Earlier this week we asked Karen Atkinson, CPN member, Physiotherapy Professional Lead at University of Hertfordshire, and contributor to the Project Advisory Group that helped produce the WCPT's recent briefing paper Access to physical therapist entry level education and practice for persons with disabilities, to comment on the paper and provide some background. Karen has longstanding expertise in supporting disabled students and qualified professionals during their education and employment and real insights into the process that made this important report possible. Karen kindly provided us with the following overview: As someone who has worked to support disabled students and qualified … [Read more...] about Disabled physiotherapists – Karen Atkinson comment
WCPT advocates for the inclusion of people with disabilities in physiotherapy profession
Last week, the WCPT unveiled its latest briefing paper titled Access to physical therapist entry level education and practice for persons with disabilities. This paper and supporting resources are significant, not only for their critical and radical statements on the relationship between physiotherapists and people with disabilities, but also because they situate one of the profession's leading advocacy organisations in the position of critiquing physiotherapy's longstanding atheism towards disability rights. Physiotherapists have long paid lip-service to the idea that they advocate for the rights of disabled people, but have systematically excluded disabled people from training (with … [Read more...] about WCPT advocates for the inclusion of people with disabilities in physiotherapy profession
CPN update – November 2015
We have our monthly CPN Executive video conference on Friday this week, and it's been a while since we updated you on some of the things we're doing and some of the projects that we're involved in, so here's a quick summary: Friday's meeting will be the first with two new members. Viviana Guerrero and Michael Rowe joined Barbara Gibson, Simon Kirkegaard, Gwyn Owen, Dave Nicholls, Jenny Setchell and Nicky Wilson on the Exec last month. Viviana is a doctoral candidate and Senior Research Assistant at Griffith University’s Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation in Australia. (You will have seen some of her work recently with the Spanish translations we've been able … [Read more...] about CPN update – November 2015
WCPT inaugural congress (London, 1953)
Film (16:55') produced by the CSP, published on YouTube 19 Feburary 2013 (to view the video via YouTube please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7H4weMzieo) You will find more resources like this in the Network Library section of the website … [Read more...] about WCPT inaugural congress (London, 1953)
Sonambulismo hacia Sudáfrica
En la misma semana que WCPT envió una llamada pidiendo a todos a contribuir a su estrategia de futuro (enlace), un documento que demuestra que 'Incluso caminar es más peligroso si eres negro' (enlace) me recordó que el próximo congreso WCPT se celebrará en Sudáfrica en 2017, y esto debe representar una oportunidad de oro para demostrar que la fisioterapia tiene algo importante que decir acerca de lo que es una realidad cotidiana para muchas personas en todo el mundo. El estudio de la revista Transportation Research titulado "sesgo racial en el comportamiento de conductores cediendo el paso en los cruces peatonales” mostró que había claros prejuicios raciales en el comportamiento del … [Read more...] about Sonambulismo hacia Sudáfrica
Sleep walking to South Africa
In the same week that WCPT sent out a call asking for us all to contribute to its future strategy (link), a paper showing that 'Even walking is more dangerous if you're black' (link) reminded me that the next WCPT congress will be held in South Africa in 2017, and this should represent a golden opportunity to show that physiotherapy has something critical to say about things that are an everyday reality for many people around the world. The study from the journal Transportation Research titled 'Racial bias in driver yielding behavior at crosswalks' showed that there was clear racial bias in driver yielding behaviour directed at pedestrians, and that 'black people are more likely to be … [Read more...] about Sleep walking to South Africa
Want more critical physiotherapy at WCPT in 2017?
It's only a few months since the last WCPT meeting in Singapore, but plans are already taking shape for the next Congress. Over the last few days, WCPT has been asking what people want in South Africa, and calling for some input from the broader physiotherapy community. So it would seem like a golden opportunity to push for more activities, forums, opportunities and speakers who can promote critical thinking and practice. There is a Survey Monkey poll that you can complete here (deadline 7th October), and WCPT has announced its Scientific Committee - the people who will decide what gets into the programme and what doesn't. The committee comprises: Professor Dina Brooks … [Read more...] about Want more critical physiotherapy at WCPT in 2017?