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What is PORi?

​The Physiological Oncology Rehabilitation Institute (PORi) is the education and consulting arm of Oncology Rehab. PORi offers continuing education courses in oncology rehabilitation for Speech Language Pathologists (Speech Therapists), Physical Therapists (Physiotherapists), Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants and Occupational therapy Assistants.

​​Based in Denver, CO, Oncology Rehab has several outpatient clinics offering oncology rehabilitation services to patients within Colorado, Tennessee, and Georgia. Our institutional clinical experience from Oncology Rehab is combined with the latest evidence-based research and a thorough scientific understanding of the physiological impact of cancer and its related treatments to form the foundation of PORI’s educational curriculum.

The Evolution of the PORi curriculum

​Up to the end of 2017, we trained therapists with a 4-day assessment-based certificate program using breast cancer as a prototype model of care. This course was  tremendously successful but, as our own clinical practice has evolved, we wanted our educational offering to evolve too - in January 2018, we added new course modules to the structure to better reflect the growing specialties of care within our own practice and the need for an increased level of specialization to best deliver care to oncology patients.

From January 2018, participants start their PORi training with a 2-day PORi Foundation Course. Once they have completed the PORi Foundation Course, they can advance their specialty skill set by building additional specialty modules (e.g. Head & Neck Cancer; Breast Cancer, Pelvic Cancer) onto the PORi Foundation Course.  This will enable participants to pursue one or more specialized fields of interest within oncology rehabilitation. 

​Specialized Courses

We align a comprehensive understanding of the deeper physiological impact of all elements of cancer treatment on the body’s systems with the practical knowledge & understanding of how a specialized suite of clinical skills can mitigate this impact.

​Some of our courses are focused on specific diagnoses and others (e.g the Chemotoxicity & Cancer exercise Management course) have a sequelae-centric approach that covers a broad range of oncology diagnoses. All of the courses we offer are interlinked and build on one another to provide therapists with the knowledge and practical clinical skills to treat this complex patient population. ​

A Standard of Care

Oncology Rehabilitation must be included in the scope of practice for Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists. However, it must be implemented responsibly, safely and effectively, and with a consistency within the "Standard of Care" across the professions. The PORi courses provide the necessary information and clinical skill sets for our professions to be able to blaze the trail forward in this new entity of care.

Beyond Education

​In addition to our educational offerings, we work with several consulting partners that enable us to support a facility or health system in any phase of their oncology rehabilitation program development. We offer flexibility in how we work with facilities and health systems ranging from a fully integrated “partnership” to simply providing education and/or consulting services structured to meet your needs.

​Building Programs rooted in specialist clinical care

Historically, consulting companies helping health systems develop an oncology rehabilitation service line have predominantly emphasized developing oncology rehabilitation at a facility level, focusing on identifying patients for rehabilitation and navigating these patients into rehabilitation.  This, in effect, has been a “top-down” approach.  However, we feel that these types of programs did not sufficiently focus on the oncology-specific clinical skillset needed by PT/OT/SLPs to treat patients once they arrived in the treatment setting. Without clinical education specific to the needs of the oncology patient population, “generalist” PT/OT/SLP clinicians do not have the necessary knowledge and confidence to treat oncology patients in any phase of their treatment. PORi addresses this gap, which allows for a “bottom-up” approach.
 
PORi provides intensive, focused, in-person evidence-based teaching, as well as clinical hands-on experience with live patient models.  We are the only entity in the United States that offers this unique, patient-based clinical learning model and we ensure participant proficiency through both practical and written examinations. PORi was specifically created to provide therapists with the clinical skills to build a rehabilitation program from the bottom-up by focusing on patient care and patient functional outcomes. 
 
Physicians will recognize the clinical value of clinicians equipped to deliver care with an oncology-specialized skillset and become fully engaged in referring their oncology patients to therapy. Physician engagement can be accelerated through separate physician education and/or reported outcomes from patient data collection and direct patient feedback. The program is rooted in clinical excellence and PORi strengthens the relationship between the physician and the oncology rehabilitation therapist (and the oncology exercise physiologist).

Our clinical practice

Oncology Rehab

Oncology Rehab provides rehabilitation services for cancer patients
with any cancer diagnosis in all phases of treatment & survivorship.

Our non-profit

EPOCH

Growing oncology ​rehabilitation by
supporting non-physician providers

A history that started with a single oncology patient.

In early 2002, a Denver Oncologist was trying to find a Physical Therapist to provide rehabilitation for a patient of his who was really battling with the effects of her breast cancer treatment on her body. After calling multiple PT practices, the oncologist came across the clinic where Julia Osborne was working and asked if any of the therapists would be prepared to try to treat the oncology patient. With her broad experience, Julia felt she would be able apply her expertise to the patient’s symptoms and help her. Julia learnt an incredible amount from her first oncology patient and found the experience of treating her so inspirational that she decided to dedicate her practice to treating oncology patients. Ever since, learning from patients, coupled with an application of science and evidence-based practice, has been at the core of Julia's life's work.

​The history of our clinical practice

​Our founder, Julia Osborne PT, CLT-LANA, started focusing her practice on oncology rehabilitation in 2002 after moving to Denver, CO from the southern United States.

​Prior to moving to Denver, she practiced in South Africa, the United Kingdom, and in various locations across the United States in a variety of settings from inpatient to outpatient, treating patients across the spectrum from orthopedics to neurology to women’s health, as well as from pediatrics to geriatrics.

​After treating patients on behalf of HealthSouth and Physiotherapy Associates (both in Denver), she founded her own practice in 2009 to focus solely on oncology patients. She launched Oncology Rehab (OR) with herself and the support of one other therapist (who remains with OR) and has steadily grown the practice to include therapists focused on the rehabilitation of patients with Breast Cancer, Head & Neck Cancer, Pelvic & Gynecological Cancers, GI/Digestive Cancers, Sarcomas, Lung Cancer, and Blood & Liquid Cancers. ​In addition, the practice offers rehabilitation programs focused on the effects of chemotoxicity including fatigue, chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy, weakness and cancer-related cognitive dysfunction.

​In the past 12 months alone, the practice has provided oncology rehabilitation services to around 3,000 patients (with more than 30,000 visits) referred by over 400 physicians from multiple practices and health systems.

​​Education, clinical mentoring and consulting

​From 2006 to 2014, PORi's clinical director, Julia Osborne, PT, CLT-LANA taught courses through North American Seminars (NAS) in advanced oncology rehabilitation, breast cancer rehabilitation and advanced lymphedema management. She taught between 15 and 25 two-day courses each year to between 20 and 40 participants per class. Around 4,000 Physical and Occupational therapists attended her 2-day CEU courses through NAS.  Her courses consistently received outstanding participant feedback, with many students returning for further education and training.
 
In 2013 and early 2014, Julia focused her non-clinical time on developing a more comprehensive course curriculum in oncology rehabilitation. In August 2014, she launched PORi, (the Physiological Oncology Rehabilitation Institute) initially offering a four-day assessment-based certificate in oncology rehabilitation. With a limited capacity of 14 participants per class, the course provided participants with a deep understanding of the effects of cancer treatment on the patient and the practical clinical skills to address the sequelae of cancer and related treatment. By the end of 2017, around 270 therapists in the USA and Canada had completed the original PORi 4-day certificate program.

Since the launch of our new curriculum on 2018, we have trained over 1,000 Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists in the USA, Canada, Singapore, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East.
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Our Vision

​Our vision is that all patients with a cancer diagnosis will have prompt, easy access to quality cancer rehab.
​ONCOLOGY REHABILITATION COURSES
​​Foundation in Oncology Rehabilitation
Breast Cancer Rehabilitation
Chemotoxicity and Cancer Exercise Management
Head and Neck Cancer Rehabilitation
Pelvic Cancer & Lower Extremity Rehabilitation

​FIND AN ONCOLOGY REHABILITATION THERAPIST
PORi-Certified Oncology Rehabilitation Therapists
PORi Centers of Excellence in Oncology Rehabilitation

OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS
PORi Oncology Rehabilitation Certification
​About PORi
PORi Course Calendar
PORi Membership Portal
Research in Support of Oncology Rehabilitation