South Africa has left a lasting impression on Swiss physiotherapist Dominique Ziegler’s professional career.
She arrived in Jeffreys Bay in 2019 to work as a volunteer at a local non-profit and was immediately captivated by the country’s beauty, wildlife, sunshine and “soft light of winter”.
Not to mention the openheartedness of South Africans.
The NPO where she (and her husband, Martin) worked supported children – and their families – living with disabilities in marginalised communities in the greater Nelson Mandela Bay.
Her role was to assist their caregivers in providing effective therapy.
Their clients also received assistive devices such as sidelyers, posture chairs and standing frames to enable therapists in implementing 24-hour posture management.
This is vital in sustaining or improving the quality of life of the children and their loved ones.
Dominique, who spent much of her youth in Montreal and Basel, realised that professional wheelchair seating services were crucial if the programme was to succeed.
After attending Rehab Skills Lab’s wheelchair seating courses in South Africa, Swiss national Dominique Ziegler (pictured here flanked by RSL’s Dietlind Gouws and Elsje Scheffler in Bern in October) is on a mission to pioneer the techniques in her native Switzerland. Photo: Full Stop Communications
This was how the 44-year-old mother-of-three met Rehab Skills Lab’s Dietlind Gouws, who schooled her in the same principles the company taught wheelchair service-delivery professionals in SA.
“I completed all three week-long courses in 2019 and was able to put what I learnt into practice in my day-to-day work for the NPO,” Dominique explained.
“The following year I spent many hours working alongside Dietlind in her professional field, allowing me to consolidate and expand my specialist knowledge.”
She found that SA was several steps ahead of Switzerland in this field.
Her country has a huge range of wheelchairs and endless customisation options but therapists fail to link fitting with around-the-clock posture management – in effect doing users a disservice.
“In my opinion, there is a lack of well-prepared and easily accessible specialist knowledge,” she said.
An understanding of the biomechanical principles of seating is important in enabling users to sit in an optimal position for long periods and therefore counteracting the development of postural deviations and secondary complications.
Dominique was convinced that the content of RSL’s CPD-accredited courses, which are based on World Health Organisation guidelines, could bridge the divide.
She now considered it her duty to expose Swiss therapists to this seating protocol.
By combining her newfound seating knowledge with Swiss technology, she believed that her clients back home only stood to benefit.
However, with the concept completely new to the professionals in Switzerland, many remain unconvinced. Those she had “won over” so far were mostly from her professional environment.
“My network is slowly growing. Through word-of-mouth I am getting hold of new clients for training and consulting.”
She was the instigator behind a Basic and Intermediate-level seating course presented by RSL in her hometown of Bern last year.
It helped her gain credibility and had such an impact on attendees that an Intermediate course was commissioned for this October. This group consisted mostly of Swiss and Austrian physiotherapists and orthotists.
Although some of them struggled with the reasoning required to make accurate assessments, prescriptions and customisations, everyone left wiser.
In June, Dominique visited SA to develop her skills under the tutelage of Dietlind and RSL colleague Elsje Scheffler.
“I enjoyed working with them; problem-solving together and fitting their clients’ wheelchairs.”
These sessions gave her confirmation that she was doing a tidy job in Switzerland, despite the challenging circumstances.
Away from the office, she finds solace hiking and mountain biking in the forests around Bern in summer and skiing a multitude of slopes in winter.
Besides being a dab hand at the traditional Swiss card game Jass, she is a “home” barista fascinated by the art of brewing gourmet coffee.