Fall 2022 Director's Message
By Dr. Derek Rutherford
Seasons of change. We are happy to bring you our fall edition of the PT Matters newsletter. The past four months have indeed been a season of change in the School of Physiotherapy, one of growth, of renewal and support for our future MScPT and MScRRPT programming. In September we welcomed our first cohort of students enrolled in our 28-month MScPT Program. This renewed timeline recognizes the pressure on our clinical community, our program, students, staff and faculty, and assists in ensuring we educate physiotherapists and scholars who excel, improving the health and wellness of the diverse communitys we serve. This extension provides much needed consolidation time and opportunities to integrate new competencies as physiotherapy evolves for a sustainable future. In this, I would like to thank everyone involved in the success of our Dalhousie University, Senate review this past fall. Dalhousie University recognizes the importance of physiotherapy education and supports our MScPT programming for continued future success and sustainability.
2023 will be a big year for our MScPT and MScRRPT programming. In the MScPT program we are entering the largest demand for clinical placements the School of Physiotherapy and clinical community has ever been involved with. As we address the final adjustments to our curriculum, due to COVID19, and move our new year 1 cohort through our MScPT program, clinical education becomes the final frontier. We understand that securing clinical placements will be a challenge, but we are hopeful that together we can find new ways to create a sustainable future for growth of Physiotherapy in the Atlantic Region. For those who have answered our call, we thank you. For others wondering how you can support, please reach out to our Clinical Education Team.
The past 4-5 years, we have seen a large change over in faculty in the School of Physiotherapy. The most recent, being the retirement of Dr. Gail Dechman. Thank you Dr. Dechman for your tireless commitment to our programming, particularly our cardiorespiratory and reseach education in the MScPT Program. We have been successful in recruiting a very strong faculty and staff compliment. A result is renewed efforts towards accelerating our research programming and building our MSc Rehabilitation Research in Physiotherapy degree option. We are very proud to offer students interested in rehabiltiation science, options for discovery and exploration through our MScRRPT enrollment option. I’m very excited to see where our new faculty take their research, our programming and how the future of health is more informed on the evidence generated through the School of Physiotherapy.
Indeed we are experiencing seasons of change. Through this change we are seeing growth, commitment and innovation in our MScRRPT and MScPT programming that will have positive effects on your School of Physiotherapy. The energy is here, let us embrace it and move forward together as we create a space to lead regionally, nationally and internationally in collaborative, inclusive physiotherapy education, research, and service that advances health, policy, and practice.