Summer 2021 Student News
Managing an Acute Exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD). References. TikTok account: @breathlessnothopeless. By Ashley LeBlanc, Katerina Georgoudis, Hannah Gibbons and Jeremy Steves.
When Assistant Professor, Dr. Gail Dechman asked 1st year MSc-PT students to create a social media product that would inform patients living with complex cardiorespiratory conditions - she was fairly certain that whether the submission was an infographic, short video, Facebook, TicTok or Instagram post, it would not only be informative, but creative as well! Check out a couple of samples of this year's PHYT 5214 offerings.
Energy Conservation to Assist Activities of Daily Living. YouTube video created by Maddie Ames, Josh Pike, and Crystal Wilkie
STUDENT NEWS
Written by Student Society President, Katie Broussard
Over the last few months it has been a busy time for the Dalhousie physiotherapy student body. A new student society executive was chosen in the spring and students from the class of 2021 handed over the reins to the class of 2022. These positions have been filled by Katie Broussard (President), Erin Coughlan (Vice President), Amanda Monk (Treasurer) and Jason Barnes (Secretary).
Although new individuals were chosen for the executive positions, the class of 2021 is still around campus and working hard in classes/placement until November. These students are nearing the end of their studies and are on their way to becoming certified physiotherapists after they walk across the stage and receive their degrees next May.
The class of 2022 moved away from in-class learning at the beginning of June to experience their first clinical placements. These placements took place in various locations across the four Atlantic provinces. Clinical placements were either focused on Musculoskeletal or Cardiorespiratory physiotherapy. This was an especially challenging process for the class as they tried to navigate the in’s and out’s of inter-provincial travel during the third wave lockdown of Covid-19. Although the travel process proved to be tough at times, the class was able to participate in a valuable opportunity of providing health care to individuals during a pandemic. These second year students will be back to a mix of in-person and online learning for this August and coming Fall semester.
Although the class of 2023 hasn’t stepped foot on campus yet, there are many events being planned in order to welcome them to the program with open arms. These students received their acceptance letters over the past few months, and are busy preparing for their two-year journey as Master’s students. This coming year the society is hoping to bring back in-person events for the first year orientation, while still following public health guidelines. This is something that everyone is looking forward to as last year’s orientation had to be held completely online. The first-years will be starting classes the beginning of September with a mix of online and in-person learning.
Faculty, staff and students are eager and excited to be back on campus in the near future. For an update on how return to campus plays out in the School of Physiotherapy, stay tuned for the next edition of the PT Matters Newsletter!