As a physiotherapy graduate, should I take a gap year?

Gap year is the concept that has gained popularity in the past few years. When I graduated I went straight on to pursue my Masters. Sure enough, some students waited for a year or so to figure things out, which is essentially a gap year. Though it was not conceptualized at the time. In our article today, let’s find out what is a gap year? Should physiotherapy students take a gap year? Pros and cons of a gap year and other related questions.

What is a gap year?

The Gap year association defines gap year as “A semester or year of experiential learning, typically taken after high school and prior to career or post-secondary education, in order to deepen one’s practical, professional, and personal awareness.”

Gap year means taking a break, typically for a year or so, in between your education. Honestly, this break can be at any time in your educational journey. It can be after your 10th, 12th standard, before starting physiotherapy college. For this article we will be talking about taking a gap year after you complete bachelor’s of physiotherapy. 

Should I consider taking a gap year?

The short answer is a yes! Although, actually taking a gap year is ultimately your decision, you should definitely give it a thought. Many of the physiotherapists take a gap year to figure out what they want to do next. Some explore various fields of specialisation. While others explore different Masters programs in India and abroad. 

Many times students are not sure whether they want to pursue masters. They use the gap year to figure things out. On the other hand some are just tired from grinding and daily hustle. They use this time to travel and pursue their other interests.

No matter what the reason is for taking a gap year, it gives you a breather. You can use the time to get more clarity on your next career move.

What can a physiotherapy graduate do during the gap year?

Have a vision

Once you decide to take a gap year, it is imperative to know why you are taking it. Write it down on a piece of paper. After that, put it in a place where you will see it everyday! I can’t stress this enough, it is important to remember your vision throughout your journey. In other words, know your why.

First things first, set clear goals in the beginning. 

Some of your goals may look like:

By the end of my gap year, 

• Finish an observership/ internship (basically work experience) in 3 different physiotherapy setups. 
• Make the final decision about pursuing masters.
• Get ready to apply for the universities/colleges for Masters.
• Learn 2 skills or attend 2 workshops in the areas of interest.
• Make the final decision about going non clinical.

Once you have the goals, start breaking them down into actionable steps.

For example, if you are confused about pursuing masters in Neuro or MSK, next steps can be:

• Make a list of neuro and MSK clinics in your area.
• Make a list of hospitals in your area.
• Prepare resume, application and update your LinkedIn profile.
• Submit an application to the places where you would like to start an internship/ observership. Reach out to seniors, friends and professors for more help.
• Follow up on the application
• Decide which setup you are going to work
• Start working
• After a few months, change the setup to get diverse experience.

Make a plan 

You have the steps you need to take. Now set a timeline for each of the steps. This is important to help you reach your goals by the end of your gap year.

Perform weekly and monthly reviews.

This step is essential to keep you on track. 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

Relax and Unwind

After four and half years of physiotherapy college, you may decide to take a break for sometime. Students choose to travel and explore during this time. Some spend time with their family especially if they lived far away from them during the college years. You may choose to spend time with your friends and have some fun!

By the end of your physiotherapy gap year, you will have accomplished your goals. This will bring you more clarity regarding your next career move. 

Pros and cons of taking a gap year

Pros:

• You can get a diverse experience: I think this is particularly important if you are not sure about which specialization to choose. Real world experience is different than the experience you get in a college. 

• It gives you a breather to avoid hasty career decisions: Things can get really busy for you in your final year and internship. You want to avoid making decisions simply based on what your friends are doing. Taking a gap year allows you to research your options thoroughly. 

• Getting a real world experience brings you more clarity: As I said earlier, it is different than working with the security blanket of college professors. If possible try different settings such as outpatient, inpatient, private clinics etc to have more clarity.  

• With a solid action plan, you can design your own career: If you go about it in an organized manner, you will make career choices based on your interests. 

Cons: 

• Finances: If you are going to dabble between the set ups, you may end up getting observership opportunities. While you will get a diverse experience, you might not start earning. This can affect your finances.

You can try to address this by doing some home visits on the side. Another option is to apply for internship or locum positions.

• Age factor: Taking a gap year, figuring out your interests, pursuing masters and then getting a job can add years in your academic journey. Some of the physios might not want to wait that long.

(At the time when I was in college, the masters program was for three years. I wanted to get some real world experience before starting my masters. When I was in my fourth year, I started working in a private clinic. In that clinic, I got exposure for mainly ortho and some neuro cases. 

So as you can see, instead of taking a gap for the whole year, I started getting the real world experience while completing my bachelors. This can be an option for some.)

• Losing momentum: This is one of the biggest drawbacks. The good news is, it is totally under your control. Since you are on your own during the gap year, it is easy to lose the vision of why you are taking the gap year. If you lose your momentum, you might not be able to figure out what you want to do. 

Instead of taking your decisions proactively, you might just end up going with the flow. I personally believe, solution for this problem is organised planning. 

Whether you take a gap year or not, I believe it is important for you to have some ‘real world’ working experience working as a physiotherapist before deciding what to do after Bachelors of physiotherapy. This holds true even if you are sure of what you want to do or even if you want to go non-clinical!

Taking a gap year early in your career can have an impact on the rest of your career path. While there are some cons, it is definitely worth giving a thought.