Spring 2021 Student News
By Student Society President, Jennifer Newman
Over the winter months, the class of 2021 was hard at work on placements gaining valuable hands-on learning in clinics and hospitals throughout Atlantic Canada. Second-year students acquired essential skills and competencies during this time of experiential learning in areas such as Cardiorespiratory, Neurotherapeutics, and Musculoskeletal. This year, the placement experience has been altered somewhat due to precautions implemented to fight the Covid-19 virus. Although it has certainly been a learning curve for everyone, the students are embracing the opportunity to practice not only their physiotherapy skills but also become more familiarized with PPE and safe patient interactions. When not working hard at placement, the second-year students enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with their peers as well as explore the various locations in which they were placed.
As for the class of 2022, they finished their first semester focused on introducing Musculoskeletal and Cardiorespiratory theory and assessment techniques. The students completed their final exams and OSCEs for their first semester in early February and had the rest of the month off, before starting back up for their second semester on March 8th! This semester they will again focus on Cardiorespiratory and Musculoskeletal content and will be going into further detail regarding specific conditions and treatments. Presently students are attending labs daily at the McCain building in addition to their online lectures. During their downtime, they are busy trying to find the best, safe study spots in Halifax while enjoying the warmer spring weather!
Come May, the first and second-year classes will both be in Halifax learning via a mixed-method delivery approach, including online lectures and in-person labs. Although there has been nothing official planned as of yet, the Student Society is very excited about brainstorming various Covid compliant events and activities we are hoping will take place during the late spring and summer months!
With the vaccines being administered to more of the population, the hope of the Student Society is that popular events such as camping, the boat cruise, and PT Ball can be added back to the PT activity schedule. Watch for the next PT Matters Newsletters to see what students are up to in the coming months!