Posted December 04, 2018 06:53:00 Physiotherapy professionals are increasingly looking for people to become their primary carer, especially if they are looking to take on a new role in the field.
There are more and more young professionals in their late 20s and early 30s looking to enter the field as a primary care provider.
The majority of these are from outside the country and have been working for a while in other fields.
They want to be more than a simple physical therapist or physiotherapists.
“Physiotherapy is a skill that can be learned, but it can also be developed by people who are really good in their own right,” said Sarah, a physiotherapeutic assistant in Sydney.
Sarah has been training for the role for about two years and has developed a solid work ethic.
She has learned the skills of the field, the basics of physiotherapy including the difference between a chest massage and a face mask, how to perform a chest lift, and how to handle people on a walk and cycle.
What to do if you are not sure about the profession?
“I’ve always said I would love to become a physiotherapy practitioner but I have never actually had the opportunity to do it,” Sarah said.
So, Sarah took her first job out of university.
For her first two years at the practice, Sarah worked as a physiotheapist in her own practice.
In her third year, she left the practice to take up a position in her home city of Sydney.
“I had a great experience with the team, they are very friendly, they care about the people I work with and I learnt a lot about the practice,” she said.
She said her first lesson in the profession was how to treat a person on a cycle.
“When you do that, it’s very difficult to explain to people, but they understand,” she explained.
When she got home, Sarah asked her family if they would like to join her on her first day at work.
Her family, including her parents, wanted to help but Sarah said she would not accept it.
“It would be unfair to them to do that because I’m a physiothoracic therapist,” she says.
Instead, she decided to focus on her work with people with different disabilities.
Over the next two years, Sarah got to know people who had different physical and mental needs, including people with learning disabilities, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.
“You can’t really compare them to me because I’ve been doing physiotherapy for almost two years but I would say that people are starting to look at me differently,” she continued.
Since the age of 20, Sarah has also worked as an assistant physiotherapper at a clinic, which she described as a “dream job”.
“The most challenging part for me is that I am a physiopath, I can’t see myself in a physiocommunication, I’m not a physiogist, so when people say, ‘How would you like to work with a physioballist?’
I say, no, I would prefer to be a physioanalyst,” she added.
A big change has come in the last few years, as physiotherapy has become a more accessible profession.
It is now accepted that people with special needs can become physiotherapsists and can also work as a general practitioner.
Despite the change in the industry, Sarah said physiotherapy has become increasingly accepted by society.
Physiotherapist careers are often the first in the pipeline for young people who have been struggling to find a job.
However, it is not all about the salary.
Many of the students who join physiotherapy schools also become physiothorsists, a role that requires more training.
And, while physiotherapy is not a career that many are expecting, it can still be challenging.
“We have a big target on our backs,” Sarah says.
“There is no career we can say that we can’t achieve.”
Sarah is currently training to become an assistant, which could lead to a job as a doctor.
If you or someone you know needs help with their health or recovery, please contact the National Disability Service on 13 11 14.
Topics:physiotherapy,therapies-and-imaging,health,community-and -society,health-policy,work,community,people,australia