Do you want to work in a profession in which you will feel useful to others? Do you want to become a good physiotherapist? This is a health profession that consists of helping individuals with certain physical conditions by assisting them in their recovery process. In this article we will discuss with Europe Eduss the professional qualities that make a good physiotherapist.
The 5 essential qualities of a good physiotherapist
Do you want to become a physiotherapist? Are you in training or about to start your first job? Know that beyond professional skills, there are several essential qualities that make a good physiotherapist:
- Curiosity: you need to be curious and have a desire to learn throughout your career. This will allow you to consolidate your knowledge and complete your training with other related disciplines such as naturopathy or osteopathy for example. It is therefore very important to keep an open mind, because physiotherapy is a discipline that is evolving just like general medicine or dentistry. Every year new treatments, new practices are born. You will therefore be regularly brought to follow training courses and take part in conferences. To initiate you, the advice of Europe Eduss (who give courses to become physiotherapist) can be to start by attending conferences on the latest innovations.
- The teaching spirit: to gain the confidence of patients, you have to know how to communicate with them whether it is before, after or even during the session. Also, it is necessary to explain to them their case, the functioning and usefulness of each machine, and to detail the stages of treatment. And finally, show them movements or exercises that they can do at home after the session.
- Indeed, some people are extremely stressed at the idea of consulting a health professional, whoever it may be, and the physiotherapist is no exception, especially since patients often think that they are going to be in pain during this type of session. In some cases, we can even talk about phobias. As a professional, the physiotherapist must therefore reassure his anxious patients and, to do so, nothing better than speech and pedagogy. It is necessary to take time to reassure the patient, to explain to him that he has nothing to fear and that the manipulations are not painful in most cases. Of course, we must not lie to the patient to make him believe that everything is fine. A physiotherapist must be honest and rational in his explanations. They must also understand their patients’ concerns, put themselves in their place and show empathy. Thus, he will be able to better understand their concerns and questions, thus improving the relationship and the explanations he can give to patients.
- A flawless organization: whether in the office or in the hospital, the physiotherapist has a rather busy schedule and must therefore manage several patients. For this, he must have a good sense of organization and be able to control his time. It is almost impossible to evolve in this career without organizational and time management skills.
- Human contact: If you choose a health profession, it would be quite natural for you to work in a team with nurses, doctors, social workers, psychologists, before, after and even during your consultations. If you are planning to open your own practice, you may need to see up to 40 people a day. It is therefore essential to be comfortable in contact with others and to enjoy human contact in general.
- Professional discretion: Once the problem has been detected, it is important to gain your patient’s trust. You are therefore subject to professional secrecy. It is out of the question to “gossip” about your patients or their private life. Do not share any information unless it is necessary for the good of your patient.
So you will have understood that physiotherapy is not limited to the skills acquired during the training. So, to become a good physiotherapist, think about working well on these 5 qualities.
