Physiopedia is an organization driven by dedication and teamwork; where every person has a place, the flexibility to contribute based on their expertise and availability and can make a meaningful contribution to the world of physiotherapy and physical therapy. This year, Physiopedia has launched its first Annual Awards Programme to highlight the valuable contributions of collaborators and volunteers alike. Nominations were plentiful, as there are many deserving contributors for each category. A special thank you to all who took the time to submit a nomination for the 2019-2020 period. Just a reminder that the clock has already started for the next awards period, feel free to nominate any person you feel deserving from July 2020 – June 2021.
Without further delay, the following individuals were nominated by their peers for the below-mentioned honours. Join me in offering a collective BRAVO to all the successful receipts as well as the countless nominees. Physiopedia thrives because of the enthusiasm and devotion of its volunteers, contributors, associates and partners. The following people are being honored for their outstanding contributions, performance and leadership.
Top Contributor
This award is given to the individual who has made the most contributions to Physiopedia content this past year. This award is being presented to Lucinda Hampton, who has demonstrated consistent and valuable contributions to the Physiopedia content. Lucinda has made contributions to over 720 pages on Physiopedia! She was also our Top Contributor for the month of January 2020, you can read her Physiospot Shout Out here. Lucinda, your energy and dedication to Physiopedia is incredible, thank you for all that you do and for inspiring others!
Physiopedia Superstar
The superstar award is given to the person who has made outstanding contributions by an individual to Physiopedia. This award received several nominations for many impressive candidates; however, one person stood out as the clear choice. Kim Jackson has been voted, by her colleagues, as our first Physiopedia Superstar.
Kim Jackson is the Content Manager for Physiopedia, all the while being so much more to so many people on the Physiopedia team. Kim steadily sports a positive attitude, is always available for feedback and encouragement and is a recognizable mentor for all volunteers and contributors. She does not shy away from learning new skills, asking questions or launching new initiatives. Kim is a clear leader and the team benefits from her efforts on a daily basis. I think we can all agree that Physiopedia has seen remarkable growth this year, in part because of the direct contributions made by Kim. You are a superstar, it is official!
If you would like to read the Top Contributor Shout Out for Kim from December 2019, click here!
Best Project
New content development is a major driving force behind the creation of Physiopedia pages. Physiopedia has many partnering organisations (including educational, clinical and professional organisations) who contribute to the growth of content on specific topics through Physiopedia projects. Started by Dr. Kathleen Norman in 2017, Queens University in Kingston (Canada) has been contributing to the development of content pages related to neuromuscular rehabilitation. This project has most recently been spearheaded by Dr. Vince DePaul and has seen the creation of more than 35 neuromuscular rehabilitation pages.
The Queens University project is a clear example as to what can be achieved when physiotherapy students are guided by a knowledge-expert, such as Dr. DePaul, and are able to collaborate with an open-access platform like Physiopedia. Dr. DePaul’s diligent work and leadership has been outstanding and has earned him the honor of most impactful Physiopedia project. Congratulations to Dr. DePaul and all his students.
Social Media Impact Award
Where would we be without social media? Physiopedia initiatives, projects, content and contributions are highlighted daily by Selena Horner.
Selena represents a voice for Physiopedia through our social media platforms, as she regularly posts Physiopedia related content on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Selena has been a part of the Physiopedia team from the very early days, she boasts an impressive loyalty to Physiopedia and her contributions are appreciated and impactful. Selena was also our Top Contributor for the month of April 2020, please read her Shout Out here! Thank you for always being positive and for your contributions to the team as a whole.
Physioplus Superstar
Physioplus offers a grand repertoire of online courses, professional development options and opportunities to interact with rehabilitation subject matter experts. It takes curiosity, time and dedication to complete courses and learning activities; and we would like to acknowledge the efforts of Tri Yuwono who has collected the most Physioplus Points.
Tri has completed 848 learning activities on Physioplus during this past year, and has earned the award of Physioplus Superstar. Well done Tri!
Physiospot Superstar
Physiospot is a great platform to highlight important issues and questions for the profession of physiotherapy. It is also a wonderful virtual stage to showcase Physiopedia initiatives and contributions. The Physiospot Superstar award is given to the individual with the most posts on the Physiospot platform; this year the honour goes to Kim Jackson.
Not only is Kim busy being our Content Manager, she somehow finds the time to proactively contribute to Physiospot, by writing interesting pieces such as If Physiotherapists treated Superheroes as well as highlighting the great work achieved monthly through the topic of the month. Kim has a dynamic mind and enjoys asking the hard questions and highlighting important issues related to the global growth of physiotherapy. If you have not yet done so, take the time to read Kim’s thoughtful contributions to Physiospot. Click here for a list of her recent posts!
Outstanding Leadership
Although many candidates are worthy of this recognition, there is one person who received overwhelming support for this nomination. Tarina Van Der Stockt, has been identified by her peers as a natural leader who is always approachable and ready to roll up her sleeves to offer assistance.
Tarina is the Education Director at Physioplus, overseeing a team responsible for the creation and maintenance of Physioplus courses, learning activities and the forums. Tarina also works tirelessly towards ensuring Physioplus courses are accredited around the world. Tarina is a forward-thinker, a well-respected member of the Physiopedia organization and all-around genuine person. Please join us in congratulating Tarina on her award for her Outstanding Leadership. If you would like to learn more about Tarina, you can read her Top Contributor Shout Out here.
Physiotherapy Impact Award
Although this is another category which received a fair number of nominations, I believe we can all agree that the following person is wholeheartedly deserving of the Physiotherapy Impact Award: Tony Lowe.
Although Tony is among the few Physiopedia members who is not a physiotherapist, Physiopedia would not be what or where it is today without him. Tony has a background in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD on conducting research around quality management and innovation. Tony has a passion for opening up knowledge translation through online education opportunities; and combined with Rachael’s passion for making physiotherapy knowledge free and accessible to all, Physiopedia and associated platforms were born. We have all solicited Tony’s help, from resetting a password (yes, Tony it happened again), to wiki coding questions, or the launch of a more ambitious project on the world wide web. Tony is the often unsung hero in the background, working countless hours to see our physiotherapy aspirations come to fruition. Tony is unquestionably deserving of this award because his efforts have propelled physiotherapy practice forward by facilitating access to evidence-based knowledge, particularly to those practicing in less resourced contexts. Tony has influenced clinical practice around the world, and no doubt, patients have benefited from accessible physiotherapy knowledge, because of Tony.
A genuine THANK YOU from all of us, to you Tony.
Innovation Award
This award deserves particular consideration, as it highlights the creativity and innovation which is occurring within the physiotherapy profession. It is with dynamic projects that our profession is able to grow and evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of patients and the health care system as a whole. An excellent example of this, is the recent Cards for Humanity project, developed by Dr. Jenny Setchell and shared through Physiopedia.
Dr. Setchell is a Senior Research Fellow in Physiotherapy at The University of Queensland, Australia. The Cards for Humanity project explores the human dimension of illness, and investigates how health care professionals did (or did not) attend to the human elements of living with muscular dystrophy. This is a wonderfully innovative project, which reminds clinicians to always integrate the human factor into their rehabilitation plan. Please offer your congratulations to Dr. Setchell and her team for highlighting the humanity aspect of our profession.
Global Impact Award
This award goes to a physiotherapist who has demonstrated a high level of thoughtfulness for others (peers and patients) and always incorporates maximum effort towards any given project. She has been a Top Contributor for Physiopedia in March 2020 and has made significant contributions to Physiopedia content pages as well as Physioplus courses, as a Learning Architect. She has also been a key player with the coordination and development of Physiopedia’s annual open online courses (aka MOOCs). We are of course talking about Naomi O’Reilly!
Naomi is deserving of this honor for all the aforementioned reasons, but also for her vision as to what a physiotherapist is meant to be; a resilient team player capable of adapting to the needs and goals of patients, but also colleagues. Naomi is a competent physiotherapist who believes in sharing resources and making knowledge openly available; hence, her dedicated involvement to the MOOC process. Naomi inspires all who work with her and her perseverance is contagious! Thank you for all that you do Naomi!
Congratualtions to all of our award recipients.
Please take the time to pause and appreciate the efforts put forth by the above-mentioned recipients. Their efforts have no doubt enriched your knowledge and made an impact on your practice. Send them a reminder, as to how their contributions have mattered to you.
A sincere thank you to all who believe in Physiopedia and its mission and who make being involved with this organisation such an enriching experience. Keep an eye out for next year’s awards and recipients – it may be you!
Awards Summary 2019-2020
AWARDED to: | AWARDS |
Lucinda Hampton | Top Contributor -made the most contributions to Physiopedia content |
Kim Jackson | Physiopedia Superstar – outstanding contributions by an individual |
Vince dePaul | Best Project – most impactful content development project. |
Selena Horner | Social Media Impact Award – most impact made through social media |
Tri Yuwono | Physioplus Superstar – individual has who collected the most Physioplus points. |
Kim Jackson | Physiospot Superstar – individual with the most posts and contributions on Physiospot. |
Tarina Van Der Stockt | Outstanding Leadership – the individual that demonstrates great leadership as any part of the Physiopedia project. |
Tony Lowe | Physiotherapy Impact Award – the contribution that has made the greatest impact on physiotherapy practice. |
Dr. Jenny Setchell | Innovation Award – most forward thinking and creative contributions. |
Naomi O’Reilly | Global Impact Award – the contribution that has made the greatest impact on the global profession. |
Well done and until next year! Submit your nominations for 2020-2021 here!