University College Cork

1. Home
2. Occupational Science & Occupational Therapies
3. People
4. Yvonne Pennisi

‍

Biography

Yvonne Pennisi graduated from The University of Sydney (BAppSc[OccTh]) in occupational therapy in 2000.  After clinical teaching and practice in a variety of areas in Australia, Yvonne moved to Ireland to take up a teaching and research position at University College Cork in 2016. Prior to this, Yvonne was a founding lecturer of Southern Cross University’s Occupational Therapy course, assisting with the development of both theoretical subjects throughout the four years and the clinical education component within the course. At UCC, Yvonne teaches the theoretical and practical skills develop in the area of adult population for the third year students. In addition, Yvonne has taught oedema management to both undergraduate and post graduate nurses, podiatrists and physiotherapists, both in Ireland and in Australia. The provision of best practice wound care in the community, in particular to populations with chronic diseases, is of high priority.  This is the research area of Yvonne's PhD, which she is currently pursuing through UCC.
Most recently Yvonne has been working with local communities and charities in the area of developing transition skills for people in the community.  Specifically, she has been working with women living in Direct Provision in research and developing workshops with local service, such as BetterTogether to address these needs.  Community based participatory research methods are used in the area.
Yvonne has 20 years of experience as a clinician and ran her own private practice, located within the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers areas, specialising in home modifications and lymphoedema. Specialist skills include: manual lymphatic drainage techniques when compression is not appropriate; multilayer graduated compression bandaging; standard and custom compression garment prescription; skin care; low level laser treatment; scar management; exercise prescription; equipment prescription; home modification and assessment to minimise risks of further injuries.‍

Research Interests

Her research areas include the provision of compression to people with chronic diseases at risk of ulcers, specifically modified compression therapy for wound care healing and prevention in people with the co-morbidities of peripheral arterial disease and diabetes. Additional areas of research include ePortfolios, in the area of employability and career resilience, inter-professional education, anthropometrics and disability and Lymphoedema and Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) into conservative management (CLT) of lower limb lymphoedema: A pilot study (Series of N of 1 trials).‍

Publications

‍

Other Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2011)	'Development of an occupational therapy program in regional Australia based on the ICF' Innes, E., Pennisi, Y., Mozolic-Staunton, B. & Donelly, M. (2011) 'Development of an occupational therapy program in regional Australia based on the ICF' Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 58 (Suppl.1) . [Details]
	(2011)	'Chronic Ulcers, manual lymphatic drainage and teamwork in the community: A case study' Pennisi, Y. (2011) 'Chronic Ulcers, manual lymphatic drainage and teamwork in the community: A case study' Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 58 (Suppl.1) . [Details]

‍

Conference Publications

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	British Lymphology Conference Pennisi, Y., Innes, E., Butterworth, P & Nancarrow, S. (2014) Wounds and compression for patients with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease: A review of the contextual factors? British Lymphology Conference Birmingham, UK, [Details]
	(2014)	ALA Conference: 10th Australasian Lymphology Association Conference Douglass, J., Pennisi, Y., O’Connor, M., Koelmeyer, L. & Collett, J. (2014) The establishment of a national register for lymphoedema practitioners in Australia and New Zealand ALA Conference: 10th Australasian Lymphology Association Conference Auckland, New Zealand,   [Details]
	(2013)	Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference and Exhibition Pont, K., Innes, E., Yoxall, J., Pennisi, Y., Zhou, S., & Blake, A. (2013) Anthropometrics (body measurements) of people with physical impairments in Australia: a protocol and pilot study Occupational Therapy Australia National Conference and Exhibition Adelaide, Australia, [Details]

‍

Professional Activities

‍

Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	2016	Excellence in Engagement Awards 2016	Southern Cross University

‍

Professional Associations

	Association	Function	From / To
	National Lymphoedema Practitioner Register	Full member (recently resigned as chair, executive committee member and OT national representation)	/
	Gold Coast and Northern Rivers Lymphoedema Professionals CPD group	Convener	/
	Australian Lymphology Association	Full Member	/
	Occupational Therapy Australia	Full Member	/

‍

Conference Contributions

	Year	Publication
	(2014)	British Lymphology Conference, Douglass, J., & Pennisi, Y. (2014) The establishment of a national register for lymphoedema practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. [Poster Presentation], British Lymphology Conference, Birmingham, UK . [Details]
	(2013)	Festival of Teaching, Scorey, M., Pennisi, Y., & Innes, E. (2013) ePortfolios and OT employers. [Oral Presentation], Festival of Teaching, Lismore, Australia . [Details]
	(2011)	Occupational Therapy Australia 24th National Conference & Exhibition, Pennisi, Y. (2011) Chronic Ulcers, manual lymphatic drainage and teamwork in the community: A case study. [Oral Presentation], Occupational Therapy Australia 24th National Conference & Exhibition, Gold Coast, QLD , 29-JUN-11 - 01-JUL-11. [Details]
	(2011)	Occupational Therapy Australia 24th National Conference & Exhibition, Innes, E., Pennisi, Y., Mozolic-Staunton, B. & Donelly, M. (2011) Development of an occupational therapy program in regional Australia based on the ICF. [Oral Presentation], Occupational Therapy Australia 24th National Conference & Exhibition, Gold Coast, QLD , 29-JUN-11 - 01-JUL-11. [Details]
	(2009)	OT Australia NSW-ACT Inaugural Conference, Innes, E. & Pennisi, Y. (2009) Development of an Occupational Therapy Program at a Regional NSW University Based on the ICF: Report of the First Year. [Oral Presentation], OT Australia NSW-ACT Inaugural Conference, Sydney . [Details]
	(2009)	OT Australia Queensland Conference, Innes, E. & Pennisi, Y. (2009) Development of a new OT Program: First Year Report. [Oral Presentation], OT Australia Queensland Conference, Brisbane . [Details]

‍

Employment

	Employer	Position	From / To
	Southern Cross University	Lecturer (Teaching Scholar)	01-JAN-08 /
	Ozcare – Gold Coast Allied Health Service	Occupational Therapist	01-JAN-05 / 31-DEC-08
	Greenslopes Private Hospital	Occupational Therapist	01-JAN-04 / 31-DEC-05
	Our Therapy Practice (OTPT Pty Ltd)	Director/ Occupational Therapist	01-JAN-08 / 31-DEC-15
	Advantage Injury Management Service	Occupational Therapist / Rehabilitation Consultant	01-JAN-02 / 31-DEC-03
	NCAHS Tweed Hospital: Acute Mental & Physical	Occupational Therapist	01-JAN-03 / 31-DEC-04

‍

Education

	Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
	2012	Southern Cross University	Graduate Certificate	Teaching and Learning (Higher Education)
	2000	The University of Sydney	BACHELOR OF SCIENCE	Occupational Therapy
	2005	The University of Queensland	Graduate Certificate	Occupational Therapy (Contemporary Practice)
	1995	The University of Queensland	BACHELOR OF SCIENCE	Human Movement Studies

‍

Other Activities

	Description
	[Journal Article] Butterworth, P. A., Walsh, T. P., Pennisi, Y. D., Chesne, A. D., Schmitz, C., & Nancarrow, S. A. (2015). The effectiveness of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for the treatment of lower limb ulceration: a systematic review. Journal of Foot & Ankle Research, 8(1), 1-9. doi: 10.1186/s13047-014-0059-0
	Workshop Facilitator: 10th Annual Scientific Meeting of INMED (Irish Network of Medical Educators). The Conference Programme and Book of Abstracts is available from http://www.inmed.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/INMED2017-Programme-3.pdf.