21st ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER (Spring, '10) A Celebration of the School of Rehabilitation Science - 1989 - 2010

Welcome to the Spring 2010 newsletter of the School of Rehabilitation Science (SRS) at McMaster University.

We are now almost through our 20 th anniversary year and there has been several great activities over the past year, such as the. 20 th anniversary celebration and awards event featuring Julie Hard as the Helen Saarinen Lecturer. Later in this newsletter, some terrific awards which have come over the past few months are detailed - congratulations to all! We are planning the launch of our new Master's program in Health Management this fall. For more info see the website at http://www.machealthmanagement.com/.

Some change is also coming to the School over the next few months as I and Seanne Wilkins both step down from our administrative roles and Beth Aicken, administrative assistant for the Rehabilitation Science graduate program and to the School of Rehabilitation Science, will be retiring. I have thoroughly enjoyed serving as the Associate Dean of the School of Rehabilitation Science over the past ten years. Thanks to all of you for your support to the School, our programs and research while I have been Associate Dean. I look forward to continuing my work with the School as a faculty member.

Remember to stay connected and share your recent activities (including photos) with us.

As always, we welcome your feedback and stories – please send them to kravcht@mcmaster.ca .

With Best Wishes,

Mary Law

The SRS Expands – Renovations to IAHS and New Space in the Communication Research Laboratory

SRS is going to be getting some much needed new space. Due to graduate expansion, capital dollars have been allocated to the SRS to support new space to facilitate teaching and to support research. Research space including dry labs and research offices have been allocated in the Communication Research Laboratory. The majority of our expanded place will actually be in the IAHS where the infill of atriums will be adding some much needed teaching space as well as more research area. There will also be renovations to existing class rooms to upgrade technology and optimize space in the building. Look for us with our hard hats on in the summer of 2010.

2010 Spring Basmajian Award Winners

The Basmajian awards are given to support travel to scientific meetings for research that contributes to the field of rehabilitation. These awards are presented twice a year.

Following are the Spring 2010 Recipients:

Danielle Levac , PhD candidate, SRS: 8th World Congress on Brain Injury in Washington, DC in March 2010, presented a paper entitled: Exploring the content of physiotherapy (PT)

interventions for children and youth with ABI: Development and validation of a rating instrument.

Mary Forhan, PhD Candidate, SRS: American Occupation Therapy Foundation Qualitative Research Exchange in Orlando, Florida in April 2010, presented a paper entitled: The contribution to research design and evidence by adults living with obesity.

Kristen Long , Professional Associate, SRS & Physiotherapist, Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates: CPA National Congress in St. John's, Newfoundland, in July 2010, will present a poster entitled: A Systematic Review of Preoperative Rehabilitation for Patients Undergoing Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

SRS Student Activities

Financial Session May 4

This session is designed to help students better prepare from a tax, risk and investment perspective. The Healthcare Financial Group specializes in financial/benefit planning for health professionals. All PT & OT students were invited to attend and the following topics were addressed.

1. Financial Planning is like a Financial Hike. How to pack your backpacks
2. How to most effectively pay-back your student loans
3. est ways to save for your first home
4. Differences between being an employee and being self-employed
5. Why taxes and our progressive rates are like tax rain. How to shelter yourself
6. How to structure an RSP portfolio and other investments

2010 OT/PT Job Fair

The OT/PT Job Fair 2010 was a great success! Employers were impressed with the students' professionalism and students gained a lot of information about current and future job opportunities. A big thank you to all who supported the Job Fair. We hope to see you next year!

Helen Saarinen Fun Run

The Fun Run, a 5K/10K Run/Walk around McMaster campus & the Royal Botanical Gardens is taking place June 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM. Registration is June 1-4 from 12-1 PM in the IAHS lobby or on race day before 9:45 AM. The registration fee is $20 with proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society. Participants can collect pledges for donations in the name of Helen Saarinen. Registration and pledge forms can be found at the website: http://helensaarinenfunrun.com .

Some of our SRS Retiree Activities

Mary Edwards

Mary Edwards has been keeping busy with her family, hobbies and travel to exotic countries. Mary has always enjoyed gardening and is pleased with the amount of time retirement is giving her to play in the dirt. You may or may not know that Mary also keeps her fingers nimble with quilting, and of course every grandma loves having more time to spend with her grandchildren. As well, last October she and her husband visited India. In general Mary is just enjoying life -- good on you Mary!

Mary has also remained involved with the School and recently coordinated and tutored Term 5 PBT, helped out with Term 5 SOLE exam and assisted with admission interviews.

Barb Cooper

Barb is busy buying a new condo and selling their house, a huge undertaking as we all know. This is giving her the much needed opportunity to purge some stuff! In other news she will be going to Rome for a week.

Barb also lent her creativity to the refurbishing of room 422 and was commissioned to do a work of art which is the focal point of the room.

(Barb Cooper) (Mary Law)

Muriel Westmorland

Muriel Westmorland continues to be active in retirement. Since her retirement she has been active on two community boards (Community Living and North Hamilton Community Health Centre). She chairs committees on both these boards and has been involved with the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) in an advisory role. Muriel is a member of Zonta Hamilton Club II and has been chairing their United Nations Committee. Perhaps the most exciting role Muriel has had is her work with Veterans Affairs (Chairing the New Veterans Charter Advisory Group) which culminated in a major report to the Federal Government Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs in October 2009 titled: "Honouring Canada's Commitment to New Veterans and their Families: The New Veterans Charter in Action". Muriel followed this up with appearances before the Senate Committee on Defence and Veterans Affairs and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs. She has just been appointed the first Chair of a new augmented Veterans Affairs Advisory Council which is to begin this year and will include 4 major sub-committees looking at care of the elderly veteran; mental health of the forces members and veterans; young veterans with special needs; and rehabilitation. Muriel thoroughly enjoys her work with Veterans Affairs and members of her council will include academics, military historians, health professionals, veteran's organizations, family representatives and liaison members of the forces and RCMP.

Muriel also finds time to relax with Tai Chi classes twice a week and swimming as well as subscription tickets to Theatre Aquarius and Opera Hamilton!

Jean Crowe

Jean Crowe "retired" from SRS in 2003. Since that time she has been busy with a variety of activities, including tennis, squash, skiing and hiking around the many trails in the region. For many years she has been very active in Able Sail, a program of sailing for individuals with disabilities. The boats are adapted to be "untippable", and able to be sailed independently by individuals (aged anywhere from 5 to 90) with a variety of disabilities. Jean has continued for some years to be peripherally involved in research, is an active member of the Research Ethics Board for McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences and Hamilton Health Sciences, and tutors in the PT program. A self described "poster girl" for retirement, Jean also travels frequently.

Jean Wessel

The 'other' Jean (Wessel) retired at the beginning of 2007 but still comes to McMaster each morning - mainly to go to the pool and the gym in the Athletic Centre. She meets regularly with Jean Crowe to play squash and Renee Williams, another retiree, to hike and get caught up on the gossip. She sometimes comes into IAHS to work on research, assist with supervision of student projects and review research proposals and manuscripts. She is a mentor in the abstract mentoring program for the conference of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy. Jean continues to tutor in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program at the Hamilton Library and be active in orienteering and adventure runs. A recent volunteer stint in Kenya had Jean using her ESL, physiotherapy, curriculum development and research skills. The next trip to Peru and Ecuador will be more physical, including a 4-day hike to the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. Does Jean like retirement? Need you ask?!

Renee Williams

Renee Williams retired from the School in the spring of 2008. Since then she has been busy with various activities such as Pilates, yoga, hiking and enjoys the gym at a fitness club. She is active in the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario and is the academic member on Council representing the McMaster University Physiotherapy Program. She also is a member of the Hearings Core Group and Chairs the Patient Relations Committee at the College. She is an abstract reviewer for the 2011 conference of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy in Amsterdam. She has five grandsons and recently welcomed her sixth grandchild - a baby girl. She continues to travel and has four trips planned for the next six months - New Orleans, Newfoundland, Rome and Arizona. Renee thinks that retirement is THE BEST!!

SRS Faculty Activities

Stepping Down

Mary Law and Seanne Wilkins will be stepping down from their posts as Associate Dean SRS and Assistant Dean RS Grad Program as of June 30, 2010. Mary served the school over ten years from 2000 to 2010 and Seanne five years from 2005 to 2010. We thank them for their dedication and support to the school over the years and wish them well in their future faculty endeavours.

New Assistant Dean, Physiotherapy

New OT Faculty

Dr. Jocelyn Harris has accepted a faculty position in the SRS at McMaster. Jocelyn is a graduate of the PT Program here at McMaster, graduating in 1995. She holds an MSc and PhD from the University of British Columbia where she worked with Dr. Janice Eng. Her thesis project was a multi-site randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of an innovative occupational therapy program to improve upper limb function for persons with stroke. Her research interests focus on neurological rehabilitation and the management of chronic disability. Jocelyn has extensive clinical experience working with adults and older adults with neurological and/or physical conditions in the areas of acute care medicine, rehabilitation and extended care.

Jocelyn is currently completing a post doctoral fellowship at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and will join our faculty on January 1, 2011.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Cheryl Missiuna and Joy MacDermid , who have been promoted to the rank of Professor, effective July 1, 2010. This promotion was accelerated for both of them and is an indication of the excellence that Cheryl and Joy have achieved.

Recent Student Awards

Physiotherapy Convocation

At the November 2009 convocation 68 individuals graduated with the Master of Science (Physiotherapy) degree. Convocation Award winners included: The Canadian Physiotherapy Association Award - Jenny Jantzi; The Canadian Physiotherapy Association - Paediatric Division Award - Kaitlyn Bernyk; The Canadian Respiratory Health Professionals/Canadian Physiotherapy Association Student Excellence Award - Jenna Smith; The Eleanor Lees Prize Jenny Jantzi; The Hamilton District Ontario Physiotherapy Association Award - Erin Sturch; The Northern Studies Stream Book Award - Maggie Bergeron; The Physiotherapy Professional Advancement Award - Sara Quiring; and The Catherine Smith Spirit Award - Anne Svetik.

In addition the following awards were given to Research and Evidence Based Practice Projects:

Title: Quantifying walking activity of patients residing on an inpatient stroke unit using step activity monitors. Students: Heather Burridge, Candice Kwok, Jessica Rosario and Christine Stogios

Title: Manipulation and Mobilization for Mechani9al Neck Disorders: A systematic review update. Students: Jordan Miller and Jonathon D'Sylva

Title: Investigating the Inter-rater and Intra-rater Reliability of Capnography. Students: Lauren Baker, Shirin Hoissenpour, Paige Jones, Holly Ryder and Anita Vandenberg

Occupational Therapy Convocation

Sixty one individuals graduated in November 2009 with the Master of Science (Occupational Therapy) degree. Convocation Award winners included: The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists Book Prize - Lindi Cassel; The Ontario Society of Occupational Therapists Prize - Andrea Barry; The Northern Studies Stream Book Award - Katie Harrington; The Professional Practica Prize - Katie Semple; The Shari Lowe Book Award - Lara Gysbers; The Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation Future Scholar Award - Lindi Cassel; and The Catherine Smith Spirit Award - Cynthia Rutters.

In addition the following awards were given to Evidence Based Projects:

Title: Evaluating the Youth K.I.T. in an Educational Setting. Students: Andrea Barry and Stephanie Nasturzio

Title: An exploration of the impact of Montessori-Based Activities on the responsive behaviours in older adults with dementia. Students: Carolyn Chong and Krystal McBrayne

Title: Exploring our Legacy: The evolution of occupational therapy of Hamilton, ON. Students: Stefany Kawka and Leanne Vanderburg

Jean-Sebastien Roy, BSc(PT), MSc, PhD

David P. Millar, S.O.M., DC, BSc

Beata Batorowicz, MSC, PhD Student

little or no functional speech. She is supervised by Dr Cheryl Missiuna with Dr Peter Rosenbaum and Dr Gillian King as supervisory committee members.

Danielle Levac, BSC(PT), MSc., PhD Candidate

Elena Bamm, PT REG.(ON), PhD Student, Strategic Training Fellow in Rehabilitation Research, CIHR

Saurabh Mehta, MSc (Rehab), PhD Student, Physiotherapist, Community Rehab

Dragna Boljanovic-Susic, MSc Student

MSc student Dragna Boljanovic-Susic under Supervisor Linda Woodhouse was awarded $13,352.76 from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to study the incidence of post-operative chronic pain after total hip or knee arthroplasty. This is a pilot study. The team includes Maria Rachevitz, Dr. Jeffery Gollish, and Dr. Linda Woodhouse.

Recent Faculty Awards

Congratulations to Paul Stratford, Moneet Dogra, Linda Woodhouse, Deborah M. Kennedy and Greg Spadoni for winning the 2009 Silver Quill Award for the publication entitled, "Validating Self-Report Measures of Pain and Function in Patients Undergoing Hip or Knee Arthroplasty". The article appeared in Volume 61, Issue 4 of Physiotherapy Canada.

Deborah Kennedy has advised us that Linda Woodhouse has been selected to receive a Canadian Physiotherapy Association Honorary Membership Award. This award will be given to Linda on July 25, 2010 at the CPA Awards Luncheon in St John's Newfoundland.

SRS Announcements

7 YEAR ACCREDITATION GRANTED TO OT PROGRAM

The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) has granted the McMaster Occupational Therapy program an accreditation award of 7 years. This is the highest possible award for a Canadian university program. The CAOT is responsible for accreditation of all Canadian occupational therapy schools. A team of three accreditors completed an onsite visit in December 2009, for 2 and a half days, which entailed looking at all program documents and interviewing, faculty, staff, students, graduates, program administrators, tutors, preceptors and Faculty of Health Science administrators. The team reported that we had an excellent program, and they offered some very constructive suggestions for ways to enhance the program. They were most impressed with the collaboration with our clinical community.

We are very pleased with this outcome and know that it reflects the hard work undertaken in the School by all parties. Deb Stewart, who was the Assistant Dean of the Occupational Therapy program during the accreditation says "I couldn't have done it without the help of Salina Jaffer, our program administrator. Also the staff, clinical community, students, faculty

and the Faculty of Health Sciences all contributed to our success. This is a process that has helped us to make explicit what is often implicit, and we learn from this." Congratulations to everyone for a job well done!

Preceptor Workshops

On May 20 th the OT and PT programs held their annual ½ day preceptor workshop. The topics this year are "compassion fatigue" and "strategies and resources for dealing with students struggling in clinical education". There is no cost for preceptors to attend and lunch is provided. This year, the OT and PT programs are also holding a special 2-day workshop on June 18 th and 19 th called, 'enhancing clinical educator skills - a practice course for preceptors'. The programs are covering the costs for their OT and PT clinical preceptors as part of the SRS 20 th anniversary celebrations.

Interview Numbers

Once again the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Programs received the highest number of applications of all schools within Ontario. For OT a total of 802 applications were received to fill 65 student positions. For PT a total of 1074 applications were received to fill 65 student positions. During interview weekend the OT program interviewed 292 domestic candidates and 1 international candidate and the PT program interviewed 253 domestic candidates and 7 international candidates.

Recent Research Grants

Dr. Patty Solomon

Dr. Patty Solomon and post-doctoral fellow Kelly O'Brien have been successful in receiving the following grants related to rehabilitation and HIV along with other colleagues.

1. $131,053 over 2 years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The grant is titled "Getting to Work: Development of an Evidence-Informed Educational Program for Professionals to Promote Labour Force Participation for People Living with HIV in Canada." The team consists of Cathy Worthington, Martine Mangion, Kelly O'Brien, Sergio Rueda, Nancy Salbach and Patty Solomon.
2. $190,287 from Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a project called "Assessing the Measurement Properties of an Instrument to Describe Disability Experienced by Adults Living with HIV." This is a 2 year grant based on Kelly O'Brien's post doctoral research and led by Patty Solomon and Kelly O'Brien, along with co-investigators Ahmed Bayoumi and Geoff Norman.
3. $373,643 from Canadian Institutes of Health Research for the project "A Clinical Mentorship Model for Canadian Nurses in HIV Care." The team includes Judy Mill, Vera Caine, Kelly O'Brien, Patty Solomon and Cathy Worthington. This grant goes over three years.
4. $75,000 from Canadian Institutes of Health Research for a project called "Canadian HIV and Disability Research in a Global Context: Mobilizing Leadership and

Dr. Linda Woodhouse

Dr. Linda Woodhouse and team have been awarded $154,300.00 from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion for the expansion of the Total Bone and Joint Health Community Based Program to 5 YMCA sites. The team includes Genevieve Hladysh (YMCA), Donna Cripps (Hamilton Health Sciences), Dr. Linda Woodhouse (McMaster University), Irene Rand (The Arthritis Society) and Jayne Hall (Hamilton Health Sciences).

Dr. Joy MacDermid

Dr. Joy MacDermid's ClHR operating grant application entitled, "Synthesizing Research Evidence into Clinical Recommendations for Managing Neck Pain" has been funded for one year. Co-investigators on the grant are Una Santaguida, Anita Gross, Duncan Reid, Gaye Sydenham, David Walton, Norman Buckley and Pierre Cote. Congratulations on receiving CIHR funding!

Dr. Michael Pierrynowski

Dr. Michael Pierrynowski with Leslie Trotter secured funds totalling $43,500, including an in-kind contribution from Sole Support Incorporated. The grant runs for a year and will focus on decreased pain and decreased walking effort attributed to wearing foot orthoses or receiving ultrasound therapy.

National Institute for Complex Data Structures - Inaugural Workshop Support has awarded $34,000 over the next year for a project titled: ''The analysis of directional data with applications to biomechanics and biomedical imaging." The team consisted of Peter Kim, Louis-Paul Rivest, Helene Massam and Michael Pierrynowski.

Research Updates

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