriam Monahan, Ms. Sara Jenniex, Dr. Jeffrey Holmes,Ms. Chelsea Warren

Join Occupational Therapists from across the globe

at these upcoming events or explore their websites:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8th Malaysian Conference on Healthy Ageing

March 31 – April 2 2016Theme: Making Mental Health a Priority for Healthy Ageing

http://8mhas2016.wix.com/mhas2016

Chicago, Ill 2016 Annual Conference and Expo

Evidence & Outcomes Empowering the ProfessionApril 7-10, 2016 at McCormick Place

http://www.aota.org/conference-events/annual-conference.aspx

Barrie, ON Aquatic Therapy for the Orthopedic Patient:

Evidence-Based Practice April 16, 2016 at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre

Contact blanchardk@rvh.on.ca for more information

Plan a TriP!