Our guest in October was Dr Margot Skinner. Margot is a Senior Lecturer and is currently the Deputy Dean of the School of Physiotherapy. She was the Vice-President of the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT) from 2015-2019. Margot is an Honorary Fellow and Honorary Life member of Physiotherapy New Zealand (PNZ) and a Fellow of the New Zealand College of Physiotherapy Inc. (NZCP).
Margot told us about the history of the School of Physiotherapy and the work that women pioneers in the field did to have the profession and the teaching internationally recognised for its quality.
In 1913 the doors opened on the first School of Massage in Dunedin, paving the way for the beginning of the physiotherapy profession in New Zealand. Today there are over 4,000 practising physiotherapists in New Zealand and the School has evolved into a School of Physiotherapy at Otago University.
Physiotherapy has moved from a profession concentrated singularly on massage to one with a range of specialist areas including respiratory, musculoskeletal, sport, paediatrics, women’s health and several others.
Zonta Club of Metropolitan Dunedin 