Support innovative clinical placements that serve the Kingston community
Clinical placements are a crucial aspect of the learning experience for occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) students. By providing students with the opportunity to explore clinical settings and build their confidence, these placements play an important role in ensuring our students are prepared to begin work after graduation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, access to many clinical placement settings were reduced from their typical capacity. However, this reality has catalyzed the creation of innovative clinical placements which are supported by this fund.
Created in this spirit of innovation, Health Hub is a rehabilitation service that launched in January 2021. In addition to providing students in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy (SRT) with clinical placements, the Health Hub has also addressed the unmet rehabilitation needs of people in the Kingston community who typically cannot access services due to insurance or financial barriers.
“While completing my placement, I was involved with every aspect of the physiotherapy process, including assessing and diagnosing patients, providing physiotherapy, and educating patients on how to manage their conditions,” says Halle Pawson, a PT student who completed a six-week placement with the Health Hub in the winter of 2021. “It was eye opening to me how much more there is to physical health disorders beyond just the physical aspect. The Health Hub taught me that in order to tailor treatment to a patient you have to understand the kinds of activities they engage in, the setting that they work in, the amount of free time they have and so much more.”
This service has had a deep impact both on SRT students and Kingston community members. Since its launch in January, the rehabilitation services at the Health Hub have provided care for over 200 patients in need of rehabilitation services, and has provided an opportunity for 20 SRT students to complete their placements.
This innovative clinical placement model is poised to be expanded and replicated in the coming year. To support the development and maintenance of innovative new placements such as the Health Hub, give to the Clinical Placement Initiatives Fund.
