Clinical Career Options After Physiotherapy.

All of us decided to pursue physiotherapy since we wanted to help patients improve their life in some way. After being a physiotherapist for almost a decade now, I can say the job satisfaction you get from a clinical career is unmatchable. While some of you are looking for nonclinical career options or work from job ideas, many of my readers love working clinically. So in this post today let’s explore the clinical career options after physiotherapist. 

Working in a hospital 

This is likely to be one of the most familiar settings for many of us. Since we start our first clinical rotation in a hospital or hospital OPD. Many hospitals offer posts such as ‘junior physiotherapist’ ‘Consultant physiotherapist’ to freshers and new grads. 

Multispeciality hospitals prefer having a candidate with a Master’s degree. A typical career path prompts seniority roles taking responsibility for more and more patients and physiotherapists. Eventually paving the way to leadership roles such as head of the division or head of the department. 

Depending on your background you are likely to get exposure to a wide variety of conditions in ICU, Inpatient, and hospital outpatient units. You can choose to specialize in a field such as orthopedics, woman’s health, neurology, pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, etc. Based on the exposure you get and your job requirements you can pursue certifications and credentials in that specific subject. 

Pros:

• Purely clinical role especially in the early years.
• Fixed schedule in many cases.
• Fairly good pay depending on organization and location.

Cons:

• Landing a job might not be easy due to fierce competition.
• Career growth may take longer depending on how the senior positions become available.
• May involve night shifts, weekend shifts. 

The type of person who could do well in this job:

• A physiotherapist working in a hospital needs to have excellent communication skills. You will be collaborating with other healthcare providers such as surgeons, nurses, and dieticians among others. 
• If you are working at the hospital you will likely be working in a fast-paced environment. 
• Empathy plays a big role in our profession but when you are working at the hospital, you will be working with some critically ill patients. One needs to be empathetic towards the patient and their family without getting emotionally overwhelmed. 

Tips to get started:

• Prepare your resume and cover letter.  (get my free step-by-step guide to building a physiotherapy resume here.)
• Once you have made the resume and cover letter, personally drop them off at every hospital you wish to work in. Regardless if they have a vacancy or not, go drop off your resume and cover letter. ( One of my spotlight candidates did this and ended up landing a job at Lilavati Hospital. See the link to her spotlight below).
• Set up a LinkedIn profile and search for jobs. 
• Other places to find hospital jobs: Newspaper Ad, Glassdoor, Indeed, Hospital websites. 

Relevant Spotlights :

• Cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation physiotherapist, Hinduja Hospital | Dr. Sharvari Sanjay Kumthekar
• Sr. Physiotherapist at AYUSH Department, Govt. of MP | Physio. Anant Singh

Working in a clinic

I started my career by applying for an observership at a local physiotherapy clinic. Eventually, I continued to work there as a consultant physiotherapist. I believe working at a clinic is a great way to start a career. It provides you with real-world experience. Many clinics in the city operate late in the evening. So you can go there for observership/work after your college hours. 

Whether you want to start your own clinic or you want to build experience, I say work at several clinics in your area. This is especially important if you are not sure which specialization to choose for your master’s. You will get to build your network, pick up new skills and get varied experience. 

If you know your interests, you may opt for a specialty clinic such as pediatrics, spine, woman’s health, etc. Career growth depends on the size of the clinic. In corporate clinics, you can climb a career ladder to become a clinic director, regional director, and eventually even a partner. 

A number of specialized clinic chains are growing in India. Women’s health clinics, Spine clinics, Sports clinics, and Rehabilitation clinics are a few of them, to begin with. Many such Clinics have a corporate culture and are equipped with the cutting-edge technology used in rehabilitation. Commonly, many fresh graduates find this a suitable option because it gives you time to prepare for future endeavors along with some hands-on clinical experience and earnings.

Pros:

• A good place to start your career and learn from mentors.
• You can work on your future plans ( Pursuing Masters, Going abroad, Starting a clinic, etc.) while you earn experience and money.
• Many clinics have specialized equipment and emerging technology that you can become familiarised with.

Cons:

• Less pay in many cases. 
• If you are working at a small, privately-owned clinic, career growth is often limited. 
• Corporate clinics often require you to sign a contract. Because of this, in case you resign before the contract expires, you may need to pay a stipulated amount back to the company.

The type of person who could do well in this job:

• The PT working at the clinic must be extremely courteous. It is important not to lose your cool when someone is being rude to you. 
• Many PT clinic owners have their unique treatment philosophy. They can be particular about the treatment techniques and protocols. As a PT working for them, you are expected to be open and willing to learn. 
• Many clinics in cities continue to operate till late in the evening. In a busy clinic, you may end up working past 9 – 9:30 pm. The person working at the private clinic should be willing to work late evenings. 

Tips to get started:

• If you are a student or recent graduate, you can start by applying for the observership.
• You can sign up for my newsletter. I share physiotherapy jobs across India as and when possible. 
• Make a resume and cover letter. Drop them off personally at the clinics in your area. If you can, talk to the clinic owner. 
• Get on LinkedIn and look for jobs. 

Relevant Spotlights:

• Qi spine clinic, Clinical director | Dr. Garima Anandani (PT)
• Founder Physiqure, Editor in chief PHYSIOTIMES | Physio. Anubha Singhai

Starting your own clinic

By starting your own clinic you will be embarking on the entrepreneurial journey. When you are in charge of building a successful practice, you will have a lot to look after besides patient care. You will be learning about various aspects such as marketing, finances, and HR.  These are the skills we are not often taught in physiotherapy college. You are required to make a special effort to hone these skills.

Career growth depends on how well your practice grows. Some physiotherapists choose to have a local practice while others expand to have multiple locations. As your practice grows, you want to be mindful of your work-life balance. You can easily get consumed with all the demands your practice poses, leaving little time for family. 

On the other hand, some physiotherapists struggle with generating enough revenue for their practice to thrive. Your academic credentials don’t matter as much as your clinical skills and soft skills. It is imperative that you take additional efforts beyond acquiring clinical skills. Once your practice takes off, the sky is the limit!

Pros: 

• You get to call the shots 
• Opportunity for personal growth 
• Once your practice takes off, you make a fairly good income 

Cons: 

• You will be paying a lot of money upfront when setting up your clinic. That is before you start making any money. 
• Takes a while to be established
• Possible income instability until your practice takes off. 

The type of person who could do well in this job:

• It is important to have a growth mindset. For me, a growth mindset means knowing you can figure things out no matter what the challenge is. You don’t need to know how to deal with the situation. But only faith in your own ability to figure things out is essential.
• Having exceptional soft skills is valuable.
• The person who is self-motivated to learn new skills in addition to clinical skills. 

Tips to get started

• If you are a new graduate I would recommend starting off by getting some experience with observerships/ internships for a while.
• Initially, you may choose to rent out a space in a polyclinic as you establish yourself in your area. 
• Start by learning how to make a business plan. There are multiple tutorials on youtube, several online courses that walk you through a process.
• Figure out finances and legalities.   
• Brainstorm and figure out the ways how you are going to market yourself. Find out who is the target population, what are their problems, and what do they need. 
• Create content for social media, email newsletters, in-person seminars, posters, and flyers to market your services to your target audience. 
• Remember to work on your clinical skills and soft skills because there is always a room to grow!

Relevant Spotlights:

• Neuro Pediatric Physiotherapist | Sanket Khadilkar
• Owner, The Physioway | Zahabia Basrai
• Msk and Sports Physiotherapist | Dr. Yuvraj Singh

Sports Physiotherapist

Some of the students from my college were sure that they wanted to be sports physiotherapists. In fact, many of them pursued physiotherapy after 12th with the dream of having a career in sports. 

Sports physiotherapy is probably the most dynamic branch of our field. It involves you being on the field with your athlete throughout the day. If you are overseeing national athletes you may need to travel with them to various national campsites. 

You can work for a sports organization such as BCCI, or Olympic Gold Quest. Alternatively, you may choose to work independently. If you are working for an organization, you might initially treat amateur or recreational athletes. As you gain more experience, you will possibly work with elite athletes. If you are working independently, the complexity of your work depends on how your practice grows. 

Pros:

• Remuneration is often more than average.
• Dynamic work environment.
• Opportunity for professional growth.

Cons:

• Traveling is often a part of the job.
• Long work hours during the sports season.
• Many times you need to have specialized training.

Type of person who could do well in this job:

• If you have played competitive sports on a state/ national/ international level in your childhood, you are likely to better understand the challenges your athletes face. Many employers prefer that. 
• If that is not the case for you, start working out regularly. By working out, I do not mean joining a cute little Zumba studio in town or going for a walk! I am talking about high-intensity work out such as weight lifting, CrossFit, HIIT, Plyometrics, etc. 
• You will need to be willing and open to travel.
• Aalaap Jawdekar, Meerabai Chanu’s official PT, once told me “Sports is a brutal field for physios, just like it is for the athletes. Athletes need to keep proving themselves over and over again. It is true for everybody involved, coaches, physiotherapists, and support staff. The job of a sports physiotherapist may be thankless. In the end, an athlete gets the limelight, make no mistake, it is how it should be. But there is a lot of work put in by us. You should be okay not having the recognition for what you put in. If you make sure your athlete is fit and he/she is able to make it on the field, then your job is done.”

Tips to get started: 

• Start working out regularly if you haven’t already! 
• If you are a student or recent graduate start by applying for observerships at your local sports club/ sports clinics. You can choose to volunteer for various sports events including marathons. 
• Try to get exposure and experience in treating athletes playing various types of sports. 
• Master’s degree or specialized training such as CSCS will be helpful.
• Make your resume, and cover letter, and start applying!
• In this spotlight, Dr. Yuvraj shares excellent tips to get you started as a sports physiotherapist.

Relevant spotlights:

• Official Physiotherapist Of Para Athletes For 2020 Paralympics | Dr. Abhishek Wagh (PT)
• Official PT of Mirabai Chanu for Tokyo Olympics | Dr. Aalaap Jawdekar (PT)
• Strength and Conditioning Academy, India, Co-Founder and Director | Dr. Apurva Mathankar (MPT, CSCS)

Home visits 

Home visits simply mean going to the patient’s home to provide physiotherapy treatment. You can start soon as you graduate. There are many patients in our community who cannot travel out of their homes for various reasons. Home visits are an excellent way to make physiotherapy accessible to them. 

When I first started, I was assigned home visits by my employer. I also made sure to let people in my community know that I am available for home visits. Before I knew it, I was doing home visits all day long. 

You get to see a variety of patients including post-operative, geriatric, neurological, and cardio-respiratory conditions. If you are working with a home care corporate company, you may be presented with career growth opportunities. Otherwise, it is simply a matter of how many visits you can possibly take in a day!

Pros:

• You get to decide your work hours.
• Good income depending on the location and the number of patients you treat.
• You will be making PT accessible to those who can not travel outside of their homes.

Cons:

• The daily commute can add up to more than a couple of hours depending on the locations of the visits. 
• Not a steady source of income.
• It takes time to get established in a community. 

The type of person who could do well in this job:

• A people person, someone who can establish a great rapport with people around them. 
• You will also need to have communication skills so that you can collaborate with other healthcare professionals for the patient. 
• This person needs to be punctual and show up on a time they committed to. Time management skills play a big role when you are carrying out multiple home visits in a day. 

Tips to get started:

• You can start by carrying out home visits for your relatives, friends, and friends of friends. 
• Let people know that you are available for a home visit. 
• You can check out the homecare company’s career portal to see if they have an opening.

So here you have it! Clinical career options for a physiotherapist. Feel free to combine two or more options based on what suits you. 

I know making a career decision is intimidating, not knowing what to do can make it worse. But, there are so many physiotherapists out there in India, who are doing so well! So can you! I believe in you! 

My goal is to help PT students and professionals across India navigate through their careers! If you need more help with your PT career, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, or Instagram or fill out my contact us form.