ACOTUP - Newsletter - Issue 27 - 2016

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In devising this initiative, the senior class hoped to re-
duce the “unknown unknowns” by identifying “known un-
knowns”, which in turn would lessen the first year students’
apprehension toward that first day of placement. Knowing
there will come a time, when prompted with a question or
scenario, that you have no immediate response and sub-
sequently send yourself into a tailspin of self-doubt. The
truth is, we’ve all been there… as have our preceptors. Nor-
malizing the experience – accepting the inevitability of it
– allows us to embrace it for what it is: a rite of passage.
That moment in time (frozen as it may feel) offers tremen-
dous opportunity for personal learning and growth. This
experience adds a layer of newmeaning to the competen-
cies being evaluated, a daunting process to navigate for a
student entering his/her first clinical placement.
There is strong support for the event to continue in the
future, marking a natural transition concurrent with the
CBFE-OT stages of learning development. Collectively, this
initiative spurred bonding between first- and second-year
student occupational therapists by sharing our vulnerabili-
ties, and in turn nurturing individualized development of
professional competencies. Imposter syndrome dissipates
as we embrace what lies ahead: learning in acknowledging
our lapses, comfort in knowing we are in good company,
freedom in addressing our fears, and ultimately pride as
we progress in our OT odyssey.
Our Writing Team: Jill Wyman, Maital Falkovitz, Mara
Fontana, Sarah Hobbs, & Lorie Shimmell
For correspondence, please contact us through:
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PRESS RELEASE: Montreal: To stay current with
what’s happening at McGill’s School of Physical & Occu-
pational Therapy (SPOT), check out the School’s website
or join the group on Facebook or
LinkedIn.
Dr. Keiko Shikako-Thomas , Assistant Professor at
SPOT, has been awarded a Canadian Research Chair
(CRC) in Childhood disability:
participation and knowledge
translation. From McGill’s
statement, "CRCs are granted
to outstanding researchers ac-
knowledged by their peers as
world leaders in their fields.
The CRC programwas created
to enable Canadian universi-
ties to attract and retain established and emerging world-
class researchers." And, from the Federal announcement,
“Nearly 1,700 Canada Research Chair holders are working
at over 70 postsecondary institutions across the country
in a wide range of fields. The Research Support Fund sup-
ports a portion of the costs associated with managing re-
search at Canadian institutions such as administrative sup-
port, training costs for workplace health and safety, main-
tenance costs for libraries and laboratories, and
administrative costs.”
Dr. Patrice (Tamar) Weiss was SPOT’s 6th Edith
Aston-McCrimmon Lecturer. The event, an inspirational
lecture by a nationally or internationally known person,
usually having a topic related to
the field of rehabilitation, was
extrememly well-attended, and
Dr. Weiss challenged all in at-
tendance to consider “Disrup-
tive Technologies in
Rehabilitation”. See SPOT’s
EAM pages for more informa-
tion, and for photos of the
event. (photo credit: S.C.Marshall)
IN OTHER SPOT NEWS:
Dr. Isabelle Gélinas was honored with the Associa- •
tion for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED) Dis-
tinguished Service Award for her service and support
NEWS FROM McGILL UNIVERSITY