MPT-North: Up by Its Own Bootstraps

To “pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps” is an old idiomatic expression for an impossible or a difficult task. Today, computer booting, boot-up or bootstrapping, among other names, means “to make use of existing resources or capabilities to raise (oneself) to a new situation or state; to modify or improve by making use of what is already present.”

With the Fall term of the MPT-N program successfully coming to an end next week, we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to all who brought the vision of the MPT-N program to life.

First, a big thank you to those involved with the implementation, particularly the Department of Physical Therapy at UBC, the Implementation Committee for the MPT-N program, and the staff and faculty at the Northern Medical Program of UBC/UNBC. All of you provided outstanding leadership to bring this vision to reality.

We are also grateful for the foundational work of around 16,000 people without whose contributions and political advocacy, the MPT-N may not have had a host university in the North. Thanks also to Terry Fedorkiw (Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC/UNBC) and all the Northern Physiotherapy Elders. We are very grateful for the support of the Physical Therapy Department at the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, the PTs in the North, and the whole Northern Community for their contribution to the successful start-up of the MPT-N program.

A big thank you as well to the first MPT North cohort of students who enthusiastically embraced attending a new program and have been so positive and flexible through the challenges brought about by Covid-19. Finally, we say a big thank you to our host community the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation in whose ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory we live, learn and work.


David AnekwePh.D.
MPT North Academic Site Lead
Faculty of Medicine | Department of Physical Therapy
The University of British Columbia | @ UNBC
Prince George, BC
Robin Roots, PT
MPT North Clinical Site Lead
Faculty of Medicine | Department of Physical Therapy
The University of British Columbia | @ UNBC
Prince George, BC

Ref

  1. Aldrich, J., “Bootstrapping”—A Contemporary Statistical Term. 2012.