Inside a newly-renovated gym at UBC’s Vancouver campus, a unique space that combines research and clinical practice is improving health outcomes for patients.
The UBC Physical Therapy and Research Clinic is based on a ‘student-led’ practice model and provides an innovative and team-based approach.
“This clinic is meant to have higher quality of learning and experience for students,” says Melissa Idle, a clinical assistant professor of physical therapy and the clinic’s supervising instructor. “It will also be equally valuable for patients and the community.”
That’s because the clinic not only provides services to underserved populations, but will also treat patients with more complex system concerns, such as those with long-term neurological conditions or patients with multi-system issues. In this way, the clinic showcases the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s contract with society – placing patients and the public at the centre of the clinic’s purpose. It also represents UBC’s efforts to support and encourage users of research and wider communities to exchange ideas, knowledge and evidence for societal impact (Strategy 9: Knowledge Exchange).
Visit the Faculty of Medicine’s website to learn more about the innovative clinic and how it is benefiting faculty, students and patients alike.