Constant juggle spells opportunity for physio

Brighton Health Campus senior rehabilitation physiotherapist Dr Ann Rahmann makes a habit of wearing multiple hats at once, juggling numerous research collaborations while runningbetween the rehab gym and her lecturing position at the Australian Catholic University at Banyo.

But a common thread links all projects Ann sets her mind to – they are all undertaken for the good of her patients.

“I’ve always had a passion for research that is going to make a difference to my patients – research in a clinical setting not a laboratory,” she says.

“I love looking at research that will help me manage my patients better and get answers to critical questions that are important from a patient perspective.”

Ann has recently been identified as one of 25 early career researchers in the Faculty of Health Sciences across ACU nationally who will undertake a mentored research development program in 2017.

Since its inception, Ann has been a regular at the Brighton Health Campus rehabilitation unit, which is where she now guides projects for her two current ACU Honours students. Ann is also supervising a Masters research project being undertaken at Logan Hospital and is an associate supervisor for three PhD students.

One Honours student is assessing the effectiveness of a dynamic upper limb splint in people who have had a stroke to see whether using one helps people to complete more exercise and improve the ability to use their upper limb. The second student is examining whether extra walking training in the rehab gym or in a hydrotherapy pool helps people with a stroke to walk faster before they return home.

Ann has also gained a research fellowship from Queensland Health’s Health Innovation, Investment and Research Office (HIIRO) to investigate whether identifying and managing any issues with a patient’s inner ear balance system, the vestibular system, while they’re in hospital results in fewer falls in their
first months at home after discharge.

“Working both clinically at Brighton and at ACU has given me the opportunity to explore a range of projects, as well as access to Masters and Honours students who are looking for clinical research projects and want to find answers to clinical questions like I do,” she says.

Ann labels this year “an exciting time” for research within Community, Indigenous and Subacute Services (CISS) as she relishes her role in helping bring about
solutions where they’re needed.

“Having all community services linked with subacute services within CISS presents an ideal opportunity to look further than simply what happens in bedded
services, and then to carry what we find over into community services where far less research exists,” she says.

“Linking so many services under the CISS banner ultimately gives us a unique opportunity to seek and find answers across all our services.”