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NEWS FROM DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
PARTNERS FOR LEARNING
SUBMITTED BY: CATHY WHITE
These initiatives had a direct impact on the visibility of
OT both on campus and off, but most evident was the im-
pact on our classes’ enthusiasm for promoting the profes-
sion. Throughout the month, our OT ’16 Facebook group
was full of students’ stories about strangers commenting
on their “Super OT” shirts, friends asking what their latest
#queensOT post meant, or how they explained occupa-
tional therapy to a new colleague on placement. If nothing
else, one thing was clear—we couldn’t be more excited and
proud to be in OT!
A
recent partnership between the Immigrant
Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
and Dalhousie School of Occupational Ther-
apy created a great learning opportunity for all involved.
13 new residents to Canada who are enrolled in a course
entitled “Communication for Healthcare Professionals”
were interviewed by Dalhousie occupational therapy stu-
dents who were honing their assessment skills, and learn-
ing about some of the social and environmental barriers
to transferring healthcare skills to Canada from abroad.
Both groups of students say they enjoyed the experi-
ence, and learned so much from each other. One of the
new residents said “I didn’t really know very much about
occupational therapy. The students did a good job telling
us about it.” As one mentioned, “The best thing about my
experience was being able to talk to someone about the
person I was in the beginning when I first came to Canada
and the person I am now after adapting to living here.” An-
other participant said, “The most important thing about
these interviews is communication skills. I think this is a
great opportunity and experience for all of us.”
The occupational therapy students said it was interest-
ing to learn from them, and to receive feedback from them,
especially knowing they are health professionals. “It was
good to have the experience of really interviewing some-
one, and to learn about all they have to go through,” said
one. “Yes, and they were so interested in what we do.”
The experience is intended to help to prepare students for
their fieldwork, which will start early in the new year.
This win-win situation created “partners for learning”
and we look forward to repeating the experience in the fu-
ture.
...Continued from previous page
CAOT FELLOWSHIP AWARD 2015
D
r. Margo Paterson has been expanding bound-
aries for occupational therapists in Canada
and internationally for close to 40 years. She
worked as a front-line practitioner in Canada and Australia,
after which she joined Queen’s University as a lecturer and
fieldwork coordinator. Her research work focused prima-
rily on the areas of professional reasoning and inter-profes-
sional education. Following her retirement as Professor
Emerita in 2013, she has been involved in several research
and service roles including Executive Director of ACOTUP.