Rate My Professor Monika Fagevik Olsén

Monika Fagevik Olsén is Professor of Physiotherapy in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation at the University of Gothenburg, part of the Sahlgrenska Academy. She defended her doctoral thesis in surgery in 1998 and has combined clinical practice as a senior consultant physiotherapist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital with academic pursuits. A dual specialist physiotherapist, she previously held adjunct positions as lecturer and professor while teaching part-time, before her appointment as full professor in physiotherapy in 2022. Her career emphasizes integrating research with hands-on patient care in rehabilitation settings.

Fagevik Olsén's research specializations include respiratory physiotherapy, postoperative rehabilitation strategies such as early mobilization and breathing exercises after abdominal and cardiothoracic surgery, physical activity prescriptions following bariatric surgery, and recovery from acute pulmonary embolism. She has explored physiological effects of treatment methods in pulmonary medicine and developed assessment tools for pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain in gynaecology, obstetrics, and urology. Key publications feature "Long-term effects of physical activity prescription after bariatric surgery: A randomized controlled trial" (Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2022), "Development of and adherence to an ERAS® protocol for oesophagus resection: a national quality registry study" (Scandinavian Journal of Surgery, 2023), "First mobilisation after abdominal and cardiothoracic surgery: an international multicentre point prevalence study" (BMJ Open, 2024), and "Applications of positive expiratory pressure in spontaneous breathing: why, when and how?" (Breathe, 2025). She supervises doctoral students on topics including surgical recovery after distal radius fractures, excess skin post-bariatric surgery, and musculoskeletal symptoms in pulmonary embolism patients, and participates in projects like Women's health@move.