My whole life I have loved everything to do with sports, and I hope to continue to be a part of the athletics community my whole life, which is why I’m drawn to a career that will let me do this. Physiotherapy will allow me to work with athletes as well as other people in recovery from injuries, and it combines lots of my interests. I had the pleasure of speaking with a local physiotherapist to learn all about their job. Below are the three biggest things I took away from speaking with them.

1. Physiotherapy is more about being a people person than anything.

Although there are certainly many different aspects of being a physiotherapist, the biggest part of the job is interacting with clients. Physiotherapists treat all kinds of people, so they must be able to be around lots of different people, as well as how to build relationships and trust with them. Overall, physiotherapists not only have to know how to properly help people, but they also have to know how to interact with them and make the experience positive for all their clients.

2. Maintaining a work-life balance can be difficult.

Physiotherapists tend to work about 6 to 7-hour shifts, which isn’t a whole lot but depending on their schedule they may not even have time for a break. Over the course of the day, clients are constantly coming in and out so the day can easily be quite exhausting. There’s also lots to be done after all the clients have been treated, like documentation, charting, and sometimes writing letters to clients’ doctors or coaches. Physiotherapy is not a job where you punch in and punch out for every shift, as there’s always lots of extra work to do. The best way to maintain a work-life balance is to know when it’s time to leave the office and take a break from work. Having hobbies and other activities outside of work is also really important.

3. There are always new discoveries and advancements being made in the field.

Physiotherapy is a constantly changing and growing field of work, so all physiotherapists must continue to learn and expand the knowledge that they have. Although we know a lot about the body, we’re far from knowing everything so physiotherapists have to change their thinking and perspective for each different patient they work with. Being a physiotherapist requires having constant curiosity and a desire to always be learning.

This interview allowed a closer look into what working as a physiotherapist would be like. Although I don’t know exactly what career I’ll pursue in the future, physiotherapy is definitely an option that I’d be interested in.