Section of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

THE  SECTION OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION during 2022 continued to be busy. Clinical services at Foothills Medical Centre transitioned to Connect Care in November of 2022. This meant the outpatient PMR clinics, which take place in the SSB, transitioned from paper charts to the fully electronic system. This was a massive undertaking by clinic staff and physicians to transition and required substantial effort and planning by clinic staff and support of management and physicians. 

Notably, in 2022, Dr. Vincent Gabriel, took over as Medical Director for the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre. 

Education

The PMR program has 10 residents who were actively rotating through service areas during 2022. In addition to the core residents, 18 off-service residents participated in PMR inpatient services and clinics as well as two out-of-province residents. Our two graduating residents both successfully completed the Royal College Examination in PMR in June 2022.

Research

As a section, the group published 35 peer-reviewed journal articles. Members obtained over $2.5 million in new research in 2022. 

Dr. Gabriel worked with a collaborative team from UCalgary on a manuscript published in the prestigious journal, Cell.  

Dr. Dukelow’s team initiated the CAMAROS trial, a 12-centre study examining the impact of the drug, Maraviroc, on motor recovery after stroke.

Workforce Planning

Summary of Recruitment

• Cancer Physiatrist – Dr. David Langelier
• Stroke Physiatrist - Dr. Sarah Frehlich
• Brain Injury Physiatrist – Dr. Ricky Kwok

Future Needs

• Amputee/MSK Physiatrist
• Cancer Rehab Physiatrist
• Stroke Physiatrist
• Musculoskeletal Physiatrist