Associate Prof. Dale Edgar Clinician | Researcher | Educator

Physio+10 focuses on the journeys of trailblazing Physiotherapists and today's conversation is with Associate Professor Dale Edgar.  In talking with Dale I came to appreciate the nature of managing a burns patient covers the full gamut of Physiotherapy skills - that is you need to manage physical (i.e., injured muscles, skin, bone, nerve), psychological & social components. Secondly, it is over a long period of time 18-24 months. This has provided Dale with a unique perspective on the health continuum, something that I think could be better utilised in the current model of reactive Physiotherapy in private practice.

Dale strongly advocates for the benefits of baseline measurements, including quality of life measures and working out how we can better serve our patient communities through employing preventative strategies targeted to their needs.

Thanks for listening.

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You can also watch our conversation here.

Biography
A senior physiotherapist and translational researcher for over 30 years, he has been devoted to the specialization in the provision and improvement of burn survivor and acute trauma rehabilitation in a number of Australian burns and plastic surgery (trauma) units. More recently Dale has applied his experience and research outcomes in the development of perioperative optimization systems for patients having surgery in both tertiary and secondary hospital contexts.  After recently moving from Fiona Stanley Hospital, his current clinical workload includes the complete inpatient journey from ED to ICU, medical and surgical wards, as well as inpatient rehabilitation, mental health and palliative care.  In recognition of his leadership, research and contributions to burn patient rehabilitation across the globe, he was awarded the Andre Zagame Rehabilitation Specialist Prize by the ISBI in 2012 and again in 2018. Dale’s understanding of global issues was heightened after 2001 as the recipient of the Johnson and Johnson Education Scholarship, supporting visits to burn units in America, UK and Europe. His passion moving forward is to revolutionize the rehabilitation treatment of patients with injury and burn trauma, to be responsive to the accurate and systematic measurement of severity and outcomes. Through education in, and the establishment of, outcome-based care, modern health systems will reap benefits from embedded research evidence and further, be able to direct health resource usage. His aim is to provide clinicians with the tools to optimize and improve the traumatic injury survivor's journey to recovery anywhere in the world.

Dale is an active member of the local, regional and international burn injury community. He has been involved in education in Western Australia, contributing to the Statewide Telehealth Education program and the Burn Management Program.  Dale’s passion is the delivery of low barrier access education which in July 2015