Meet the Standards Committee

 

Dr Ronél Jordaan -  Chair of the Standards Committee
Ronél studied at the Physiotherapy Department at the University of Pretoria where she obtained a PhD in 2005.  She also lectured at the same University for almost 15 years at undergraduate as well as postgraduate levels, lecturing mainly in OMPT and movement sciences.  She was involved in the development of OMPT curricula for undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Pretoria, the OMPT Course for the OMPTG, as well as the national standardisation of OMPT curricula on a Masters level.  She supervised numerous undergraduate and MSc research studies and dissertations.  She was external examiner at several universities for undergraduate and postgraduate examinations and also for MSc research dissertations.

She served on numerous committees, such as the National Executive Committee of the OMPTG, the Research Foundation of the South African Society of Physiotherapy (SASP), National Education Committee of the SASP, Professional Development Committee of the OMPTG, as well as the Standards Generating Body of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) for Health Sciences and Social Services.
 
Ronél is currently working in private practice, lectures part-time for the OMPT course, is often invited as external examiner for MSc examinations and dissertations at several universities, and has been a member of the IFOMPT Standards Committee since 2012.

Lenerdene Levesque - Standards Committee Member
Lenerdene has been a clinician and educator in musculoskeletal physiotherapy for over 30 years. She is a clinical researcher with special interests in clinical reasoning, evidence-informed practice and leadership in OMPT. She is an instructor and a Chief Examiner for the Advanced Integrated Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy programme for the Orthopaedic Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. She has been extensively involved in the curriculum development and examinations of the Canadian community-based programme. She was instrumental in the development of an online course facilitating the integration and critical appraisal of evidence into clinical practice. In 2008, she graduated with a Masters of Clinical Science in Manipulative Therapy from Western University and is now an adjunct professor in the Advanced Health Care Practice programme in Comprehensive Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at Western University. She teaches advanced professional practice, clinical reasoning, musculoskeletal practical skills and has supervised a number of research projects. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and facilitates online clinical reasoning modules.

She joined the IFOMPT Standards Committee in 2012 and has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the maintenance of educational excellence internationally. Lenerdene is a strong advocate of knowledge translation into clinical practice and has presented both nationally and internationally on her areas of clinical expertise and research initiatives. Mentorship is a passion of Lenerdene’s and over her career she has mentored numerous students from the educational programmes in Canada and has contributed to the development of resources for mentored clinical practice.

 

LL1-962-235lelevesque@sympatico.ca

     
 
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Dr Eric Robertson - Standards Committee Member
Eric Robertson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Quinnipiac University and a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) from Boston University. He currently serves as Associate Professor in the Physical Therapy and Athletic Training Department at the University of Utah and Associate Professor in the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. Previously, he was the Director of Graduate Education at Kaiser Permanente Northern California where he served as Fellowship Director and founded the Orthopaedic Residency Program. His expertise lies in musculoskeletal physical therapy, residency and fellowship education, telehealth, and instructional technology.

He also serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Physical Therapy Education and as a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) on issues of low back pain and musculoskeletal care. He is active within the APTA including the APTA House of Delegates, and was previously on the executive board for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT). He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Partricia Davies-Knorr - Standards Committee Member
Trisha completed her Physiotherapy education at the then Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital School of Physiotherapy in Oswestry, UK. For most of her professional life she has, however, been working in Germany. She has been an active member of the “Deutsch Verband für Manuelle Therapie” (DVMT) since 1992 and was one of their first OMPT graduates. In 2010 Trisha completed an MSc in Medical Education at Cardiff University. Since its inauguration she has been a member of OMT-Deutschland’s National Monitoring group where she has gained a wealth of experience in setting up and continually developing OMT-Deutschland’s national monitoring programme and quality assurance measures. She has also been instrumental in further developing the DVMT’s community OMPT programme and in promoting cooperation with institutes of higher education. She is currently a member of the DVMT’s educational committee and is a clinical mentor and teacher in this programme. Trisha has also been involved in the development of the curriculum of the International Maitland Teachers Association (IMTA).

Her work as co-editor of the German journal “Manuelletherapie” has promoted and supported the development of physiotherapy in Germany from a vocational profession towards an emerging academic profession. She has held a variety of posts at the University of Munich Hospital where she has worked since 1998. Primarily a clinician and teacher she has also spent some time working in research. Trisha has taught on postgraduate courses in manipulative physiotherapy in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Poland. Trisha has been a member of the IFOMPT Standards Committee since 2020.
 

Tricia
 
Euson
Dr Euson Yeung - Standards Committee Member
Euson has demonstrated a passion and interest in pre-licensure physiotherapy education and OMPT education over the last 15 years. His commitment to developing highly skilled orthopaedicmanual physical therapists in Canada is evidenced by both his service and his education research endeavours. He served as an active member of the National Orthopaedic Division Education Committee for 7 years, providing oversight for all course instructors within the community-based OMPT program in Canada. Throughout his tenure on this committee he worked tirelessly to develop teaching expertise among over 100 instructors who are distributed across the country, and was also responsible for standardising and monitoring the quality of course instruction. His leadership in creating training workshops for physiotherapy instructors with varying levels of teaching expertise formed the foundation for the current instructor development workshops that are held each year. This experience has provided him with valuable insight into the successes, and challenges of maintaining program quality and of developing OMPT competencies in a community-based program.

In his role as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Euson is currently leading a substantial curriculum redesign process for the pre-licensure physiotherapy program. His strong leadership skills and recent experience with translating national curriculum standards into an innovative, learner-centred physiotherapy curriculum will again provide important insight when consulting with IFOMPT Member Organisations in their efforts to design a competence-based curriculum.
 
Dr Sharon Tsang - Standards Committee Member
Sharon completed her Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Master in Manipulative Therapy from Curtin University. She also obtained the Fellowship of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in 2013 and completed her PhD in spine biomechanics in 2014. She currently serves as Associate Professor and Programme Coordinator of Master in Manipulative Physiotherapy in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her clinical and research interests lie in the musculoskeletal physiotherapy and manual therapy, and biomechanics of the spine. She is extensively involved in the curriculum development and review process for quality assurance of both the BSc in Physiotherapy and MSc in Manipulative Physiotherapy.

Sharon is determined and committed to promote the quality of education programmes and practice of manual therapy for undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapy students as well as practising physiotherapists. She serves as the Associate Editor for the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Journal, Vice-Chairman of The Hong Kong College of Physiotherapy and Vice-Chairman of The Manipulative Therapy Specialty Group of The Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association.
 

Steve Milanese2-279-609-396
Steve.Milanese@utas.edu.au 
 
Dr Steve Milanese - Standards Committee Member
Steve is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy at University of South Australia. He has postgraduate qualifications in ergonomics, sports physiotherapy and manipulative physiotherapy and a PhD. He is currently Program Director of the Masters of Advanced Clinical Physiotherapy (musculoskeletal and sports streams) and Director of the international Centre for Allied Health Evidence. He was chair of the National Professional Standards committee of the Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy group of the Australian Physiotherapy Association.

He currently holds adjunct positions at universities in India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Korea. Steve teaches in the areas of practice-based evidence, use of electrophysical agents and musculoskeletal physiotherapy (with a focus on manual therapy). His research interests lie in evidence translation and implementation within a patient centred framework, and he is a strong advocate for the role of Allied Health in health care. He has supervised a broad range of MSc and PhD student projects across a range of allied health disciplines and has published over 100 peer reviewed papers.