The Rehabilitation Science Research Network for COVID was a sponsor of the Long COVID Physio Forum. This online, two-day forum was hosted by Long COVID Physio in partnership with Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and FisioCamera. The forum focused on highlighting the lived experience of people living with Long COVID, including the disability experience, and the role of rehabilitation professionals in assessing and treating Long COVID. The Rehabilitation Science Research Network for COVID sponsored 15 students from the University of Toronto (U of T) Rehab Sector to attend the Long COVID Physio Forum on September 9th and 10th, 2022.
Students who attended the Forum shared some of their reflections including how it will affect their studies and future clinical practice. When asked why they were drawn to attend the forum, one student articulated an awareness of the prevalence of Long COVID and an understanding that they would likely be seeing many patients with Long COVID in their future clinical practice.
“…Because I am going to be a physio in about a year from now I wanted to know more about what [Long COVID] is, what the lived experiences are, I wanted to know specifically from a physiotherapist’s perspective what they have seen in practice because it is going to influence me and my future role and also what I am going to be seeing.” – U of T PT Student
Another student said the conference will have an impact on their future clinical practice where they will ask screening questions to potentially identify when patients are living with Long COVID. They said that the LCP Forum taught them that disability from Long COVID might be invisible at times and that
“patients might not even recognize that they have symptoms of Long COVID and there might even be some stigma associated with their symptoms so I think it is really important to integrate asking those screening questions into my practice.” – U of T PT Student
Both PT students also said they were able to take away practical information about what was and was not safe in terms of treatment techniques for people living with Long COVID (e.g. to be cautious regarding exercise therapy for people with post-exertional symptom exacerbation).
In addition to supporting development in terms of clinical practice and research, the Forum also provided exposure to the lived experiences of many people living with Long COVID who presented at the Forum. One student said they
“didn’t realize before just how neglected patients and people [with Long COVID] felt in the healthcare system right now because of the lack of knowledge on Long COVID that healthcare practitioners have.” – U of T PT Student
Students expressed an appreciation for the opportunity to hear from the voices of patients directly. Hearing the experiences of people living with Long COVID provided valuable context to what they learned about the pathophysiology and basics of assessment and treatment in their clinical programs at U of T. The students also shared that the Forum was one of the first opportunities they had to connect with a broader (global) community of rehabilitation providers.
Based on the interviews with the students who attended the Long COVID Physio Forum, the scholarships were effective in fostering training in COVID-19 rehabilitation research. Supporting attendance at the LCP Forum was also effective in enhancing knowledge about clinical practice for trainees who will soon become clinicians. Based on the comments from the students about networking opportunities, the scholarships were also effective in fostering potential collaborations and connections among rehab professionals engaged in COVID rehabilitation research and/or clinical practice.
