Medical Employment Agency New Zealand & United Kingdom, Medical Staffing International

2010 NZSP/Medical Staffing International Achievement Award for Physiotherapy

Award grant enables physiotherapists to undertake research

A $1,000 award from Medical Staffing International has assisted in the purchase of three outcome measures in order to undertake research.

Physiotherapy team from the Physiotherapy Outpatients Department at Burwood Hospital in Christchurc

From left – Paul Timothy, Sally Nicholas (Operations Manager, Older Persons Health and Rehab), Deidre Crichton (Clinical Manager Physiotherapy), Wendy Fulton (Professional Leader, Older Persons Health and Rehab)

Physiotherapists involved in the project From left – Katrina Angus, Brendon Vercoe, Paul Timothy, Nicky Rooney, Deidre Crichton (Clinical Manager Physiotherapy)

Paul Timothy and the Physiotherapy team from the Physiotherapy Outpatients Department at Burwood Hospital in Christchurch are looking at the effect of a 6 month hydrotherapy exercise programme on body mass index, physical function and quality of life, in obese patients awaiting primary hip or knee joint replacement.

The panel of NZSP judges chose this entry above the others based on:

The recognised difficulties physiotherapists, working within DHBs, have organising and gaining funding for any research project.
The results will provide useful information that may help guide everyday physiotherapy practice,
The results of the research may help physiotherapists justify the expense of hydrotherapy pools which is often questioned by management
The research is aimed directly at improving health outcomes for New Zealanders. It also fits within the primary health care strategy and government’s health targets.

Paul and the team “are all delighted to have won the NZSP/Medical Staffing International Achievement Award for Physiotherapy. This will significantly aid in the process of data collection and allow the research to move on, with the ability now to purchase the outcome measures”.

Congratulations to all those who took part in this very timely and relevant research:

Paul Timothy BSc (hons) Phys, NZRP
Laura Meagher BSc (hons) Physiotherapy, NZRP
Glen Hawkyard BPHTY PGDipHealSci, NZRP
Katrina Angus BPhysio (hons), NZRP
Deidre Crichton, NZRP
Nicola Rooney Dip Phys, NZRP, MNZSP

The Medical Staffing International team caught up with last year’s winner, Dr Tony Schneiders Associate Dean Postgraduate Studies, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago to see what winning the award had meant to him and his career. Tony used his award to attend the ‘be active 09’ conference in Brisbane where he presented research on the effect of graded exercise on motor performance tasks used in the neurological assessment of sports related concussion. This is what he had to say:

"Thanks so much to Medical Staffing International for their Achievement Award which allowed me to present my research findings at the ‘be active '09’ conference in Brisbane which combined the 2009 Australian Conference of Science and Medicine in Sport, the Seventh National Physical Activity Conference and the Sixth National Sports Injury Prevention Conference. The presentation was very well received in Brisbane by an International audience and the paper that came from this research which investigated the effect of exercise on tests used for Sports-Related concussion has now been accepted for publication by the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. Attending a conference like this is useful for exposing your work to a larger, more international audience which allows you to build relationships/collaborations with international researchers and academics. This often leads to bigger and better research projects in the future and puts New Zealand research on the map."

The Medical Staffing team is thrilled to be able to facilitate progress in winners’ careers by offering this award. We see the award as an extension of one of our core values - maximising opportunities and potential for the businesses and candidates we work with.

The Medical Staffing International Awards are an excellent opportunity for you and your team to be recognised for research and project work that you may be conducting. Find out how you can join the list of recipients here. Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions you may have about the award.

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