After 20 years of OT practice, Mimi decided it was time to update her skills and knowledge to lay the foundation for other career opportunities. She chose to pursue a course-based Masters in Rehabilitation Sciences because she appreciated both the structure that coursework provides and the breadth of learning options that she’d be able to pursue.
As she prepared to graduate, Mimi reflected on the best part of pursuing her MRSc: “I discovered topics of keen personal and professional interest: culture and health, health service access and utilization by marginalized groups.” Pursuing a course-based Masters helped Mimi to investigate her diverse interests.
Mimi has found that her coursework has already changed both her own practice and the services offered by her workplace program. For instance, her assignment for RHSC 509: Facilitating Learning in Rehabilitation Contexts explored a gap in her OT department’s education sessions for caregivers. The work that she completed for this course became the basis for the development of a dressing skills workshop that is now included in the department’s regularly scheduled education sessions. An assignment from another course “increased my understanding of client demographics and needs in the region I serve, whereby I initiated community-based group services from our regional team. Now our regional team regularly offers community-based group services with positive client feedback.”
Mimi has found that her coursework-based MRSc program has made her a better clinician with improved reflexivity. Thanks to her hard work during her studies, Mimi has developed improved skills for critiquing evidence and evaluating assessments, which better informs her practice decisions. Mimi writes, “I feel more confident and better prepared for new opportunities. I have furthered my program planning, implementation, and evaluation skills. And, I have improved understanding of various stakeholder perspectives and have an enhanced big-picture view of services at the clinical, program, agency, professional organization and funder level.”