Menu

Faculty of Health Professions

Category: School of Occupational Therapy

Mary and John Eldon Green Scholarship

Leave a Comment

John Eldon Green presents scholarships to Danya O'Malley (left) and Alicia Rose

At the recent OT Atlantic Conference, the Mary and John Eldon Green Scholarship was awarded for the first time.  Named for John Eldon Green, former deputy minister of social services for PEI and longtime supporter of combining occupational therapy and social work, and his wife Mary – the award was presented to Dalhousie students Alicia Rose (Occupational Therapy) and Dayna O’Malley (Social Work).

To learn more about this award, read the recent article in the PEI Guardian.

 

 

Dr. Jane Gillett Award

Leave a Comment

LINC study co-investigator Michelle Villeneauve receives the Dr. Jane Gillett award on behalf of Dr. Tanya Packer and Dr. Joan Versnel

Congratulations to Dr. Tanya Packer and Dr. Joan Versnel of the School of Occupational Therapy who are the recipients of the 2012 Dr. Jane Gillett, MD Research Award.  Named for Dr. Jane Gillett – a paediatric neurologist who was a pioneer in programs for children with brain injury and championed programs for community integration across the globe – the award is granted to an individual or organization for their outstanding contribution in research to advance the cause of acquired brain injury in Canada.  Tanya and Joan received the award in recognition of their work on the LINC study, which strives to understand the impact of a neurological condition on everyday life.  Composed of three studies – a population study, a cohort study and a qualitative multiple perspective case study – the results will contribute to the National Populations Study of Neurological Conditions that aims to predict the burden of the disease 5, 10 and 20 years into the future in Canada.

Celebrating Teaching and Research Excellence

Leave a Comment

At the recent Spring Full Faculty Meeting, awards were given to three individuals in recognition of their contributions to teaching and research in the Faculty:


The Faculty of Health Professions Teaching Excellence Award – Dr. Carolyn Campbell – Social Work – this award honours an outstanding teacher who embodies the finest aspects of exemplary teaching.  Carolyn has been an exemplary teacher, a leader in the development of the School’s curricula and has published widely in the area of pedagogy.  She has been extensively involved in committees at both the School and Faculty level during her career at Dalhousie, and is also involved in community development work.

The Faculty of Health Professions  Senior Research Excellence Award – Dr. Gail Tomblin-Murphy – Nursing – this award reccognizes outstanding research that leads to significant progress in the understanding and/or management of a health-related problem, contributions to a health related field and overall excellence.  Gail has developed an extensive program of research in the area of Health Human Resources with funding from several national and international agencies.  Gail is also the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Health Workforce Planning and Research, Associate Director – Research and International Affairs, School of Nursing.

 

The Faculty of Health Professions Early Career Research Excellence Award – Dr. Joan Versnel – Occupational Therapy – this award is given to a faculty member who, in the first seven years of their appointment at Dalhousie, has demonstrated outstanding research that leads to significant progress in the understanding and/or management of a health-related problem.  Joan’s research focuses on adolescent/young adult self management with particular interest in the learning principles, families interest in the learning principles and how families negotiate self-management responsibilities.  Joan is co-principal investigator on the PHAC project “The everyday experience of living with and managing a neurological condition:  The LINC Study.”

The Faculty of Health Professions Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Research – Mr. Mark Issa – Pharmacy – this award is to reward excellence in research performed by graduate students within the Faculty of Health Professions.  Mark will defend his thesis in the summer of 2012 and will have the distinction of being the first MSc Pharmaceutical Science student to graduate from the College of Pharmacy.  Mark received his award at the conclusion of the IHRTP Graduate Research Day from Dr. Anita Unruh who noted that Mark had shown remarkable enthusiasm, ability and initiative throughout the course of his program in Pharmacy.

 

Kelly Bang Memorial Lecture

Leave a Comment

The Raging Grannies singing their special songs

Honoured lecturer Dr. Carole Roy being thanked by Dr. Robin Stadnyk from the School of Occupational Therapy

On Wednesday, May 9, 2012 the School of Occupational Therapy held the annual Kelly Bang Memorial Lecture. The lecture, titled “The Raging Grannies: Engaged, Outspoken and Creative” was given by Dr.  Carole Roy. The audience of nearly 100 was also treated to the creative songs written and performed by the Raging Grannies of Halifax.

Kelly Bang was a nationally known occupational therapist, lecturer, writer, artist, and counselor for survivors of child and sexual abuse. In Nova Scotia she worked with the Inglis Street program of Abbie J. Lane Hospital in Halifax, the Recreation Association for the Disabled in Lunenburg, and Bridgewater’s Ark Industries providing sheltered employment for adults with mental and physical handicaps (as Director from 1980-1988). Kelly was a longtime volunteer at Second Story Women’s Centre, Bridgewater, and in 1989 she founded Nova Functional Assessments and Therapy Services Limited based in Lunenburg. The Kelly Bang Memorial Lecture was established by her family to honour those whose research, practice, teaching, and advocacy advance opportunities for women and other marginalized adults who are learning to live in their communities.

With some of the women who became the first Raging Grannies in Victoria, BC, Carole Roy walked for peace from Victoria to Nanoose Bay. She published the first book on the Raging Grannies to honour their creative activism. She values the long tradition of women’s collective acts of resistance. Carole received a Master in Women’s Studies from York University and a Doctorate in Adult Education from the University of Toronto. She currently teaches in the Department of Adult Education at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish.

SWOT Interprofessional Event

Leave a Comment

 

For three years in a row, Drs. Brenda Merritt and Marion Brown from the Schools of Occupational Therapy and Social Work have integrated an interprofessional health education (IPHE) learning assignment into their respective courses.  Within this assignment, groups of occupational therapy and social work students work collaboratively to develop an interprofessional plan to address identified challenges within a particular field of practice (e.g., sex trade workers, newcomers to Canada, older adults with dementia, wheelchair users in Halifax, Africville).  Each interprofessional group works collaboratively to create a poster presentation to communicate profession specific orientations to the field of practice and interprofessional strategies to address identified health challenges encountered by the client population. Additionally, the students share their reflective experiences of working in an interprofessional group.

During the fall of 2011, the student groups had two face-to-face encounters during class time to meet their interprofessional peers, learn about each other’s scope of practice, discuss profession specific analyses, and formalize a client-centered, interprofessional plan to address the identified challenges in
the field of practice.  The assignment culminated with a poster presentation, wherein approximately 18 interprofessional groups of students presented their posters to peers, faculty, and guests. Each year the poster presentation is filled with energy and enthusiasm.

 

 

Interprofessional Student Team represents Dalhousie at the National Health Care Team Challenge

Leave a Comment

Ian MacIntyre (Dentistry), Laura Jewell (Health Admin.), Alison Taylor (Physiotherapy), Jennifer Egan (Human Communication Disorders), Elycia McKeand (Nursing), Ashley LeClerc (Health Sciences), Lori Walsh (Occupational Therapy)

 

The newly reinstated Dalhousie Health Sciences Students Association executive recently represented Dalhousie University at the National Health Sciences Students Association Conference held in Waterloo, Ontario.  The conference provided the opportunity to hear inspirational and informative speakers, teach delegates how to sustain a council at their university, watch students from the host university perform emergency situation simulations (including a birthing, car fire, ice rescue and smoke inhalation), network with other delegates, and participate in a Health Care Team Challenge, among others.  With regards to the Health Care Team Challenge, the students were given a brief overview of a patient case prior to attending the conference.  At the conference, each team offered their prognosis of the case in a brief five-minute presentation.  Once all teams had presented, the teams were provided with more information about the case and were then required to formulate a treatment plan for the patient.  The Health Care Team Challenge was an excellent interprofessional learning experience.  It gave students an opportunity to further understand the roles of various professions while learning how to collaborate to share knowledge and perspectives on patient care and communicate what they perceive as important in a respectful manner.  The executive is currently developing a proposal to be able to host an internal Dalhousie Health Care Team Challenge in early 2013.


KABAM – Helping Seniors Stay Active

Leave a Comment

Participants in the KABAM activity program at Middleton Adult Day Program.

What better way for students to learn about working together as an interprofessional team than with an interprofessional experience (IPE) during their fieldwork placements? At Soldiers Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Middleton, NS, Kristin Crocker, an Occupational Therapy student at Dalhousie University, and Mark Ponikvar, a Therapeutic Recreation Assistant student at Nova Scotia Community College, had the opportunity to complete an IPE project of their choice to learn more about each other’s professions and how they can work together to benefit their clients. Not only did this project reflect the value of IPE in the curriculum for Dalhousie University and the special agency project for NSCC, but it also served as the first formal IPE project at Soldiers Memorial Hospital.

The project that was created for this IPE is called the Keeping Active Bodies And Minds (KABAM) Activity Program. The students tailored this program to meet the needs of seniors who are looking for a way to stay healthy in a fun and unique way. The program consists of a warm up activity, six stations with a different activity at each, and a cool down activity. The activities were designed to target commonly used muscle groups and areas of the brain to maintain or improve the participants’ general level of functioning.  The stations alternate from a body activity to a mind activity; this allows participants the opportunity to rest their body at every other station while they exercise their mind. Each copy of the program includes all materials necessary for each activity, and the only additional equipment required is a chair for each participant for every activity. Music is recommended to add excitement to the warm up activity and a sense of relaxation to the cool down activity. Each participant is provided with an activity record sheet at the end of the program to track their individual progress. Participants are also encouraged to celebrate the completion of each activity by fist pumping and cheering “KABAM!”

One significant feature of the program is its flexibility to be used with a wide range of participants in a variety of settings. Not only does each activity include two modifications to increase or decrease its level of difficulty, but the stations can also be set up in any way to meet the level of functioning of the participants. For example, for less mobile participants, all stations can be completed in one location; for more mobile participants, each station can be set up in a different location to promote exercise through walking from one station to the next.

The program was presented to two different groups: first on the Mayflower Alternate Level of Care Unit at SMH, and then at the Middleton Adult Day Program. Since then, the program has also been used on the Veteran’s Unit at SMH, and has been continued on a weekly basis at the Middleton Adult Day Program. Plans have also been made to trial the program at the Wickwire Assisted Living Residence in Wolfville, NS in the near future. The program has been noted to be easy to implement by users, and enjoyable by the majority of participants. An added social benefit has been observed with the group approach to completing the activities, and individual level of functioning can also be observed with continued implementation of the program.

The outcomes of this project were presented to the Seniors LINCS – Living Independently with Community Supports team. Overall, the KABAM Activity Program was successful on many accounts, as a student IPE project and as a new activity resource for a variety of programmers who work with seniors. Kristin and Mark would like to thank all members of the Seniors LINCS team, their fieldwork preceptors at SMH, and all other staff and participants who helped make the project a success with their participation, constructive feedback, and support.

If you would like more information on the KABAM Activity Program, please contact Kristin Crocker and Mark Ponikvar at kabamactivityprogram@gmail.com .

Submitted by Kristin Crocker (MSc OT Student), and

Mark Ponkivar, TRA Student – Nova Scotia Community College

Can We Talk?

Leave a Comment

Dr. Ingrid Waldron with a North End resident at the "Can We Talk?" event

Dr. Ingrid Waldron (School of Occupational Therapy) recently held an event called “Can We Talk?” aimed at bringing together residents of Halifax’s North End to talk about visions for the future of their community. A video – “The North End: In Search of a New Beginning”, based on Dr. Waldon’s study “Identifying Meaningful Occupations in Low Income, Racialized Communities in North End Halifax” was screened at the event. To learn more, read the Peninsula News story.

OT Visiting Professorship in Japan

1 Comment

Dr. Anne Carswell, a faculty member in the School of Occupational Therapy, was honoured with a Visiting Professorship at Kobe Gakuin University in Kobe, Japan for three months from October 2011.  During that time, she conducted a total of 28 lectures to the undergraduate students in their occupational therapy program with the content ranging from assessment and intervention in persons with dementia to occupational therapy research in Canada.  During her time in Japan, Dr. Carswell also presented to occupational therapy graduate and undergraduate students at Hiroshima Prefecture University and Kobe University; attended a number of research seminars with members of the Faculty of Rehabilitation; advised physical therapy and occupational therapy faculty members; and was the keynote speaker at a day long conference on Inter-professional Education and Practice.

Dr. Carswell found her time in Japan to be “an exhilarating and fantastic learning experience” that will be remembered for many years to come, particularly the opportunity to be immersed in Japanese culture and participate in educating Japanese students.  She and her partner Shelley also travelled through Honshu and Kyushu Islands visiting historical sites, temples, shrines and onsens.  It is hoped that the association with Kobe Gakuin University Occupational Therapy will continue and build upon Dr. Carswell’s experience and contributions.

TOP