Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy is a very wide ranging profession with opportunities to work in many different areas including respiratory physiotherapy on wards and intensive care units, neurological physiotherapy, musculoskeletal outpatients, orthopaedics, paediatrics, sports physiotherapy with elite athletes or in ergonomics. The majority of physiotherapists work within the health system providing rehabilitation services in the above fields.

Regardless of the speciality many of the key responsibilities are similar: physios are responsible for the diagnosis, care and management of the rehabilitation of each patient in their care, liaising with other health professionals, the patient, the patient’s family and completing any associated paperwork. As you become more senior you are also responsible for teaching and mentoring more junior staff and students.

The majority of patients are referred via hospital ward doctors, GPs or hospital consultants for outpatients, although referrals can come from other sources, eg other health professionals or the patients themselves. The job of the physio is to assess the patient, make a diagnosis and suggest a treatment plan. The length of involvement can vary from just the one meeting to a lengthy relationship lasting several months or more depending on the level of complication of the condition.

The work environment is generally very busy and on average senior physios will see between 15 to 20 patients a day. People tend to work in teams whereby junior staff report to more senior staff who work in the same area but physios see patients individually on a one-to-one basis. Physiotherapy is generally quite accommodating when it comes to flexible and part-time working although there can be some restrictions depending on the specific area you work in.

Skills required

Physiotherapists require many skills including teamworking, IT, listening and communication skills, diplomacy and the ability to empathise with patients but still be tough when required. As a person you need to care about people, be organised and efficient and also be able to switch off at the end of the day.

Starting out

As a newly qualified physio you will be given your own patient list and would plan and treat those patients yourself but you will have regular meetings with senior staff to discuss patients and any problems you may be having. There is also regular in-house training for all staff, which will consolidate and expand your knowledge.