M argaret R. Hood was the founding

head of the occupational therapy

program at UBC when it opened in

1961. She deposited her notes on the

history of establishing the School of

Rehabilitation Medicine and the first

occupational therapy curriculum in the

UBC archives, and last year I enjoyed

several hours browsing the collection of

curriculum plans and correspondence.

Meetings held in the mid-1950s show

tha t oc cupa t i ona l t he rap i s t s ,

physicians, and representatives from a

long list of organizations were actively

fundraising and lobbying government

and the University to establish a

p r og r a m . M a ny e f f o r t s w e r e

coordinated with physical therapists

and support came from provincial

cerebral palsy, arthritis, tuberculosis,

muscular dystrophy, polio, and other

societies, as well as Lions and Kinsmen

clubs and Workman’s Compensation

Board. Miss Hood relocated to BC from

Ontario in the 1950s to take on the

position of occupational therapy

supervisor at the WCB, served as BCSOT

President, and was secretary to the

committee to establish a school of

rehabilitation.

In 2013 we celebrate the 100th

anniversary of Margaret Hood’s birth:

September 25, 1913. Please “save the

date” – September 25, 2013, when we

will host alumni and friends to an

evening at the Beaty Biodiversity

Museum at UBC – which now occupies

the site very near Hut B3, the hub of

Volume 4, Issue 4

Oct—Dec 2012

the School of

Rehabilitation

Medicine when

M a r g a r e t

retired in 1979.

We’d love to

h e a r y o u

reminisce about

working with

Margaret at

WCB, UBC, or

volunteering

with BCSOT.

Please share

your stories

and photos by submitting to os.ot@ubc.ca

or mailing to the OSOT Department.

Margaret R. Hood, Head, UBC Occupational Therapy

1961-1979

Catherine Backman, Professor & Head Celebrating the Founding Head

OT LENS

Newsletter of The Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy

I n 2009-2010 I completed data

collection for my doctoral research

studying early childhood in war. I was

Theresa McElroy, OT, MIH, PhD After the Research:

based in northern Uganda, a region

emerging from 20 years of vicious

conflict. In 2009, three years after

hostilities ceased, almost a third of the

population remained in displacement

camps and people were struggling to

rebuild their rural agrarian lives. My

research was a focused ethnography

using multiple methods to explore

varied views on early childhood health

and development. The emergent data

painted a picture of circumstance that

seriously thwarted caregivers from

employing their extensive knowledge

and traditional care practices to

protect and nurture their youngest

children. War left children exposed to

numerous, cumulative risk factors that

previous research has documented as

threats to long-term developmental

potential.

While in the field, advocacy for early

childhood programming led to my working

with international organizations, local

gove rnmen t , commun i ty ba sed

organizations (CBO) and community

members to plan and establish two early

childhood care and development (ECCD)

centres run by farmer groups returning to

villages in Pabo district. I left Uganda

before the centres were fully functioning

and throughout the years wondered about

their fate. This Christmas an email update

came; one centre succeeded and the other

failed due to a rift between community

members. The model of program delivery

was re-worked and the leading CBO went

on to launch 7 more “community owned”

ECCD centres. These new centres are not

tied to any particular group of individuals,

but to local primary schools and therefore

are accessible to all. The news was the

highlight of my doctoral journey - 8 months

after graduation.

UB

C A

rch

ives

ima

ge

5.1

/13

92

Community Owned Early Childhood and

Development Centres in Northern Uganda

OT Lens Page 2

OCTOBER The 3rd annual FoM Mixer

on October 12 welcomed new students

and celebrated the depth and breadth

of the Faculty’s Education and

Research Programs. The event

attracted over 470 students, faculty

members, researchers and health

professionals from various programs,

departments and health community.

October 27th UBC Alumni and Friends

gathered at the Coast Hotel downtown

to share lunch and celebrate OT month.

The event was well attended and much

appreciated. We look forward to

making the luncheon a tradition.

NOVEMBER The MOT class of 2013

wins the National gOT Spirit Challenge

with their creative and powerful video

message Because of OT, I Can,

viewable on our webpage or on

Youtube with more than 51,000 views

so far! Congratulations to the creative

team.

DECEMBER 40 Under 40 (see below)

JANUARY The first Faculty of

Medicine Telehealth retreat took place

on January 17th with 27 participants

representing 14 departments. The

group developed 6 action steps toward

delivering health-care across the

province and nation-wide using

communications technology.

OSOT Timeline

LENS ON …

Salim Janmohamed (MBA, BSc OT '98), now the Managing Director for Community Therapists in Burnaby,

was featured in the December issue of Business in Vancouver's “Forty under 40”, in which the

magazine highlights the achievement of BC's outstanding entrepreneurs, executives, managers and

professionals in public or private business and non-profit sectors. Winners are under 40, from a wide

range of industries, and have demonstrated excellence in business judgment, leadership and community

contribution at a relatively young age.

Community Therapists, an interdisciplinary rehabilitation practice headquartered in Burnaby, BC,

provides community-based rehabilitation and specialized rehabilitation assessments and programs to clients funded by

ICBC, WorkSafeBC, Health Authorities, Ministries, Law Firms and other government agencies. It is the largest privately

operated community based rehabilitation practice in British Columbia with over 90 healthcare and administrative

personnel including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, kinesiologists and operations staff.

Outstanding in Their Field

Dr. Susan Forwell has been named Scholar in Residence and awarded the

Barbara Sexton Lectureship for 2013 for the University of Western

Ontario’s Department of Occupational Therapy. The Barbara Sexton

Lectureship was established in 1999 to reward innovation and excellence in

occupational therapy teaching and to foster professional enrichment.

Clinical Faculty member Kim Calsaferri is co-recipient of the 2012 BC

Health Association Legacy Award to recognize the collaborative focus of

her contributions in the health community. Over the past 20 years or

more, she has been passionate about, and dedicated to building

relationships which bring people with mental illness, families, and mental

health professionals together to share talents,

skills and experiences to build a better mental

health system.

Catherine Backman strikes the OT pose with a gaggle of aspiring OTs at the

Faculty of Medicine Mixer in October.

Volume 4, Issue 4 Page 3

O ccupational therapists now have even more choice and

flexibility when doing the online Master of Rehabilitation

Science (MRSc) program. The new course-based option

announced last Fall provides learners with the choice of taking

more courses or completing a small practice-based research

project. Although the research project allows learners the

opportunity to study a particular interest in depth, some

learners met with barriers that made completing the research

more difficult. Now learners can continue to focus their studies

on a specific area by taking additional elective courses. It’s

now possible to complete the MRSc in one year if studying full-

time. For more information visit our website at

www.mrsc.ubc.ca

Change Your Thinking —

Change your Practice

Master of Rehabilitation Science

Now Offers a Course-based

Option

L ast August Andrea Walus moved from her

position as Administrative Coordinator of the

Rehabilitation Science Online Programs to

Development Coordinator at the Faculty of Applied

Sciences. She had been with the Department of

OS&OT for 7 years and is missed greatly but reports

enjoying her new position

immensely!

Andrea’s replacement, Claire

Ca r i g i , h a s e x ten s i v e

experience in di stance

learning. She worked for the

Commonwealth of Learning for

nine years where she was the

educational coordinator for

five UN agencies, supporting up

to 1200 learners per year.

Welcome Claire!

Changing Staff

From left to right: Associate Director Mary Clark,

Administrative Manager Andrea Walus and Director Sue

Claire Carigi

Our Latest Graduates

W e continue to graduate leaders in rehabilitation who

give back to their practice in many ways. Last

November the following three graduates received their Master

of Rehabilitation Science.

Congratulations to all.

Mireille Delorme, Occupational Therapist, Eganville, Ontario

Topic: Fall Prevention for the Elderly: An Exploration of Roles

Tammam El-Khodor, Occupational Therapist, Montreal

Topic: Nurses’ Perception of Occupational Therapy in an Acute

Care Hospital

Kim Mullens, Occupational Therapist, Toronto

Topic: Service Providers' Knowledge and Attitudes Towards the

Recovery Paradigm in a Secure Forensic Mental Health Unit

APPLICATION DEADLINES FOR A

SEPTEMBER 2013 START

April 30, 2013

Master of Rehabilitation Science

May 15, 2013

Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation

ONLINE PROGRAMS

Save the Date!

Capstone Conference

August 29, 2013 at the

Vancouver Public Library Central

Branch.

The Department of Occupational Science

& Occupational Therapy supports three

graduate academic programs.

The Master in Occupational Therapy

(MOT) program, for those looking to

practice professionally as an

Occupational Therapist;

The Master of Science (MSc) and PhD

programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, for

those interested in research credentials

and the science of occupation; and

The online Master of Rehabilitation

Science (MRSc) for practitioners

interested in obtaining a graduate

degree that will advance their career

and be obtained while working.

T325 2211 Wesbrook Mall

UBC Hospital - Koerner Pavilion

Vancouver, British Columbia

V6T 2B5

Phone: 604.822.7392

Fax: 604.822.7624

/ubcosot

os.ot@ubc.ca

osot.ubc.ca

@ubcosot

Watch the OSOT Highlight Video on

This newsletter can be found in PDF form with

active links on our website.

The British Columbia Hospice Palliative Care Association's 2013

Annual Conference takes place June 2-3, 2013 at the Sheraton

Vancouver Airport Hotel in Richmond, BC. This year’s theme is

Moving Forward Together - Collaborating with creativity and

compassion.

Back by popular demand, Dr Bashir Jiwani will be speaking on

ethical issues. The second keynote speaker will be Nontombi

Naomi Tutu who will present on the Sub-Saharan Hospice

experience. You can read more about the two keynote speakers

on the conference website.

Do you provide Hospice Palliative Care? If so, you are invited to

submit an abstract to make an oral or poster presentation at the

conference. Visit the conference website for more details on the

abstract submission process. All submissions must be made by the

deadline of Sunday, January 27, 2013 (17:00 PST).

For more information and to sign up for our e-newsletters, visit

t h e w e b s i t e : w w w . b c h p c a . o r g o r c o n t a c t

bchpca@seatoskymeetings.com

BC Hospice Palliative Care Association

Fieldwork Notes

W elcome to our recent appointees to the rank of Clinical

Instructor:

Tracy Adams; Melissa Austin; Giovanna Boniface; Jeff

Boniface; Katie Bunting; Katherine Elissat; Jennifer Glasgow;

Brian Lam; Angela Louie; Patty Mason; Kat McKall; Ivonne

Montgomery; Jennifer Persello; and Wendy Tse.

The 'Fieldwork' section of our website, http://osot.ubc.ca/

fieldwork/clinicians/, has a variety of resources and tools available

for clinicians and preceptors. The Competency-Based Fieldwork

Education forms are available at http://video.med.ubc.ca/videos/

osot/fieldwork/strategies/UBC_OT_Evaluation_Tools_Forms.doc, and information about our free Fieldwork Educators Workshops

can be found at http://osot.ubc.ca/fieldwork/clinicians/

workshops/.

FYI: An alternate placement model presentation will be

taking place at VCH bridges.