3. Atmosphere: Fast-paced,
Focused, and Fun
• Time management was crucial because of the high
rate of patient intake and treatment. It was
common to balance the treatment of three
patients simultaneously
• Constant focus was required to ensure the best
possible treatment of patients and to increase the
efficacy of their treatment.
• Fun was incorporated into the environment when
appropriate and created a very positive and
satisfying work-environment
4. “Rebalancing” Healthcare
• At RebalanceMD, the long-term aim is to modernize
our healthcare system and provide a more
succinct, sustainable, and successful delivery of
total musculoskeletal therapy.
• Through the collaboration of multiple orthopedic
surgeons, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, sports
doctors, psychiatrists, and many other health
professionals, Rebalance has succeeded in bringing
all aspects of musculoskeletal care into one
revolutionary facility.
5. Products and Services
• RebalanceMD aims to provide every care necessary
to regain our physical and mental well-being.
Whether it’s physiotherapy, bracing, orthotics or
surgery, Rebalance has every service available,
and the expertise to back it up.
• With all orthopedic surgeons working out of one
building, wait times for consultations are down 90%
and communication from doctor to surgeons and
surgeons to physiotherapists has become a much
more simple and effective practice.
7. Mornings: Post-Operative
Physiotherapy Program
• Created through a partnership between Island
Health and RebalanceMD
• My duties included:
o Measuring and recording knee flexion and extension for patients with a
goniometer to assess their progress throughout the program
o Discussing the progress of each patient and educating patients on proper
rehab protocols throughout their recovery
o Reporting my findings back to a physiotherapist and kinesiologist and
contributing to a personalized rehab program for each individual patient
o Running physiotherapy programs for up to several patients at any given
time and educating patients on proper form for their prescribed exercises
o Completing discharge forms for each individual patient, as well as
manually and digitally recording notes from each patients session into an
electronic database.
o Assessing and educating gait patterning and also the proper use of gait
aids, such as canes and walkers
8. Afternoons: Supporting
Physiotherapists and
being the Handy Man
• My primary responsibility was to assist the
physiotherapists in the clinic by educating and
guiding their patients through their rehab programs
after they had received manual treatment
• Other responsibilities included:
o maintaining the cleanliness of the clinic
o bringing patients into their rooms
o taking IFC cables off of patients when their treatment was done
o various other odd jobs around the clinic (I had to fix a rowing machine for
example!)
10. Learning Objective 1
• My first objective was to increase my knowledge of
musculoskeletal injury care in regards to physiotherapy,
orthopedics, injecting therapy, bracing and orthotics.
• I was very successful in gaining a plethora of knowledge
in these various fields of musculoskeletal rehab, and was
able to actually suggest some of these methods to
patients, with approval from their physiotherapist, and
was accurate in my prescription
• One example was a woman with a total knee
replacement who I prescribed to have a compression
stocking for her lower limb in order to alleviate swelling,
after which she made a much faster recovery because
she had improved peripheral circulation with the
stocking.
11. Learning Objective 2
• My second objective was to gain a better
understanding of how to assess and diagnose a variety
of musculoskeletal injuries
• Again, I feel that I was quite successful with this
objective, as by the end of my work-term I have gained
the ability to not only diagnose various musculoskeletal
injuries, but to also be able to administer the proper
rehab protocol in each situation.
• For example, I worked with many Anterior Cruciate
Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR) patients, and I now feel
very comfortable in diagnosing a complete ACL tear,
and more importantly, what steps to take in order to
properly rehabilitate someone with an ACLR back to an
active lifestyle
12. Learning Objective 3
• My final objective was to incorporate my own rehab
experiences and academic knowledge into my delivery
of service to my clients
• This was by far my most successful endeavor at
Rebalance
• I was able to make many personal connections with
patients by getting on their level with my past
experiences with intensive rehabilitative surgery and the
ensuing physical rehab, which would immediately
increase their trust in me and commitment to our
program.
• It was very rewarding when I would be able to make a
breakthrough with a patient by being able to
understand their situation and motivate them to
continue through to the end of their rehab, even when
they had become depressed or had reached a
13. New skills
• Utilizing a goniometer to assess improvement on a
post-surgical totally replaced knee
• Assessing the gait pattern of patients with severe
musculoskeletal injuries
• Educating gait patterning and proper use of gait
aids to patients with antalgic gaits
• Educating and administering new exercises for
patients with the guidance of a physiotherapist
• Creating original and innovative exercise plans for
clients, with approval from their physiotherapist
• How to fix a rowing machine
14. Improved Skills
• Communication with both clients and co-workers.
This was the most improved skill over the work-term,
as it is one of the most important skills to have as a
healthcare professional
• Time management: My ability to be able to handle
multiple clients at one time and administer effective
and appropriate treatment for each individual
improved significantly each week.
• ONE MORE SKILL HERE
15. Technical Skills
• Use of a goniometer on patients to assess their
progress in a rehab program.
• Assessment of proper technique for various
exercises being performed by clients
• Use of computer software to track and record the
progress of clients
• Learning how to use physiotherapy language
appropriately and how to record notes with the use
of abbreviations for concision of note taking
16. Effect on my Career Plans
• This experience solidified my desire to continue my path
towards becoming a physiotherapist in the future and
towards doing my own research on new innovative ways
to rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries
• Another thing I learnt about myself is my ability to work
with all types of people, as going into the work-term, I
thought I would enjoy mostly working with athletic
people, but I enjoyed working with all types of people
and found it just as rewarding with every level of active
person.
• I’m now confident that I will be successful in whatever
path I choose going forward in the musculoskeletal
rehab field
17. Helpful SFU Courses
• BPK 241- most helpful course, as it explains the
mechanism, assessment, and treatment of a variety of
musculoskeletal injuries that I encountered during my
work-term
• BPK 326- having a good knowledge of the physical
anatomy of the various parts of the body was very useful
in order to describe various ideas and concepts to both
patients and co-workers
• BPK 303- Having done many anthropometric
measurements in lab in the class made it an easy
transition to utilizing a goniometer on many patients in
the post-op program
• BPK 201- Having a basic understanding of the physics of
movement was useful in assessing which exercises would
be most effective for any given client depending on
their musculoskeletal needs.
18. Helpful SFU Courses
• BPK 340- The presentation required in this class was
useful to increase my confidence when presenting
in front of a large group, which was necessary when
running large classes during the post-op program
19. What does it all mean?
• Perspective
o In the end, it’s all about gaining perspective on what your career goals
are…Understanding how to bridge the gap between the classroom and
the workplace is an essential part of being successful during your first Co-
op.
• Relationships
o I’ve formed at Rebalance with both my co-workers and my patients are
the real value of my work-term and have solidified lead me into further
success in the field of Kinesiology and/or Physiotherapy
• Work ethic
o Understanding the level of work needed at work everyday is essential to
understanding what it’s like to be in a real workplace. There’s no time to
procrastinate when you have 5 patients with totally replaced knees
waiting for you to help them. Work hard, and work smart!
20. Advice
• Take initiative…Take initiative…take initiative.
o Employers will notice this and will appreciate the fact that you’re not simply
hiding behind the “student” title to avoid taking on difficult tasks
• Talk to everyone
o Whether it’s your supervisor, the front desk, or the janitor, getting to know
everyone will get you noticed around the workplace, and people will
remember you after you’ve left
• Ask for help
o You are still a student, and asking for help in the right way will be seen as a
sign of strength and eagerness that you want to learn more and your
supervisor will almost always enjoy being able to guide you through your first
few days
• Enjoy yourself
o Take a moment everyday to take a step back and enjoy what you’re doing,
and if you find that it is not enjoyable, maybe it’s not the right career for you
• Find a way to contribute
o Showing your employer that you’re willing to try to help in ways outside of your
expertise demonstrates that you’re a team player and a great asset to the
workforce.
21. Have fun!
Don’t forget that work doesn’t always have to be grueling and tiresome, make sure
You have some fun on your co-op term! (punishment for being late!!)
