Tarina has been part of the Physiopedia team for almost 5 years. She is a dedicated volunteer who works in the Physioplus area. She creates, revises and starts courses that benefit countless physiotherapists from all over the world. Her drive, determination and attention to detail are second to none. She is a valued member of the Physiopedia and Physioplus team and deserves the honor of being a top employee for June 2020.
Your name : Tarina van der Stockt.
Time active with Physiopedia: Since November 2015. I did my first MOOC with Physiopedia in June 2015 when I completed the rehabilitation course for lower limb amputees. I was thrilled from the start and couldn't wait to get involved in this amazing organization. I volunteered to help with the course assignment and really enjoyed reading case studies from around the world.
I then dealt with the Elsevier book reviews and accredited the courses in South Africa. In January 2016, I completed the volunteer orientation course and participated in the editing and creation of Physiopedia pages. In 2017 I became part of the course development team for Physioplus. My first role was to accredit courses in different countries and states in the United States. I also later started creating and uploading courses and it eventually became the Education Director for Physioplus. 
Current role at Physiopedia: Director of Education for Physioplus.
Where did you go to university? I have a degree in physiotherapy from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and am currently doing a transitional doctorate in physiotherapy at the University of St. Augustine in the USA.
Where do you work? I work part-time for Physioplus. We have temporarily moved to South Africa where I will focus on Physioplus and my studies while enjoying time with my family. While in Austin, Texas, I work as a physiotherapist at Carter Physiotherapy, a manual therapy clinic in cash.
Describe your role: As Director of Education for Physioplus, I am responsible for all aspects related to creating, uploading and accrediting courses. I am part of an amazing Physioplus course team! I help train and lead the team so that we can deliver a high standard for all of our courses. The team consists of video editors, transcriptors and learning architects who are involved in the various aspects of creating course content, physiopedia pages, quizzes and uploading the courses to the Physioplus platform.
Physioplus courses always contain Physiopedia pages created or updated specifically for course readings, and contain the latest research and information for each specific topic. These Physiopedia pages are then freely available to everyone! The charity Physiopedia relies heavily on the donations from Physioplus to keep them free and accessible to everyone at all times.
What is the most rewarding part of a physiotherapist? I love my role at Physioplus because I am directly involved in the professional development of physiotherapists around the world. The most rewarding part of clinical work is to improve people's lives through education, treatment, or exercise. How wonderful it is when you can be part of the “Eureka” moment with a patient and it changes their perception of pain or enables them to be physically active.
What are some of the more challenging aspects of a physiotherapist? I wish that every patient could receive the care and therapy they need, and is not limited by insurance or their ability to afford the number of sessions.
What are some of your professional passions? I can imagine so many, but three things stand out. I have a great passion for the rehabilitation of amputees, because when I am with a patient, therapy is a matter of course for me. You have to use different techniques and play around with the patient with clues to find out what works and what motivates them. Another passion is manual therapy, especially when treating patients with back and neck pain. The third passion that needs to be highlighted is training from online courses, personal training and individual care for patient education.
What are some of your personal passions? I love helping people grow and thrive in their passions, professionally and personally. I also love to travel and explore different parts of the world, especially when I can do it with my husband. In 2019 I started to record my physiotherapy and my daily life with Lego figures and to publish them on Instagram. This has helped me to look at the world through a different lens of creativity.
What would you advise a newly graduated physiotherapist to do? Get involved outside of your frame of reference. Provoke change and explore fields other than the one that arouses your interest. Sometimes you can find new passions by researching or learning how to incorporate treatment techniques or ideas from other areas into your current patient population. Ask questions from mentors, watch other physiotherapists, and even get treatment from your colleagues to learn from them. Volunteer for Physiopedia!
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This question is difficult to answer because my life is always changing! I like variety, so I try to deal with various things that pique my interest.
What is the best thing about being a Physiopedia volunteer? Be part of a community of physiotherapists who freely share their knowledge, experience and time with other physiotherapists around the world.
How did it help you to advance your professional development / career as a volunteer at Physiopedia? Volunteering for Physiopedia catapulted me into a completely new direction in physiotherapy. Creating physiopedia pages made it easier for me to write and paraphrase my own work, which in turn helps me learn. I learned the basics of HTML coding, which helped me in other aspects of life where I needed it. Before Physiopedia, I was extremely frustrated working on a computer. Now that I'm working on something useful and meaningful, my perspective has changed fundamentally, and now I'm dealing with technology. Volunteering also led to part-time employment at Physioplus, for which I am extremely grateful.
What are your hopes and aspirations for Physiopedia? To be an everyday resource for all physiotherapists around the world.
What is your favorite course on Physioplus? Oh! I don't know if I could give only one or even some. I have the advantage of reviewing each course before it's released, and I'm learning so much from everyone. The amputee course for the lower limbs is very important to me, as this was my first course at Physioplus in 2015. I was asked to revise the old course and the newly updated course was released in early 2020. I am also very excited about the new telehealth courses as it was the first time that I was responsible for the whole process from start to finish.
Would you like to tell me something else? I cannot imagine a world without Physiopedia, and I would like to thank everyone for shaping it into what it has become. Thank you Rachael and Tony for never settling down and for your vision for Physiopedia – able to unite PTs from around the world!
