OT, PT and Speech team up to Run for the Cure

Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine students raised more than $5000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Sunday at the CIBC Run for the Cure. Seventy occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech language pathology students met up in the morning for the 5K race.

"It was really cold, but there was a huge turnout and a lot of people were having lots of fun," says Nicole Balerud, second-year OT student. "My friend from Speech, Rhonda (Ketch) broke her foot recently so I had to push her on a wheelchair the whole way!"

She and second-year PT student Brittany Gabrush are the Rehabilitation Medicine Student Association's charitable events coordinators who got the students together to participate in the event.

"Some of us walked, some ran, but we stuck together as the rehab med group," Gabrush says. "It's nice to do something together, get all the departments and go as one faculty."
The students met up at 8:30 a.m. at the Health Science LRT station to head to the race. "We were carrying a big poster, and we all gathered at the event to do stretches and warm up together before the run," Balerud adds.
"It's a good opportunity to help out in the community and we want to get more students involved in events like this one and the blood drive challenge coming up," Gabrush says. "We'll also be doing a couple more charitable events next semester."

Photos by Ryan Bols

About the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine
As the only free standing faculty of rehabilitation in Canada, the University of Alberta Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine balances its activities among learning, discovery and citizenship (including clinical practice). A research leader in musculoskeletal health, spinal cord injuries and common spinal disorders (back pain), the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine aims to improve the quality of life of citizens in our community. The three departments, Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT) and Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPA) offer professional entry programs. The Faculty offers thesis-based MSc and PhD programs in Rehabilitation Science, attracting students from a variety of disciplines including OT, PT, SLP, psychology, physical education, medicine and engineering.