There’s always a first for everything

Recently graduated as a physio? Not sure what to do as your future career? Interested in becoming a community physio at Hub & Spoke Health? You’re in the right place, take a seat. ‘Pulls up a chair’ 

Before I start diving into the nitty, gritty side of things. I’ll just give you a bit of a background of myself. I graduated from La Trobe University as a Physiotherapist in 2023. I was previously an Allied Health Assistant (AHA) for Hub & Spoke Health before becoming part of their team as a Physiotherapist this year. 

Here are some of my first experiences as a community physio that I hope can give you some perspective as to what the new grad program feels like: 

First Two Weeks 

My experience with the first two weeks has been amazing! Spending most of time shadowing various clinicians has given perspective to different styles of physiotherapy and a better understanding of what other allied health professionals do, often resulting in ‘lightbulb’ moments. 

Having shadowed for two weeks, I have been in awe in the way my fellow clinicians handle certain situations that have been out of their control. An experience I had during these past two weeks, which I would have never encountered during my placement, was witnessing a fellow clinician trying to comfort her 5-year-old crying patient whilst also encouraging her to engage in some exercises. 

It was also my first time back at kindergarten for the first time since forever, so that was fun too! (And yes, there was a lot of screaming and yelling involved, not by us obviously) 

First Patient 

My first patient would appear in my second week of being at Hub & Spoke Health! It was definitely a nervous 15 minutes of pre-reading prior to walking into their home, but they were super lovely and understanding, I could not have asked for a better first patient. 

This was different experience compared to when I was an AHA. I normally would follow the program provided by the physio regarding the exercises that needed to be done. Now as a community physio I find myself diving a bit deeper into the client’s stories, their likes and dislikes, goals and what they want to achieve. In addition to that, I find that home visits break down the vulnerability wall and builds a level of the trust between the patient-therapist relationship. 

First time driving alone to a client’s house 

I have completed community physio placements, but this did not prepare for the experience of driving alone to client’s houses. One thing I learnt from the past two weeks is time management (especially when it comes to lunchtime), and not stressing over being slightly late to the next client. One piece of advice that I got from my peers was ‘it is okay if you’re slightly late, the clients understand and will not mind. So, Don’t. Rush.’ 

Driving alone has its pros and cons, as with everything. I really like the freedom and time alone to decompress between patients, but I’m quickly running out of songs that I have not heard 100 times on repeat already. 

This was slightly different than working as an AHA, as my physio scheduling is managed by our amazing admin team. All I have to do is drive to the client’s house and complete the session. Having my schedule managed by the admin team saves a lot of my time from calling up clients and organising a suitable time, which I had to do as an AHA. 

First gift from a client 

A perk of working as a community physio is that from time to time you might get something as thank you! Clients are often at home cooking or in their gardens on your arrival. Over the last two weeks, I have been given homemade muffins and a zucchini! This really adds to the experience of being a community physio, I find that it can build a deeper connection between patient and therapist relationship. It almost feels like you are part of their ‘family’. 

P.S. I tried saying now, it did not go so well. 

First mentor session 

At Hub & Spoke Health there is always a mentor assigned to you. If I have any issues, I am just a ‘slack’ away from them. Our admin team does a wonderful job with blocking off time in our timetable for daily/weekly catchups just to see how I’m going. Depending on your needs, the team is more than happy to organise more catchups after complex patients or whenever you are struggling (depending on timing). 

As an over-thinker, it was reassuring to have a mentor listen and add some insight to my plan before going in. 

To many more firsts!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

I’m loving my time as a community physio at Hub & Spoke Health, everyone here is so welcoming and willing to reach out to help where possible. Hopefully, my experience gives some insight into what it is like being a new grad community physio. I truly believe it is a more enjoyable/fun experience compared to placements! Currently in my second week, stay tuned I might even get another post in later down the track ☺

source https://hubandspoke.health/theres-always-a-first-for-everything/