Co-op student takes learning outside of the classroom, presenting SickKids research at a national conference
As spine surgeons and health-care professionals gathered in the white-capped mountains of Whistler, British Columbia, for the Canadian Spine Society’s annual conference earlier this month, many of them heard from University of Waterloo student, Sarah Hardy.
Hardy, a fourth-year biology student, was invited to present research completed as a co-op student at SickKids Hospital in the Orthopaedic Surgery division. During her work term, Hardy’s duties on the spinal pathology registry allowed her to collect essential data for future studies. Her experience shadowing orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. David Lebel also inspired her to propose a side research project that focuses on factors influencing patient satisfaction after scoliosis surgery.
By analyzing patient surveys before and after surgery, Hardy could assess their function, pain, mental health, self-image and satisfaction at both stages to better understand the surgery’s impact on improving a patient's self-image. Her findings show a correction of 47 degrees is associated with a significant improvement in self-image scores.
To learn more, please visit the original article Emerging research on scoliosis surgery links to self-image by Sarah Fullerton on Waterloo News.