Job Title
Clinical Lead Physiotherapist in Musculoskeletal (MSK) Outpatients
Is your role clinical or non-clinical?
Tell us about your role?
For half of my week, I help people with musculoskeletal conditions in an outpatients setting. For the other half, I am a practice educator, working in the Learning Environment Team. Here I mainly arrange placements for Associate Healthcare Professionals (AHP) and Social Work students and lead on the preceptorship programme for our Trust.
Why did you decide to join the NHS?
I love the variety of opportunities available in the NHS – I see so many different patients and there is potential for development at all times.
What’s your day to day like?
Completely varied. During a Physiotherapy day, I will be seeing or telephoning patients who have a variety of musculoskeletal conditions, triaging referrals, providing or receiving supervision, attending or leading meetings, and approving people’s annual leave. In my Practice Educator role, I could be teaching, liaising with Universities or staff about students, or working with my team to improve the things that we offer.
What are some of the challenges?
Sometimes having so many different things on the go can be challenging. It is important to be able to prioritise and focus on the right thing at the right time, especially when working in two different roles.
What is the best part of your role?
The variety that it offers me – no day is the same.
What’s your top tip for developing a career at the NHS?
Don’t feel like you have to commit to one thing right now, be open to opportunities that come your way – be a yes person. Learn from your mistakes and the things you don’t like, and you will find something in the NHS that is made for you.
What is the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?
Write a 10-year plan. Think about where you want to be in 10 years. Then consider how you’re going to get there. It’s harder than you think but great for focussing.
Anything else you would like to share with a young person who is thinking about a career with the NHS?
Try to get as much experience as you can, speak to anyone who works in the NHS, not just those in the career that you think you want. Spend time with people, look on YouTube, there are so many ‘day in the life of’ videos and these are great for insight too. Look at HCPC, AHP and NMC websites for further information too.