UQ Occupational Therapy researcher receives Australia Day honours

Congratulations to Professor Sylvia Rodger of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences who was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2015 Australia Day Honours.
Professor Rodger received the honour for her significant service to medical education in the field of occupational therapy, and to community health as a clinician working with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children.

Professor Rodger is an occupational therapist with more than 30 years’ experience in occupational therapy with children and their families as a clinician, academic and researcher. She has worked with children with developmental, motor, learning difficulties and those on the autistic spectrum. Professor Rodger teaches occupational therapy with children and families and supervises SHRS postgraduate students in research higher degree projects such as practice placements, the occupations of parents with children with disabilities, burns distraction interventions, ASD school trajectories, decision making, cultural impacts, educational issues of children with ASD, diet and sensory issues of children with AS.
The UQ Occupational Therapy professor’s research interests are primarily in the areas of ASD, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), top down interventions, Cognitive Orientation for daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP), early intervention, family centred practice and parent education.
She has attracted over $3 million in competitive research grant funding and has over 160 national and international refereed journal publications, four edited books, 22 book chapters, and has given over 200 conference presentations, including numerous invited presentations.
She has received many national awards within occupational therapy and last year was awarded the prestigious Freda Jacob Award through Occupational Therapy Australia. In 2013 she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Occupational Therapy Academy of Research, honored by Occupational Therapy Australia with the Sylvia Docker Award for her contribution to occupational therapy education and research in Australia in 2011 and received the Mary Rankine Wilson Award for Professional Excellence, Queensland Division Occupational Therapy Australia, in 2009.
Professor Rodger co-chaired the bid to establish the $104 million Autism CRC and is now the Director of Research and Education for Autism. She is also on the editorial boards of Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention Preschool and Schools, and reviews for multiple occupational therapy, paediatric, autism and rehabilitation journals.
To keep abreast of changes and advancements in her field, Professor Rodger is affiliated with World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT), International Society of Autism Research (INSAR), for Australasian Society for Autism Research (ASfAR), Occupational Therapy Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Head of the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Professor Louise Hickson congratulated Professor Rodger on such a prestigious honour.
“Sylvia is an inspiration to students and staff in the school, particularly those in occupational therapy,” Professor Hickson said.
“Her commitment to improving the educational experience for students is outstanding and, in her work with ASD children, she is a role model for all health professionals.”

UQ Occupational Therapy School

Master of Occupational Therapy Studies program equips graduate-entry students with the theoretical knowledge, clinical skills and professional attributes necessary for a career in occupational therapy.  In addition to a focus on clinical occupational therapy practice, emphasis is placed on the use of prior skills and knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of occupational therapy practice; and the development of advanced adult learning skills for ongoing professional development. In second year, management, research, and advanced clinical practice is covered.
Program: Master of Occupational Therapy Studies
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Next semester intake: July 2015
Duration: 2 years
Application deadline: February 27, 2015

Admissions Criteria/Entry Requirements for Canadians

There are 10 places available in the program each year for international students, including students from Canada. Offers will be made to applicants with the highest academic rank.
To be eligible to apply, you must have

• completed an undergraduate degree (preferably in the fields of human kinetics/kinesiology or physical or biological sciences);
• have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 4.0 on a 7-point scale in your university studies; and
• completed the Master of Occupational Therapy Studies prerequisite subjects as follows:
  – one semester of statistics;
  – one semester of human anatomy;
  – one semester of human physiology.
  – one year (or two semesters) in social sciences, e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology

Please note that the above criteria are minimum requirements. Once prerequisites are met, entry is via a competitive selection process based on grade point average (GPA).
It is recommended that you apply for this program if you have achieved a minimum 65% cumulative average in your university studies. Students who have not yet completed an undergraduate degree may apply, as long as they will have graduated prior to commencing the program.

Apply to the UQ Occupational Therapy School!

*

Do you have any questions about studying occupational therapy at the UQ Occupational Therapy School? Contact OzTREKK’s Australian Occupational Therapy Schools Officer Jaime Notman at jaime@oztrekk.com, or call toll free in Canada at 1-866-698-7355.