Question 1: Why did you become a physiotherapist?
Rae: “As a teenager I knew I was interested in health care and as I was involved with sports at the time; Physiotherapy interested me.”
Halee: “I decided to become a physiotherapist after sustaining a knee injury and going through ACL reconstruction surgery. I worked with a physiotherapist who had numerous treatment tools that aided me in a successful recovery. I was fascinated with the amount of knowledge they gave, the compassion they showed, and the amount of detail they shared in explaining my rehab process. I knew at that point I wanted to do the exact same as a career and help others.”
Laurel: “I decided to become a physio after an injury in high school. I was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon and thought it was so interesting all the tests they did to figure things out, but wasn’t interested in the “surgery” part of things. This lead me towards physio – all the physical testing with none of the blood.”
Charlene: “I was interested in human movement and I wanted to become a movement specialist!”
Jodi: “Physio seemed like a good combination of stuff I was interested in. I liked the health sciences. I liked the idea of working with people. I liked the idea of having to problem-solve. I liked the idea of not sitting at a desk all day. I also liked the human element of the job – getting to know people, supporting them through something difficult and helping them achieve a goal. It seemed like a career that would be both an art and a science – so lots of good stuff here.”
Question 2: What is your definition of physiotherapy?
Rae: “Creating the best environment to allow the body to heal. Enabling people to reach their goals for functional activities.”
Halee: “Physical therapy is a diverse therapy that focuses predominately on musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory and neurological conditions. The main goal of physical therapy is to show people proper movement patterns or provide adaptions to be successful in physical movement. It uses a variety of treatment modalities, examples include manual therapy, individualized exercise programs and patient education.”
Laurel: “The definition of physical therapy is broad, and in my opinion, is sometimes the reason people are confused by what we do. In general, physical therapy helps to maximize physical function in three main areas: cardiorespiratory (ie. COPD, asthma, clients in hospital on ventilation), neurological (ie. Stroke, MS, spinal cord injury), and orthopedic (ie. knee injury, back pain) health. Although all physios receive university level education in all of these areas, physios often begin focusing their post-graduate training more specifically in certain areas. Physical Therapy at STRIDE means assessment, diagnosis, and treatment (ie. education, manual therapy, home exercise) for any and all sources of orthopedic pain, concussion, many neurological conditions, or pelvic floor dysfunction. We are well trained in screening out medical sources of pain and as such, clients do not need a doctors referral to come and see us.”
Charlene: “Therapy that works to improve people’s quality of life, manage and understand pain symptoms (if present) and teaching people how to move their bodies. Exercise is medicine!”
Jodi: “It’s a movement science. As physios, we are primary healthcare providers that assess, diagnose, and treat injury and the symptoms of various health conditions and diseases in order to maximize people’s physical function. The three main areas of focus all physios are trained to work in are: musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiorespiratory. Many physios have advanced training beyond this to treat additional issues such as concussion and pelvic floor dysfunction.”
Question 3: What advice would you give someone considering physiotherapy as a profession?
Rae: “You must be a problem solver!! This includes using your current knowledge of anatomy, pathology, and mechanics – but you also need to be able to connect with people otherwise the knowledge cannot be applied effectively.”
Halee: “I would ensure they get good grades and shadow different areas of physical therapy to show how diverse the profession is.”
Laurel: “Be prepared for grey area. People considering physical therapy are good students who tend to have a “type A” personality. In university, everything will make sense and follow a clear, linear path. You’ll do case study work where a list of physical findings will all match up, make sense, and fit nicely into a “textbook” diagnosis. In the real world, this rarely happens. Each client has a different ability to communicate their symptoms, they come from different social situations, and sometimes have physical findings that don’t add up. Generally, this won’t lead to the clear cut diagnosis you’d like to have. Be open to feeling unsure and needing to adapt.”
Charlene: “Work hard in school and get good grades so you can get into physiotherapy! If you are interested in physical therapy, shadow someone and ask lots of questions. Get used to the answer to a lot of questions being it depends… not necessarily yes or no! Humans are complicated.”
Jodi: “Be motivated. You’ll have to work really hard to get in; and if you do, the hard work shouldn’t stop there. The best clinicians I’ve ever seen don’t become stagnate. They keep learning (the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know a damn thing) and they stay passionate about people. It’s also never too early to practice some self-love right from the get-go. Physio is a giving profession and you can’t give much if you’re running on empty. The sooner you figure this out, the better off you’ll be.”
Question 4: What is the biggest challenge you face in your day to day as a physio?
Rae: “Time management.”
Halee: “The biggest challenge I face day to day as a physio is defending our profession when clients want ‘quick fixes’.”
Laurel: “Education. Both of the public as a whole in terms of what we do and educating individual clients to help them understand their condition.”
Charlene: “Patience. I want everyone to see improvement every time I see them, but healing takes time. People are often more resilient than they realize; we all need to have some patience with our bodies and listen to our physio’s recommendations.”
Jodi: “I have two. 1) The constant need to educate and advocate for our profession because there seems to be so much confusion about what it is we do – this isn’t just the general public either; many other health care providers don’t seem to always understand what our scope of practice really is. I’m happy to educate, but sometimes it just gets exhausting. 2) Not taking my work home with me. Having empathy is a good quality for a therapist, but you have to channel your inner Elsa and learn to LET IT GO sometimes!”
Question 5: If you didn’t become a physio, what would you have done instead?
Rae: “I was considering going into Medicine, however, my own family physician indicated that it was hard to find a balance between work and family as a physician. As much as I love my job, I am happy that I also have been able to balance that with my family.”
Halee: “I would have become an orthopaedic surgeon or an RCMP officer.”
Laurel: “I thought of becoming a teacher. I consider it good fortune for all mankind that I decided not to be the one in this important role of shaping so many future minds of tomorrow. I salute you teachers–you’re made of stronger stuff than me.”
Charlene: “I think a nurse or a doctor. My top doctor choices would be Physical medicine and rehab, family med, or orthopedic surgery.”
Jodi: “Either gone in to medicine and specialized in physiatry (physical medicine and rehab) or become a total recluse spending my days writing and submitting to (and subsequently being rejected by) publishers.”
For more information on how physio can help you, visit: https://physiocanhelp.ca
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