Worldwide, due in part to the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the history of our profession is becoming a hot topic. We can draw inspiration from the beginnings of our profession, and model after early successes in answering the call for hard-working independent-minded health professionals.
The beginnings of physiotherapy in Canada came on the heels a worldwide crisis like no other up to that time: the First World War. One hundred years ago, the pioneers of this new profession dedicated themselves to a systematic method of improving the physical function of injured soldiers returning from WWI.
When the profession of physiotherapy began in Canada, the pioneers who built the profession, at the time mainly women, could never have imagined the extent to which physiotherapy has become a respected profession of health and wellness, holding an enviable place in the hearts and minds of so many Canadians. Then, as now, in the face of terrible human loss and suffering, the people in the physiotherapy profession brought comfort and healing to a vast array of Canadians in need.
If you are reading this article, then maybe you, like me, have an interest in the history of physiotherapy. A good place to begin would be with the seminal Canadian book on the topic, by a prominent physiotherapy historian, Joan Cleather. Published 25 years ago, Head, Heart and Hands; The Story of Physiotherapy in Canada (1920-1995) tells the story of our profession’s first 75 years in Canada, and it is fitting that we explore it now, in 2020, the Canadian Physiotherapy Association’s centenary year.
The book traces the beginnings of physiotherapy in Canada, after WWI, through to more modern times. The tone of this book is predicated on the concept of physiotherapy being the focused use of our cognitive capabilities (that is, our heads), while being guided by our compassion and care (that is, our hearts), through the use of our hands in the application of physical rehabilitation, thus “Head, Hearts and Hands.”
Constructed thematically around five general domains in PT (Scope of Practice, Service Delivery, Education, Research, and the National Association – CPA), this book can be digested in sections related to one’s area of interest, or from cover to cover. Setting the stage in this book is the first section, on our scope of practice, including a dissertation on the struggle for recognition of the physiotherapy model as a valid approach to rehabilitation.
Important contributions to the debate (then as now) came from physiotherapists from England, Europe, Australia and New Zealand: all jurisdictions that had initiated physiotherapy courses prior to Canada’s launch into the profession.
Service delivery has been topical since the beginning of physiotherapy in Canada; challenges of staffing shortages, regulation and policy are identified in the early phases of the growth of the profession. Challenges have translated into opportunities for delivery of PT services in recent weeks and months due to the pandemic that has gripped the world since the beginning of the year.
As many readers must know, the education of a physiotherapist has morphed from requiring a Diploma, through the Bachelor of Science and now in Canada requires the completion of an Applied Masters degree. Further education through CPA’s special interest groups serves to provide content-specific training and education, as in many other jurisdictions. Experts from these different special interest groups have been crucial to the advancement of PT education and practice in the uncertain times of the pandemic. Research in physiotherapy (conditions, treatments, education, and policy) is critical for the profession to grow further. Research specific to the effective treatment options and recovery from COVID will certainly advance the profession for years to come.
As the International Physiotherapy History Association (www.history.physio), recently suggests, Pivotal movements in the profession have thus far included WWI (noted above) as well as the polio epidemic in Canada in later decades; the current situation with COVID-19 is being recognized as another pivotal moment. These pivotal events have helped advance the profession by focusing efforts on streamlining access of patients to physiotherapy as well as simultaneously creating a groundswell of professional development. Fast forward to today’s context and the links are clear: the COVID-19 pandemic seems certainly to be creating opportunities for streamlining patient access (think: tele-health) as well as improving our remote delivery and health promotion skills.
The IPHA is currently building a History 101 course that will be fundamental to physiotherapists for our understanding of the historical background, contextual features and future possibilities of our profession. The profession is overdue for a more philosophical examination and a reflection its development within the social context (see the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action – Health http://trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf ).
Knowing that research has illuminated and is still discovering the science behind physiotherapy, supporting the urgent and vital response of physiotherapy professionals in times of crisis, I propose that the history of physiotherapy should be a topic in the Canadian curricula in physiotherapy programs.
Meantime, be well, stay healthy, and wash your hands.
