Excellent, effective and comfortable — these are just some of the words used by multiple sclerosis (MS) clients to describe their experience at a student-led occupational therapy (OT) clinic designed especially for them.

The innovative pilot project launched in 2014, funded by VCH and a UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund grant. Based at UBC Hospital’s Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, the clinic provides clients with the tools to self-manage their MS symptoms through OT assessment and intervention, while also providing valuable hands-on experience for OT students.

Supervised by Denise Kendrick, an OT with the VCH MS Clinic, the UBC students and MS clients work together to develop symptom-specific management strategies to navigate the physical, cognitive and emotional aspects of MS.

“The students keep me on my toes,” says Denise. “They’re in school learning new tools and the latest theories — I learn so much from them too!”

Managing MS fatigue, creating connections

One of the goals of the student-led clinic is to deliver evidence-based programs to address the impact of common MS symptoms on daily function, says Denise. One such program, the Energy Management Program (EMP), addresses the challenge of fatigue, a common symptom experienced by people with MS.

The five-week program was developed by MS researcher Dr. Susan Forwell to help those with MS simplify, organize and prioritize their daily routines to be more energy-efficient. Shelley Meuleman, Sandy Aujla, Mandeep Manku and Danelle Fuller made up the first cohort of OT students facilitating the program – a challenge they took on in addition to their daily clinical work in the MS Clinic.

According to Shelley, the community connections MS clients make during the two-hour weekly sessions are an important part of the program. “It wasn’t just about educating participants about fatigue,” she explains, “it was about facilitating a supportive group dynamic. It was powerful to see the connection and understanding between group members about their daily experience of living with MS.”

Past program participant, Wendy, reiterates this. She praises the students and OT clinic for introducing her to a network of support and credits her increased energy levels to the program.

“I get to do more of the important things I like to do,” she says. “Thanks to the clinic, I’ve learned how to rest more and I better understand symptoms related to my mental fatigue.” Adding, “it’s not just a clinic, it’s a community kind of place.”

MS client feedback overwhelmingly positive

Since 2015, OT students have run three Energy Management Program sessions, measuring each participant’s ability to perform energy conservation strategies before and after. Feedback from program participants has been overwhelmingly positive, says Denise.

To date, each program participant  has reported increased self-efficacy in managing their fatigue symptoms.  “I would recommend this program to any MS-fatigued patient,” writes one Energy Management Program participant.

Future programs addressing the functional impact of MS are anticipated to be developed and introduced by students in the years to come.