When Katie Skinner thinks about walking through the halls of the Fort St. John Hospital in the near future, not as a student but as a full-time physiotherapist, she knows she is going to be exactly where she is meant to be.

Born and raised in Fort St. John, Skinner is part of the newest graduating class of the UBC Master of Physical Therapy – North (MPT-N) program, which is delivered in partnership with UNBC. With convocation ahead next spring, she is already preparing to return to the community that shaped her.

“I am genuinely overwhelmed with excitement to start my career, but I think I’m most excited to begin building meaningful relationships with patients and their families,” says Skinner. “Being able to support someone during a vulnerable moment in their health journey feels like such an honour and privilege. I’m especially excited to work in my hometown again and contribute to the community that helped shape me growing up.”

Skinner will be joining Fort St. John Hospital’s acute care team, working with a wide range of clinical populations. The transition feels meaningful not only because she is returning home, but because this hospital is where her journey as a trainee physiotherapist first began.

“It feels like a full-circle moment to be starting my physiotherapy career in the same hospital where I completed my very first clinical placement just 18 months ago.”

Skinner’s path to physiotherapy emerged long before graduate school. Growing up, she devoted countless hours to soccer and dance—activities that built not only physical strength but curiosity.

“Dance ultimately became my focus, and through that I developed a strong appreciation for the way the body moves and adapts. “Any time I was in pain or learning to manage an injury, I found myself fascinated by the healing and rehab process.”

Skinner completed her BSc in Kinesiology at the University of Victoria, where she also contributed to research on mobile technology and physical activity programming for families. Still, northern B.C. was never far from her mind.

Her commitment to rural and remote health made the MPT-N program an ideal fit.

“I have always been passionate about accessible healthcare in rural and remote communities, so the values of the MPT-N program felt like a natural fit for me. In addition to the smaller class sizes and more intimate support from northern faculty, I was also granted unique opportunities to explore remote communities all over BC through clinical placements.”

Reflecting on the people who helped guide her along the way, Skinner says she will always remember the support she received in her training, especially from an experience she had early on in her program.

“I wanted to give a special shoutout to my first preceptor Roy who introduced me to acute care and provided me with such a positive experience for my first placement!”