Juliana Larocerie Salgado, OT Reg (Ont), CHT, MSc (Rehab Sci)

As a child, most of my dolls had some form of disability, and I always wanted them to engage in activities that most “children” would be involved in (well, it is definitely easier in the fantasy world, isn’t it?!). Somehow, I just did not seem to accept that people with disability needed to be treated differently. This passion brought me to the Occupational Therapy world. I graduated from the “Universidade Federal de Pernambuco” in January of 2003.

I decided I needed to discover new methods and techniques to help those with disabilities. In 2006, I pursued a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Science at Queen’s University. Research is certainly one of my passions, and I hope to take on more research activities in the near future.

Shortly after my MSc at Queen’s, I felt the necessity to obtain more clinical experience, in order to better understand the actual needs of people with disability. I then entered the Hand Therapy world, an area that I had completed a placement in while in OT School.

I have worked at the Hand Clinic at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, since September 2006. I feel very blessed to be able to say that I love my job! Seeing my patients smiling as they return to independent living and meaningful occupations is certainly invaluable! I love treating complex injuries, involving trauma to multiple tissues, tendon and nerve injuries, and pain syndromes. I find these conditions equally interesting and challenging to treat, as there are so many facets to them. Additionally, I think that hand conditions, particularly traumatic injuries, are never solely hand injuries. There is always a strong psycho-emotional component as part of these conditions, and that certainly makes these injuries even more fascinating to treat.

I also love teaching, and sharing my passions with students. I have taught the beautiful and intriguing world of hands to OT students at Queen’s since 2008, and every year I look forward to the Fall term, when I teach. Recently, I have become a Certified Hand Therapist, and published a small paper on a case series looking at treating early cases of Dupuytren’s Disease with splitting and soft tissue mobilization.

So yes, work is fun for me! I love my job, the profession I have chosen, teaching, and research… But of course, I do have a life besides work. I LOVE my family! I’m actually crazy about my family and value every single moment I have with them, as we live far away. My mother is one of my great inspirations, my siblings are my best friends, and my husband is my fortress, friend, and my very own cheerleader. I’m also expecting the most palpable concretization of love between two people, our first child. I can’t wait to meet my little angel, and teach him or her how wonderful this world is (or can be). Besides loving my family unconditionally, I love dancing, travelling and spending time with good friends, and love it even more when I can combine all these things together! :)