5 Steps To Set Career Goals As A Physiotherapist 

Figuring out the next action step for your career can feel confusing. Especially, when we had a pretty straightforward path laid out for us until graduation. We all knew we were going from 10th to 12th to graduation. But what to do next after graduation? That is the big question many students struggle to answer. Hence, in this article today let’s find out how to set career goals as a physiotherapist.

I am pretty sure that in the past you must have set some goals for yourself. It is likely that you forgot about your goals or were distracted or lost consistency along the way. And that is okay, it happens with all of us. However, it is not okay to not set career goals just because you lost track of some of your goals in the past. 

I am here today to give you step-by-step strategies to set your career goals as a physiotherapist. Besides, I will share some tips so that you don’t lose track of your career goals this time. Let’s dive in. 

Why setting career goals is essential as a physiotherapist

Wanting to have a successful career where you earn a steady income and make an impact is a good starting point. Goal setting provides a roadmap for you to actually do that. When you know what you want, you can avoid distraction with more ease and stay focused on a path. Goal setting prompts you to take action. When you take action you feel more confident. This process as a whole builds momentum for your professional growth. 

How to set career goals as a Physiotherapist

Preparation: 

Prep yourself for the goal-setting session. 

• Set aside at least 20 minutes of your day for a goal-setting session
• Keep away all the distractions
• Set your phone to silent 
• Make yourself a coffee/fav beverage
• Grab a pen and paper 
• Follow along and Start writing 

Step 1: Get clear on your long-term vision

The first question to ask is how do you want your professional life to look like 5 years down the lane? Think and imagine as vividly as possible.

• What does your typical workday look like? 
• What hours do you work?
• Do you work onsite or remotely? 
• What will you specialize in? 

Spend some time thinking about what you want in detail and as vividly as possible. At this point, it is important to ask yourself why you want whatever it is that you want. 

For example, someone may want to become a women’s health expert in the locality because they wanted to make an impact and help women achieve a better quality of life. On the other hand, someone may want to venture into telerehab because they want freedom of location and want the ability to work from anywhere. 

Be mindful that your vision is realistic and that you are not setting unrealistic expectations from yourself. Additionally, see how challenging the vision feels to you. If you think it is too challenging you are not going to stick with the plan. 

Step 2: Create a plan

What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity.

~Dan and Chip Heath

Oftentimes people think they lack the motivation to do something when in reality they lack clarity around what to do next. Knowing a step-by-step action plan helps you beat procrastination.

Once you know what you want, work backward and identify the major milestones along the path. Figure out the actions you need to take to achieve each milestone. Break down each large task into smaller steps. Your set milestones become a framework that guides you towards your next action step. 

For example, If you want to establish yourself as a women’s health PT expert, one of your milestones would be to get a master’s or specialized certification in that area. If you want to start your telerehab practice, one of the milestones is to get experience in telerehab. 

Step 3: Set a timeline for everything 

Parkinson’s law: work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion

You see Parkinson’s law in action when you end up spending five hours on a task that otherwise could have been done in half an hour. Procrastination is another key player in Parkinson’s law. When we think we have ample time to complete the work, we tend to postpone it until the very last minute. (Think about the times when you finished the syllabus three days before the exam) 

That is why when you don’t set a deadline, you may end up spending a lot of time on simple tasks. Hence it is extremely important that you set a timeline to accomplish your goals. Setting timelines makes your work more manageable since it instills a sense of urgency and prompts you to take action. 

For example, you can give yourself a week’s time to understand the various courses you can take after physiotherapy.  Or you can set a day when you finally sit down and make your resume. 

Step 4: Seek out the support system

Once you have all that down you can start taking action. However, goals tied to your long-term vision can take a while to achieve. It is human nature to get distracted by shiny objects and lose motivation along the way. 

In order to make your initial motivation sustainable, you may need to find a strong support system. Research shows that we are likely to stick with our goals when we share them with others. 

You can find an accountability partner. This person could be your friend, colleague, or someone you met online who shares the same goals. I also recommend joining any one of my private Facebook groups. 

• PT career paths overseas: This group is for Indian PTs who want to pursue a career abroad. 
• PT Career paths PT networking group: This group is for Indian PTs who plan to settle down in India. 

If you think you need more support with your career goals, you can sign up for my one-on-one consultations, where I can virtually hold your hand and guide you in your career journey. 

Step 5: Stay on track 

As I mentioned earlier, working towards your career goals is an ongoing process. It may take a while for you to reach your milestones. That is why when planning,  make every effort to stay on track. Keep in mind that when it comes to your goals you need to constantly seek clarity. This isn’t just a one-time thing. 

Here are some of the ways you can keep the track of your goals: 

• Weekly and monthly reviews: At the end of every week and every month monitor your progress, and make changes as needed. At the weekly review answer questions such as What went well this week? What can be improved? Plan for the next week. 

At your monthly review answer questions such as How is your progress towards the goals? What can be improved next month? Plan for the next month. 

• Setting boundaries: You may need to eliminate or reduce certain things such as social media use so that you can achieve your goals. Some of the healthy boundaries can look like no social media for the first 2 hours in the morning or no late nights on weekends. 

• Be flexible: As you start working towards your goals you may need to adjust or readjust your timelines based on how things go. During your professional journey, you may discover some new interests or opportunities. Because of that, it is important to revisit your goals frequently and make adjustments as needed. 

Summary 

In this article today we saw why setting career goals as a physiotherapist is important. We also discussed 5 steps to set your career goals. These steps include: 

• Getting clear on your long-term vision
• Working backward from your vision and making a plan
• Setting timelines
• Finding the support system 
• Staying on track 

Remember not to beat yourself up for working when your friends, colleagues, or classmates are out playing. As long as you’re not feeling tired, frazzled, or overwhelmed, it’s okay to work toward your goals when others are having fun. After all, working toward your goals should be fun!