For more than 13 years, Rehabilitation Case Manager Paivi McDonald has dedicated compassionate care to the field of case management at Corporé, guiding injured clients through some of the most challenging moments of their lives and supporting them on their journey toward independence and recovery. Her commitment is rooted in a deep belief in seeing the whole rehabilitation picture, coordinating care, uniting multidisciplinary teams, and ensuring that every client receives the seamless, compassionate support they need to thrive.
Paivi’s story is shaped by meaningful coincidences, multicultural roots, and a lifelong passion for helping others—both in and outside the clinical world. She shares a little more about her journey to case management and what’s she learnt in the last 13 years as a Case Manager.
Talk us through your professional background and how you came across case management.
Following my qualification in Occupational Therapy in 2009, I was privileged to develop my clinical experience in some of the top and most renowned major trauma centres and rehabilitation units in the UK.
At John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, a Major Trauma Centre managing significant and multiple injuries, and Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, a rehabilitation unit and the birthplace of the Paralympics, I really learnt the process in detail from initial rehab to hospital and safe home discharge – all of these skills creating an excellent base for case management.
I found my work rewarding as an Occupational Therapist, but was always left wondering how my patients were doing once they left the hospital.
When I was working at John Radcliffe, a Corporé Case Manager came to see one of their clients to perform an Initial Needs Assessment (INA). I was really fascinated by her role and the work she was doing, asking her so many questions that she actually gave me her business card. I looked up Corporé and found that they had a Case Manager position open, so I applied. Funnily enough, the Case Manager leading the interview was the person I had met at the hospital – it felt like I was supposed to move to case management.
I haven’t looked back since then. It took a while to learn the ropes of basic case management, but I have had a great team behind me from the start, helping me and pushing me to extend my experience into complex pain, head injury and psychological injury. Now I get to be a part of a client’s entire recovery process, from hospital discharge to optimum recovery, and see them progress throughout rehabilitation.
What’s the most rewarding part of your role?
I really do think it’s being able to observe and be a part of a client’s full recovery process. Care can be so disjointed, especially when you need to rely on different services to help recovery. A Case Manager will see the bigger picture of rehabilitation and pull all of those different areas together, coordinating everything, so that the treatment and support provided can help a client in other areas of their life.
What challenges do you face as a Case Manager and how do you overcome them?
Pulling together so many different areas of expertise and perspectives to develop successful rehabilitation has its benefits, but also has its challenges. I am always fascinated to hear the clinical approaches suggested by different multidisciplinary teams (MDT), but everyone has their own care priorities. It’s the job of a Case Manager to coordinate all these approaches at the right time to best support the client. Communication is absolutely key. I like to have an open conversation with everyone collaborating on a case, building trust and encouraging teamwork to ensure we are all focused on the same goal: achieving the best possible outcomes for the injured client and their claim.
What has been the best moment at Corporé?
I think it’s the variety of the role. I really enjoy working with a range of different professionals, sharing knowledge and collaborating together. It’s always so powerful and special to meet face-to-face with my peers or other clinical or industry professionals. Corporé’s Case Management Conference is a great opportunity for that. It’s like reuniting with your family.
What has been your best moment outside of work?
I am very family-oriented. In the last 13 years, I have started my own family and have 3 beautiful boys who are 8, 10 and 8 months. They certainly keep me busy!
Originally, I am from Finland, and I pride myself on living life between two cultures. I see England as my home and safe place, but I enjoy embracing the Nordic culture of hygge in everyday life. I always find these are the best moments outside of work, looking for the joy in the mundane, especially in nature, where it’s so restorative and healing for my mental wellbeing. I am now sharing that love of two cultures with my family as we are all bilingual, speaking both Finnish and English.
Tell us three fun facts about yourself.
- I play the accordion.
- I volunteer every couple of weekends at a Finnish school in Oxford teaching others about the language and culture
- I love trees- I used to be tree climber and I am known to perch on a branch now and again if it’s low enough!
What would your autobiography be called?
‘Paivi McDonald and Meaningful Coincidences‘
I have a strong Christian faith and believe coincidences, both good and bad, are all meaningful. I wouldn’t have found case management had it not been for a series of coincidences and I am forever grateful to be a part of this industry and having the ability and opportunity to support people the way we do.
Corporé is like a family. We support one another just as much as our injured clients. While I have seen many changes over my last 13 years at Corporé, our ethos has always remained the same: keeping the client at the centre of everything that we do.
As a qualified Occupational Therapist, Paivi provides support for complex pain management, spinal and head injuries and complex orthopaedic injury in Central England and South East Midlands. She develops excellent therapeutic relationships with clients to achieve optimum and meaningful results from holistic rehabilitation. Her dedication to robust clinical governance standards are supported by her registration to HCPC and IRCM and her membership of CMSUK and RCOT.
To learn more about Paivi’s extensive clinical expertise, request to view Paivi’s CV in full here or contact us to make a referral.
