Consultant Physiotherapist & Scientific Lead at Fitterfly | Madhura Bhagat

Digital Health is reshaping patient care. It is one of the growing landscapes of the 21st century. This week’s spotlight features Madhura Bhagat, who has been working in this field for a year now. Madhura works at Fitterfly Healthtech Pvt Ltd. Read her spotlight to know how her work differs from conventional patient care. She also elaborates on the interview process in the corporate sector and explains how to prepare for that.

What is your name and title, workplace?

Madhura Bhagat, Consultant Physiotherapist, and Scientific Lead, Department of
Physiotherapy at Fitterfly Healthtech Pvt Ltd

What is your educational background?

I completed my Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy (BPTh) from LTMMC, Sion, Mumbai in the year 2015

Master’s (MPT) in Orthopedic Physiotherapy with Manual Therapy as my specialization in the year 2018 from Manipal College of Health Professions.

What did you do soon after your graduation? For how long?

I worked as a Clinical Physiotherapist at ReLiva Physiotherapy & Rehab after my
graduation for nearly two and a half years.

What did you do after that?

I am currently employed with Fitterfly Healthtech Pvt Ltd. I will complete a year at my current position in March 2022.

How did you find your current job? Application or connections?

I was recommended by my former Clinical Head who also happens to be my current Head of Department, Dr Anuradha Mandlekar.

How did you prepare yourself for the interview?

I had a brief idea about what areas the company’s operations centered on. First, I visited the company’s website and read it thoroughly. I understood that the focus was on diabetes. So, I read about the condition, right from basic pathophysiology, diagnostic criteria, and processes as well as treatment etc. I read scientific articles about the role of physiotherapy in the management of diabetes as that was to be my job profile.

It is very important to familiarize yourself with the concepts and terminology your future job profile is going to be based on.

Try to gather as much information as you can about it. It is great if you can reach out to any former/current employees of the company via LinkedIn to do so. I took a day or two to prepare for the interview.

What was the interview process like ?

I had three rounds of interviews – a telephonic interview with the Head of Department, an in-person interview with the CEO and Co-Founder of the company, and another telephonic interview with the HR. Interview questions were based on the resume that I had submitted, which means the concerned authorities had thoroughly read it. So, making sure your resume is up to date and presented in a neat, professional manner is very important.

I was asked to elaborate on my publications which I had mentioned in my CV, so make sure that all the information given in the CV is genuine and nothing is fabricated. It may be cross verified in interviews. Be tactful about responses to questions such as ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years because, yes, that’s a favorite question for interviewers.

Give answers that leave an impression that you are genuinely interested in the
opportunity, be frank but tactful about how the company’s interests, principles, and areas of operations align with your personal interests, principles, and your skillset/training.

One mistake, I feel, that people do, is that they show off the homework they have done on the company’s website. Please do not recite the company’s motto to the Founder/CEO, they were probably the ones who came up with it, so it’s completely unnecessary. Be frank when you state your expected salary.

Bottom line: Be frank, genuine, and clear in your communication. Keep your tone polite and neutral. Don’t appear too nervous, over-eager, overconfident, or oversell yourself.

Editor’s note: To download my step-by-step guide to build your physiotherapy resume + physiotherapy resume template click here.

What is the typical day of work for you?

It’s 9 hours of consultation time, research work, blog writing, collaborating across
disciplines within the company (we have a nutrition team, psychology team, research team, content team, care team who manage patient appointments etc).

Consultations are completely virtual, conducted online via video calls. We assess and treat people virtually, design exercise prescriptions, and share them via emails online. We also take periodic follow-ups and monitor their progress. So, it’s a completely virtual setup.

As I mentioned earlier, the primary patient population is people with diabetes, but we also address issues such as obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and musculoskeletal pain management.

Apart from this, we periodically conduct webinars, training sessions, and case presentations at all levels. It can be intradepartmental, inter-departmental, and sometimes outside the organization as well, to corporate offices, organizations, doctors, the general population, etc.

Working as the scientific lead for the department, I have also had the honor and the opportunity to represent my department and company at multiple national and international conferences via poster or oral presentations.

What are your work hours?

I work from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM. But that’s official consultation hours. I often end up working on my research-related activities and other non-patient-related activities beyond the official time.

Do you work remotely or onsite?

I work remotely 99% of the time.

What do you love about what you do?

The challenge! There’s a perfect balance of routine, rules, and procedures in the
workflow. It is also refreshing because after all, every patient is different and unique in their own way. So, you have to tailor your approach to them accordingly.

One thing we pride ourselves on is fusing generic technology with personalization. We also come up with new projects and collaborations so the work nature is dynamic. It’s also fun to meet people from very different walks of life and there’s always something to learn from them.

Our company is outcome-driven. We believe in measurable and tangible outcomes which are evident not only to us medical professionals but to patients themselves and people around them. We push ourselves to achieve the results we promise our patients. That is a very integral part of our work culture at Fitterfly. We pride ourselves on it.

Moreover, We have team-building exercises. We have fun too! Everyone is downright professional and cooperative. We are a digital therapeutics venture, and one of the founding principles is that the work we do is evidence-based and thoroughly backed by current scientific advances and literature. So, there’s that: we’re constantly updating ourselves and our knowledge base.

All in all, it’s a very dynamic environment for both personal and professional growth.

What are the challenges you face?

Don’t be fooled by the work from home scenario (One of its kind for us physios)! It’s hard work, long hours, deadlines, presentations, spreadsheets, documents, you name it! As you must have noticed, the word Digital Therapeutics (DTx for short) implies it is dependent on computers and the internet. So, you need a functional computer and a good network and internet connection to operate.

Power failure, technical glitches, hardware and software issues will impede your work. You have to get smart and creative to manage your work in such cases. Initially, when I joined, I was fairly tech-savvy but I had to learn and adapt according to the work’s specific demands.

Time management skills and discipline with regard to your work are a must. You basically have to be on your toes all the time, but trust me, none of what I’m saying right now is a complaint!

At the end of the day, the satisfaction you have of work done, a sense of accomplishment, the joy of seeing your patients achieving their goals, the sense of pride you feel when they compliment you for your efforts, and the lessons you learn (big or small), the experiences you get (good or bad), they’re all contributing towards your personal and professional growth.

How is the pay like?

I would rather not disclose the actual amount, but as someone who has worked in a clinical setup, I know the pay scale in those jobs. I can definitely say that in comparison, you are paid much better than these conventional job options.

Just be prepared for the responsibility and hard work that is expected of you in return. We also offer incentives based on various criteria like your performance, referrals, etc.

What do you think can be improved in our field?

We are constantly innovating and expanding our horizons. To be honest, even I don’t know what will suddenly revolutionize everything that we do currently! But we are on the lookout for it.

Can you name books, courses, and workshops that helped you in your career?

Rather than books and courses, I rely on scientific research articles to remain updated. PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate are websites I visit frequently to read about research. I’m pleased to say that it is both a personal interest and a job requirement, hence it doesn’t feel like a tedious chore.

What is the typical career path for someone in your role?

I think I’m at a perfect confluence of research and clinical work, so this job profile is kind of similar to academics or full-fledged research work.

What kind of person can do this job? What kind of person cannot do this job?

If you feel limited by or fed up by the regular 9 to 5 clinic, hospitals, or home visit
scenario, if you constantly wonder, ‘are these my only options as a physio?’ then this is the right place for you!

You must be ready to take on a new challenge, a new and different work environment. You must be willing to work hard, push yourselves to achieve better results and be meticulous in your work, and most importantly, be able to think on your feet!

Be creative, smart, and have quick thinking! Learn to adapt, because it is not conventional physiotherapy, but rather digital therapeutics builds on your foundations. So, it also means you must know your p’s and q’s (basics).

This job might not be enjoyable for a person who’s very comfortable in a clinical setup. Or someone who thinks nothing is possible in physiotherapy beyond typical hands-on techniques. Additionally, who’s skeptical about how digital therapeutics works, someone who cannot adapt to a virtual work environment may not be a good fit. This job is not for someone who’s not very tech-savvy or finds it difficult to work with computers.

Is Fitterfly planning to hire more PTs in the future?

At this moment, unfortunately, we’re not. But we are a young and growing company. Our team is constantly expanding, so keep an eye out on our socials (especially LinkedIn). We’ll be updating vacancies as and when they come up from time to time.

What is your advice for someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

Keep your eyes open, be willing to be innovative. Be a risk-taker, be willing to learn something new and off the beaten track. Most importantly, have a keen researcher’s mind, ask a lot of ‘what-ifs’. Most importantly, be very meticulous and strive for perfection in everything that you do. Even failure will teach you a lot.

Where can people reach you?

They can reach me on LinkedIn.