World Physiotherapy education webinar
Register here to take part in the webinar
This free webinar is open to members of World Physiotherapy member organisations
This webinar offers one CPD unit/hour
Webinar title
Physiotherapist life-long learning: quality dialogues
Date and time
16 April 2025, 18:00-19:00 UTC Check your local time
Speakers
- Co-host: Joost Van Wijchen, member of Norsk Fysioterapeutforbund/Norwegian Physiotherapist Association
- Co-host: Djenana Jalovcic, World Physiotherapy education professional adviser
- Jennifer Audette, member of American Physical Therapy Association
- Natalie Benjamin-Damons, member of South African Society of Physiotherapy
- Oscar Ronzio, member of Asociación Argentina de Kinesiologia/Argentine Kinesiology Association
Joost Van Wijchen is a principal lecturer in physiotherapy and an educational designer with over 25 years of experience in higher education and more than 30 years in clinical practice. His work focuses on learning design, programmatic assessment, and professional development in physiotherapy education. Passionate about lifelong learning, Joost integrates critical pedagogy, the capability approach, and planetary health perspectives into curriculum development and CPD. He has led initiatives on co-organised learning, digitalisation, and sustainable agency, emphasising complexity, adaptability, and professional reasoning. Joost is actively engaged in international collaborations, including EU Erasmus projects and World Physiotherapy discussions on education quality. He believes in learning as a dynamic, emancipatory process, fostering reflection, curiosity, and equity in professional practice. He is a member of World Physiotherapy's education committee.
Djenana Jalovcic is an education professional adviser at World Physiotherapy and associate professor at the section for global health and rehabilitation at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL).
At World Physiotherapy, Djenana provides advice on education. She works on a portfolio of education projects ranging from physiotherapists' professional entry level education and continuing professional development (CPD) to education quality and networking among physiotherapy educators. Together with physiotherapist educators from World Physiotherapy's member organisations, Djenana facilitated co-creation of the World Physiotherapy Physiotherapist education framework, Guidance for developing a curriculum for physiotherapist entry level education programme and the launch of World Physiotherapy's CPD event recognition service.
Djenana has a doctorate in education - online education, from Athabasca University, Canada, and a master’s degrees in rehabilitation science - disability in the community and public administration - health policy and management from Queen’s University, Canada. In recognition of her contributions to advancing pedagogy and education quality at HVL, she received the distinguished educator award. Djenana volunteers with several non-governmental organisations, including the Canadian chapter of Women in Global Health.
Jennifer Audette, PT, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of New England in Portland, Maine, United States. She earned her bachelor of physical therapy degree at Northeastern University, her advanced master's in physical therapy at Boston University, and her PhD in education at the University of Rhode Island. She has been in academic positions for the last 22 years and, during that time, has developed numerous international opportunities for physiotherapy students to learn more about physiotherapy education and practice all over the world.
She has served on the board of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Academy of Leadership and Innovation, Global Health Special Interest Group for 15 years in three capacities. In February 2024 she was honoured with APTA’s Dr Ronnie Leavitt Award for Leadership in the Promotion of Social Responsibility. She has served on the physical therapy steering committee for Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) and is the coordinator for a project in Guatemala. In 2019 she was honoured with HVO’s Golden Apple Award.
In April 2022 she was elected to serve on the executive board for World Physiotherapy North America Caribbean region. She has done volunteer teaching and curricular development work in Suriname, Haiti, and Guatemala. She is a 2020 graduate of APTA's fellowship in education leadership.
Natalie Benjamin-Damons is a senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where she has been a faculty member since 2013. She holds a BSc in physiotherapy from the University of Cape Town, an MSc in physiotherapy, and a PhD in physiotherapy from the University of the Witwatersrand. Natalie's primary research interests lie in paediatric disability, development, and rehabilitation. Her work focuses on empowering children living with disabilities to achieve greater independence and improve their quality of life. She is committed to advancing the field of paediatric rehabilitation through innovative research and has a keen interest in securing research grants to support PhD and MSc students in this domain.
In addition to her academic role, Natalie serves as the president of the South African Society of Physiotherapy, a position she has held since October 2023. Her leadership in this role underscores her dedication to the professional development and quality assurance within the physiotherapy community in South Africa. She has also been actively involved with the South African Medico Legal Association, contributing to various professional development and educational initiatives. Her extensive experience and contributions to the field have made her a respected figure in both academic and professional circles.
Oscar Ronzio is a physical therapist with a doctorate in health sciences. He is the head of the physiotherapy programme at Universidad Maimónides and an associate professor at Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche. His research focuses on electrophysical agents and sports injuries, particularly tendinopathies.
Oscar has introduced ultrasound-guided techniques in Latin America and has taught low-cost treatment strategies, such as percutaneous microelectrolysis, to over 6,000 professionals. He has published articles, book chapters in multiple languages, and presented extensively at conferences.
A founding member of International Society of Electrophysical Agents in Physiotherapy (ISEAP), he is currently serving his second term as the chair of World Physiotherapy South America region. He is the primary contact for the Asociación Argentina de Kinesiologia/Argentine Kinesiology Association, since his first campaign for chair in 2019, he has advocated for the implementation of continuing professional development (CPD) in Latin America.
Webinar description
During this webinar, panelists will discuss their perspectives on quality of life-long learning opportunities for physiotherapists, from entry-level education to continuing professional development. Webinar themes will focus on:
- Quality assurance processes such as the World Physiotherapy CPD event recognition service including requirements, procedures, and the importance of the service to advance the profession globally.
- Global perspectives on quality of physiotherapist education and CPD: From quality as a desirable state of programmes to quality as an ongoing process of program development and improvement
- Ensuring quality of life-long learning opportunities for physiotherapists to improve practice: quality requirements, processes, roles, services, and tools such as World Physiotherapy CPD event recognition service
