We are delighted to announce that Robin Roots has accepted the position of Coordinator of Clinical Education, Northern and Rural Cohort and will officially join the UBC MPT Clinical Education team on May 1, 2012. She will continue in a contractual basis until that date. Robin, a former UBC MSc grad, brings a wealth of experience and energy to the role. Evidence of her excellence is her recent award at the 2012 Canadian Rheumatology Association/Allied Health Professional Association meeting in Victoria. She and her thesis committee were awarded the Allied Health Professional Association Carolyn Thomas Award for the best scientific abstract for“Understanding Rural Rehabilitation Practice: Perspectives from Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists in Rural and Remote British Columbia” Robin is based at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George and will be responsible for supporting the Northern and Rural Cohort (NRC) of the MPT program. Beginning in September 2012, 20 students from within the existing 80 students in the MPT program will form the Northern and Rural Cohort. These students will complete four out of their six placements in northern and rural communities in BC and will take part in a number of activities relating to rural health issues and rural practice. Perspective students have the option to apply to the Northern and Rural Cohort when they complete their application for admission to the MPT Program. As the aim of the N/R Cohort initiative is to increase recruitment and retention to rural areas, students are selected according to a set of criteria that determines their suitability for rural practice.
Robin has been working on contract with us since last year, and has been an integral part of the development of the Northern and Rural Cohort initiative. She first completed an Environmental Scan-Physical Therapy Clinical Education in Northern and Rural British Columbia-which updated the department with needed information about our clinical partners, clinical sites, and the current status of clinical education in northern and rural areas. Robin has since jumped in to become our face in the North, facilitating Clinical Educator Workshops in northern communities, liaising with stakeholders, creating infrastructure and building momentum for the inaugural cohort later this year. Her role will include increasing the number of northern and rural placements available for all students, as well as planning and implementing activities for the Northern and Rural Cohort. She will also serve as the new contact person for questions about the clinical education program in northern and rural areas. The MPT Northern and Rural Cohort is an initiative funded by the provincial government with the aim of increasing recruitment and retention of physiotherapists to rural and remote areas where there is currently a shortage of physiotherapists. The clinical hub for the UBC NRC will be the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. The close working partnership between UBC and UNBC offers the advantage of supporting northern and rural placements sites through local preceptor training, increased student support, and the development of innovative clinical education models to increase the number of student placements, in turn enhancing rehabilitation services in northern and rural areas. www.unbc.ca/physiotherapy Click here for more information on admission to the MPT program.