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WESTERN CONFERS JOINT
MSc OT/PhD PROGRAM DEGREES ON
THE FIRST TWO GRADUATES
W
estern University, School of Occupational Therapy and
Graduate Program in Health and Rehabilitation Sci-
ences are pleased to announce the completion of the
first two graduates of the joint MScOT/PhD program. Students in
the program completed both the professional occupational ther-
apy and doctoral degrees in five years.
Drs. Laura Hartman, supervised by Dr. Angie Mandich, and
Michael McDonald, supervised by Dr. Jan Polgar, completed their
degrees in the spring of 2014. Dr. Hartman’s research explored
the experiences of young adults of divorced parents. Dr. McDon-
ald investigated the relationship between motivation, identity and
secondary school volunteer requirements. Dr. Hartman is cur-
rently completing a post-doctoral fellowship at Holland Bloorview
Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, while Dr. McDonald is in private oc-
cupational therapy practice in Halifax.
Dr. Jan Polgar and Michael McDonald
graduating with his MScOT/PhD
ACOTUP RESEARCHER PROFILE
Name of Researcher:
Marie-José
Durand, Université de Sherbrooke
Degrees and Professional Qualifi-
cations (including fellowships):
Postdoctoral internship the Interdis-
ciplinary Health Research Group;
(GRIS), Université deMontréal; PhD
Clinical Sciences, Université de
Sherbrooke; MSc Biomedical Sci-
ences, Université de Montréal; BSc
Occupational Therapy, Université Laval
Email:
Marie-Jose.Durand@USherbrooke.caWebs i te :
h t t p : / /www. ushe rbrooke . ca / s c i ences -
cliniques/recherche/les-principaux-themes-de-recherche/pro-
fils/durand-marie-jose/
Area of Research:
My research program deals with preven-
tion of disability at work. More precisely, I develop and vali-
date measuring tools to take into account in a situation of
disability at work, for instance: representation of the illness,
questionnaire of to prolonged incapacity risk factors or ob-
stacles to return to work and to overcome them. Also I come
up with readaptation programs based on a mixed approach,
both building on a synthesis of scientific literature and on the
needs of users. This way, I develop a program theory and its
validation, and I also analyze the implementation of work re-
habilitation programs. My research programming has been
developed for an adult clientele with musculoskeletal disor-
der, mental illnesses, and cancers. Through my work, I write
up the important contribution that anOccupational Therapist
can offer in re-entry and re-training into the workforce for a
person excluded from their role as a worker. An Occupa-
tional Therapist represents the key interloper to intervene
with employers.