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- Work with patients and support physiotherapists to help improve movement and physical ability
- You'll need to be good with people, patient and caring
- Progress into more senior roles or take an accredited degree to become a physiotherapist
As a physiotherapy assistant, you'll work with patients of all ages and with a range of conditions. Your patients may have an injury or an illness or disease that has caused lack of movement. You'll support patients and work with them to improve their mobility.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Talking to patients and preparing them for therapy
- Showing patients how to use mobility aids
- Demonstrating and working through exercises with patients
- Setting up equipment
- Keeping records of patients' progress
- Providing reports to physiotherapists
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work in a health centre, a client's home, or an NHS or private hospital.
You'll need
For this role, you'll need sensitivity and understanding, the ability to work well with others, thoroughness and attention to detail, flexibility and openness to change, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, customer service skills, excellent verbal communication skills, and knowledge of psychology.
Direct application is possible if you've got relevant skills and experience from working in a healthcare setting.
You could take a college course in health and social care. Many of these courses include work placements, which would help you gain relevant experience.
You could also get into this job through an intermediate apprenticeship as a healthcare support worker, or advanced apprenticeship as a senior healthcare support worker.
You can start out as a healthcare assistant and learn on the job, moving into physiotherapy work through further training and promotion.
Paid or unpaid experience in a healthcare setting or personal care role would be useful. Private physiotherapy clinics, nursing homes, and sports clinics may also offer work placements.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience and further qualifications, you could become a senior physiotherapy support worker, or assistant practitioner. You could take an accredited degree to train as a physiotherapist.