Director's Message Spring 2022
Recent Photo taken by Karen Joudrey
"Many thanks to Lynn for her years of leadership to Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and her dedication to creating and sustaining healthy work environments. She leaves OT and PT well positioned for continued growth and success. Hoping Lynn's administrative leave provides her with inspiration and rejuvenation."
~Dr. Brenda Merritt -Dean, Faculty of Health
By Dr. Lynn Shaw
With the warmth of spring and the return of songbirds, I find myself writing my last Occupation Matters message. I’d like to start by saying thank you for the opportunity and for the trust you placed in me as the Director of the School these past 6 years. When I took on the role, navigating the School through a pandemic is not something I would have imagined. The experience however, allowed me to witness the resilience and innovation of those I have had the pleasure of working with – those who I now consider valuable friends and colleagues.
The role has allowed me to work with an extraordinary team of students, scholars, and staff, with a broad range of scholarly interests and experiences. It is clear that the School’s expertise extends well beyond the walls of the Forrest Building and spills across the Atlantic Provinces and beyond. Preceptors and Atlantic representatives, Associations and Colleges, alumni, stakeholders and friends, all make up the OT community that I am honored to be a part of.
Every program offered by the School is enhanced by the scholarly work of our faculty members and graduate students. Funding success and media attention does not define the quality of work being conducted within the School, but it does show that our faculty are being recognized for advancing research in an impactful way. I encourage you to read this issue’s Research Feature to help us celebrate our research successes.
As the days grow longer, our students continue to forge ahead in their studies despite challenges presented by the pandemic. To find out how our students are doing in the emerging Master of Science – Occupational Science program, read about student progress and research ambitions in the MScOS Student Feature.
The Clinical Education Team continues to stay active securing clinical placements for our students. The School is happy to be welcoming back Jonathan Harris as he resumes his role as Fieldwork Coordinator. I would like to extend my greatest appreciation to Carmel O’Keefe who has ably taken over the role of progressing the fieldwork program with fieldwork team, Sara Abdo, Kaitlin Sibbald, Cia Tweel and Julie Gratzer. Also thank you to our incredible provincial coordinators Patti Moore (NL), Heather Gauthier (PE) and key leads in NB and NS health authority, for their ongoing support of the preceptor engagement that contributes to the strengthening of our fieldwork placement programming.
As a way of acknowledging our preceptor community and celebrating our shared successes, we are developing a Preceptor Appreciation Pin Program which will further acknowledge the generous and ongoing support of our preceptors. The pin celebration will be combined with the Kelly Bang Memorial Lectureship event happening this fall. Please note that the nomination process for the Kelly Bang Memorial Lectureship are in full swing, you can find details here.
As I consider my last several months as Director, I can’t help but reflect with some satisfaction, on the School’s fresh and inspiring Professional and Educational Conceptual Framework – along with the overwhelmingly positive response from the CAOT accreditation team who offered that, “The School has four important clear strengths that contribute to its success: its faculty, students, staff, and leadership. As a School, the school functions as a true collaborative team, ready to collectively take on the task at hand, each member bringing their special expertise and energy to meet challenges, support continuous development and move the program forward.” This statement, along with our supportive OT community, once again reinforces my belief that there is indeed a bright and progressive future for the School!
Finally, I’d like to say that I am honored to have had the privilege of serving the School and its community, and to have played a part in guiding it through some rather unusual times. To you – students, faculty, staff, Dalhousie colleagues and OT community – my most sincere gratitude for supporting me throughout this journey.