5 Things I Wish I Knew As A Physiotherapy New Grad.

I recently organized my documents when I came across my degree documents folder. I reminisced about my college days and skimmed through my old mark sheets. It’s been 10 years since I graduated! While I am grateful for my professional journey, looking back I realize I would do certain things differently if I had to start over. Hence, in this article today I decided to share the top 5 things I wish I had known as a physiotherapy new grad.  

You don’t have to start post-graduation right away 

Just like many other recent physiotherapy new grads, I started preparing for my master’s entrance exam right after I completed my internship. If you are clear as to what you want to do ahead in your career, then there is nothing wrong with starting your post-graduation right away. 

However, if you have no idea what to do next or are confused between the options after BPT, it might be worth taking a gap year. I highly recommend getting real-world working experience, regardless of whether you know or don’t know what to do next in your career. Working in the real world is so much different than your college internship. It grows you as a person. Additionally, it opens your mind to the possibilities you haven’t thought about in the past. 

You can try and get Physiotherapy observership/internship experience in the specialization you are confused about. If you are thinking about pursuing a management career, you can reach out and ask questions to physios on LinkedIn who have already pursued the same path. Or if you are planning to go abroad you can reach out to Indian students in those countries and ask about their experience. Some countries require you to have certain hours of clinical experience before pursuing a master’s. In that case, you can work towards gaining that experience while you work on your applications. 

Think about your long-term vision when you are setting career goals. 

Having a clear vision of what you want is imperative when you are setting your career goals as a physiotherapy new grad. I recommend taking time out of your schedule to think and write down what you want. That will give you a definite starting point when setting career goals. 

For example, if you prefer working from home and in reasonable hours, telehealth might be an option for you. If you want to have standard career growth but don’t want to stay clinical, you can explore management degrees. In the case where you don’t mind working long hours but want the freedom of doing things on your terms, you may consider starting your own practice. 

Now based on what type of career suits your interests and the lifestyle you envision, you can start setting your career goals. For example, in case where you want to be a telehealth PT, you can start doing your PT consultations online and thereby gain experience. You may choose to attend different courses or workshops that teach you more about telehealth. If you want to pursue a management degree, you can start preparing for your entrance exam. On the other hand, if you want to start your own practice, you may choose to pursue a master’s or other courses after physiotherapy. in your specialization. 

Try and work on creating passive sources of income

Passive income does not mean making money without any effort. In fact, all the passive income streams take years to build and require consistent efforts over a period of time. In your 20s you can take advantage of time and start working on creating passive income streams for the future. 

Many times staff physiotherapists working at the clinic or in some hospitals do not get adequate salaries. Therefore we need to learn to manage finances as a physiotherapy new grad. You can read my article about passive income ideas for PTs here. But in a nutshell, you can consider one or more of the following options. 

• Starting a blog/ youtube channel
• Affiliate marketing 
• Selling a digital product: Ebook, app, online course, etc 
• Building a membership community 
• Learning about investing in stock/ bonds and mutual funds 

Finding a career mentor/ coach goes a long way

Right from graduation as we go ahead with our career we may face certain challenges or roadblocks. As I mentioned, many physiotherapy new grads don’t know what to do next after BPT. They are faced with confusion in choosing between specialties or staying clinical and exploring non-clinical career options. Over the years of experience, PTs may face issues such as burnout, lack of work-life balance, and difficulties getting back into the workforce after a maternity break. Physiotherapy graduates who are planning to go abroad face confusion right from choosing a country to choosing a university and choosing a curriculum. 

In all these situations and at different times in your physiotherapy career, a physiotherapy career coach can help you gain clarity. In addition to that, a physiotherapy career coach can help you successfully land an interview, prepare for the interview rounds and help negotiate salary.  I wish I was able to talk to someone about my career early on. I would have made fewer mistakes along the way. 

Taking time out to take care of yourself is essential!

Okay, this one sounds like common sense. But I am guilty of committing to a lot more work than I should have, which led to burnout. In my experience, burnout wasn’t just about being physically tired. It drained my mental and emotional resources too! It affected not just my physical but mental and emotional well-being as well. 

Now I take all the measures I can to prevent myself from getting into a burnout stage. Here are some of the things that worked well for me and might work well for you.

1. Make a to-do list and focus on the most important tasks. 
2. Eliminate as many tasks as you can.
3. I Remember that my time and energy are limited and design my day accordingly.
4. I try to take out 10 minutes for daily self-care activities such as going on a walk. 

Please don’t ignore yourself and your health when you are building your career. In order to have a long successful career take care of yourself first!

Imposter syndrome is real for physiotherapy new grads but you can overcome it.

Imposter syndrome is an internal psychological experience where you feel incompetent despite your credibility and success. I remember when I was a physiotherapy new grad, just below the surface of every patient interaction I felt self-conscious and nervous.  

As I practiced more, I saw my patients getting better with treatment. I slowly gained confidence in my ability for delivering results. Basically, imposter syndrome faded away as I worked more and saw more patients. 

It was also helpful to talk to my seniors about how I felt. I was relieved to know that they felt the same way when starting out. 

Experience over a period of time is a strong antidote to imposter syndrome. You can not help to make it go away. You got to work with it and it disappears slowly with time. If I had known about it when I was a physiotherapy new grad, I would have felt less panicked and more confident!