PT Clinical Education Award

The Clinical Education Awards in Physical Therapy were established to recognize excellence in teaching by clinical preceptors who are affiliated with the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen's University.

The Awards are granted on the basis of demonstrated excellence in clinical teaching, to therapists who have served as clinical preceptors in any type of clinical setting.

Clinical preceptors can be nominated for this award by students, clinical/fieldwork coordinators in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy, or by colleagues or supervisors at their clinical facility.

For more information on the Awards or the nomination process, please contact: Melanie Law (lawm@queensu.ca)

Physical Therapy Award Winner - Kristina DiFabio

Kristina graduated from Lakehead Univerity's Orillia Campus, with an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Interdisciplinary Studies, following which she graduated from Western University's Master of Physical Therapy Program. Since graduating in 2014, she has completed continuing education in concussion management, vestibular rehabilitation, clinical pilates, and pelvic health. Kristina further developed her clinical skills in concussion management and sport physiotherapy through completion of the Sports Physiotherapy Fellowship and Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic at Western University. She enjoys providing mentorship, guiding students in developing their clinical reasoning and knowledge of evidence based practice. Kristina looks forward to continuing to offer Physiotherapy clinical placements to Queen's University MScPT students, as she endeavors to provide each student the best clinical experience.

2024 Award Winner - Dakshan Krishnapalan

" Dakshan graduated with a Bachelor’s in Medical Science from Western University in 2016 before earning a Master’s in Physical Therapy from Queen’s University in 2019. Since then, he has been employed at CBI Health, Kingston, where he has practiced for five years, focusing on a diverse patient caseload.

As a committed educator, Dakshan has taken on over 20 students throughout his career, finding that mentoring has been invaluable to his own learning and development as both a physiotherapist and a clinical instructor. He is extremely grateful to all the students he has supervised, who have played a significant role in shaping his practice.

Honored to receive the 2023-2024 Queen’s University Clinical Education Award, Dakshan looks forward to pursuing more opportunities in the field of education in the future. He also wishes to extend his heartfelt thanks to his colleagues at CBI and everyone involved in the program for fostering a supportive learning environment. "

2023 Award Winner - Nicole Mills

Nicole Mills (Day) holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics Degree from the University of Ottawa and a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from Queen's University. After graduating from Queen’s University in 2013, she worked at a private practice in Belleville for 8 years and has continued her education in various manual therapy techniques including: dry needling, concussion and vestibular disorders. Nicole has been the physiotherapist for the American Hockey League team, the Belleville Senators, since their inaugural season in 2017 and continues to work with them presently. Being a hockey player herself and involved in many sports through both her child and adult life, she has a special interest in treating athletes, however, enjoys treating people of all ages with both musculoskeletal and neurological conditions. Nicole has three children, aged 4, 6 and 8, and in 2021, she decided to move her career to the community in which she resides. Since April 2023, Nicole has been co-owner of Napanee Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. Nicole is very grateful for the amazing clinical experiences she had while she was a PT student at Queen’s and has strived to provide similar experiences to students completing their physiotherapy education through Queen's University. Nicole looks forward to future PT student experiences and is honoured to be the recipient of the 2022-2023 Queen's PT Clinical Education Award.

Previous Clinical Education Award Winners

^{2021 - Christopher Pawliuk}
^{2020 - Latif Khoja}
^{2019 - Timothy Burgess}
^{2018 - Ashish Bharti}
^{2017 - Karen Parks}
^{2016 - Stephanie Brian}
^{2015 - Hussein Karim}

Previous Clinical Education Award Winners

2021 - Christopher Pawliuk2020 - Latif Khoja2019 - Timothy Burgess2018 - Ashish Bharti2017 - Karen Parks2016 - Stephanie Brian2015 - Hussein Karim

^{2021 - Christopher Pawliuk}
^{2020 - Latif Khoja}
^{2019 - Timothy Burgess}
^{2018 - Ashish Bharti}
^{2017 - Karen Parks}
^{2016 - Stephanie Brian}
^{2015 - Hussein Karim}