School of Physical & Occupational Therapy

After graduating from McGill University in 2013 with a master’s in physical therapy, Olivier continued to improve and broaden his practice skills by taking several continuing education courses. As a recent graduate, he quickly became aware of the dilemma some newly graduated therapists have when it comes to choosing their continuing education. This led him to create a blog summarizing his thought processes and giving his personal opinion on each continuing education opportunity he has completed. His goal was to help other therapists better their own skills and treatment approaches through an evidence-based approach to physiotherapy.

Olivier Lam, PT

His most popular blogpost, explaining in simple terms why some pain can be persistent and what can be done to manage it has been translated into  French and Danish by several therapists around the world and reached about 15 000 people across the globe. Read the pain post here.

Today, Olivier is working part time at a clinic in Montreal  and part time private practice while pursuing a master’s in research in health sciences with direct access to a PhD program in research at the University of Sherbrooke. His research at the Universiy of Sherbrooke focuses on neck pain (acute and chronic) and he continues to be involved in research on the efficacy of the McKenzie approach to treat low back pain at McGill University.

To read more about Olivier and his experiences, visit his blog, myphysiothinks, here.

Sitara Khan seated with students of ASSA

As Occupational Therapy Masters students, we are required to complete 4 placements in a clinical setting, so when the opportunity to do one internationally arose, I couldn’t say no! Rural South India was a land as foreign to us as we imagined OT might be to it. To our amazement, in the little village with its limited resources and proportionally large population, an inspiring rehabilitation facility, spanning acres of land, had made its place. Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA), a non-profit organization catering to a lifespan of people with disabilities, with its early intervention center, special school, vocational training workshop and extensive spinal cord injury rehabilitation program, offered free services to its population.

Naturally, I worried about our interventions being culturally sensitive and our abilities matching the needs of the population, but I soon realized that the resemblances in the problems we faced, far exceeded the differences. Yes, the setting had fewer material resources than an equivalent center in Canada, but the lack of human resources was an issue that sounded all too familiar!

In our OCC1-617 class, we learned that very few OTs in Quebec practice in school-based settings. Often, a single OT is assigned to an entire school board, resulting in an area of great needs and no service providers. The same challenge presented itself at ASSA: the entire center relied on the services of a single part-time OT. Working at ASSA’s Special School, and quickly became aware that the needs exceeded what I could provide in my 2 month stage, but I wanted to make meaningful change. (more…)

Evans Juste, Physiotherapist

As part of the School’s Global Health Initiative, physiotherapy Master’s student, Evans Juste recently had the opportunity to represent his Master’s Group Project in Haiti, which also included the unique opportunity to visit his parents’ home country. “We found that the future needs would be to advocate to stakeholders and increase available opportunities to those graduating from these programs that are realistic to meet the needs in a third world country” explains Evans.  On a personal level, “It was a true cultural experience for me that I really appreciated, to hear stories from my grandparents, to be welcomed by the people, and to see and experience the country and culture that I had only imagined when I was younger, this was an opportunity for which I am grateful for on both a personal and professional level.”

The project examined professional practice contexts of graduates from three rehabilitation technician programs in Haiti, and explored the graduates’ work profiles and perceptions regarding their readiness to work, difficulties encountered at work, and their vision for professional development. The group produced an informal observation report on the rehabilitation technician program and overall job satisfaction as well as two policy briefs for physiotherapy rehabilitation in patients affected by stroke and traumatic brain injury in this population.

This project was funded by the McBurney Advanced Training Program, through the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy.

Evans Juste has graduated and is now working at Action Sport, Physio Rivière-des-Prairies!

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