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Creativity Required - By Kathryn Freeman
When thinking about why I have chosen to become a physiotherapist and what it is that I like about the profession, I confess that my motives are purely selfish. Before starting the physical therapy program I had a successful career but I spent a large part of my day in front of a computer. During my undergraduate program I had always been fascinated by human anatomy, physiology and pathology. While working, I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt as mentally engaged as I had in university. I felt itchy to get up and go.
Physiotherapy had always been on the backburner in my mind. It encompasses so many things that I enjoy, such as meeting new people, facing new challenges daily, being physically active and helping people achieve personal goals. So after much debate, I made the difficult choice to leave my career to start a new one. Now that I have been immersed into the physical therapy lifestyle, I can say with all honesty and relief that I made the right choice.
From the start, I knew that the program would be challenging and demanding, which is what I needed. As my education continues, I now see that being a physiotherapist means a lifetime of learning and problem solving. With changes in legislation the scope of practice is growing, allowing physiotherapists to contribute even more to patient care. But there is one set of skills that I did not realise I would be using on a regular basis - my creative skills. When working in homecare or even in hospitals affected by funding cuts, all rehab staff have been put to the test. Creativity is an essential where equipment and support staff are hard to come by, as we must strive to provide the same level of patient care. I believe it is rare to find a career which is this physically and mentally rewarding.
Before enrolling in the program and during my first year, I had heard that many patients and clients referred to their therapist as many things. One name that sticks out in my mind is “physical-torturers”. Although there are hospital patients that choose not to engage in physical rehabilitation, I have been pleasantly surprised that the majority of them are very happy to see their physical therapist and actually seek us out to make sure we don’t miss them on any given day. This was not the attitude towards therapy that I had been expecting. Helping people become strong so that they can return home is a great joy. Realistically, not everyone regains the functioning they had prior to injury. However, helping patients adopt strategies and gain enough strength so that they can complete activities of daily living provides enough independence in their lives to restore the dignity patients sometime feel that they have lost.
Before becoming a physiotherapy student I never would have thought that seeing someone go from sit to stand for the first time in weeks would be so amazing…..how times have changed.
Kathryn Freeman
MsPT Candidate '10, Queen's University
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