Claudia understands educational challenges well. Immigrating to Toronto from Columbia in 1999 to continue her physiotherapy career she spent two years studying for the Canadian Physiotherapy Competency Examination. After passing the written examination she began a residency at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, continuing as a physiotherapist, after the clinical examination.
During her study, she completed 15 credits in course work for the Graduate Certificate in Rehabilitation Program. Those credits became the stepping stone for her to tackle the Master of Rehabilitation Science (MRSc) program when Program Director Susan Stanton invited her to consider the degree. She began the Master’s in 2006, graduating in 2010.
The master’s experience yielded a multitude of benefits for Claudia, including the confidence to take on the technological requirements for online courses, research skills and their application to clinical practice. She also valued the opportunity to interact with fellow students from all over the world. “You realized that the body of knowledge connects all of us. It was fascinating to learn about the similarities and differences in physiotherapy practice in Denmark, Columbia and Canada.”
Claudia particularly enjoyed the Facilitating Learning in Rehabilitation Contexts, Evidence for Practice, Developing Effective Rehabilitation Programs and Writing to Enhance Practice courses. “The content of each course was excellent and each facilitator was an expert in their area. I was able to use almost everything I learned,” she says. Communicating effectively about a patient’s condition is an important part of her work at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and Claudia feels that her skills have improved in that area.
Knowledge transfer and research were also her favourite subjects. “Now I feel confident doing and understanding research and providing useful recommendations to improve practice,” Claudia says. Her research project, Stop Adverse Fall Events (SAFE) initiative, was the best example of how she directly applied learning to practice at her workplace, she says.
By Heather Kent