FINAL ENTRY

I am really glad that I was able to experience working in the field of paediatric physiotherapy this year. Overall the experience was very positive and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the children at The Centre for Cerebral Palsy (TCCP). In my initial entry I commented that I was concerned about the structure of the placement because I had not previously had any experience working in community paediatrics. This placement was quite unstructured and as a student I was expected to independently get involved in as many learning experiences as possible. Initially this was a very daunting task, but once I realised how friendly everyone was at TCCP I became very happy to coordinate my timetable with my colleagues. In relation to caseload I discovered that the community paediatric physiotherapist has a lot more time available to manage each client, compared to the standard 20 minute consultation in musculoskeletal physiotherapy for example. Furthermore as a student I was provided with additional time that allowed me to put together some solid planning. Sound clinical reasoning was one of my goals to accomplish whilst on this placement so I highly valued these opportunities.

Another unique role of the community paediatric physiotherapist is travelling out to the clients in the community. During my placement at TCCP I was involved in team visits to client’s homes, family meetings, home visits, and school visits etcetera. I was also given the opportunity to work independently with children in the community. Initially I was concerned about feeling uncomfortable whilst on these visits, and at first it was very overwhelming attending the schools and homes of clients by myself. Throughout the placement I became increasingly confident working in these ‘alien’ environments and I quickly discovered that they were the optimal place to carry out my physiotherapy interventions. Working in an environment where the client was comfortable meant that they were happy to participate in physiotherapy. Furthermore because I was mainly working with school aged children it meant that the clients were much more accessible.

In my initial entry I commented that I was concerned that a lack of equipment would be available to me to utilise at the clients home and school. Whilst this concern was valid, I learnt that it was vital to base my physiotherapy interventions on the equipment that the child had available in their school or home in order to encourage participation. Developing enjoyable physiotherapy interventions for the school aged children was probably one of my greatest challenges whilst on this placement. I realised all I needed to solve this challenge was to cultivate some creativity. Furthermore constantly updating the physiotherapy programs encouraged client participation and constantly kept me ‘on my feet’ to progress my treatments as the client was improving.

Before the beginning of this placement I was very concerned that my educators would have very high expectations of me and in particular of my knowledge of Cerebral Palsy. The physiotherapy management of Cerebral Palsy is a very specialised area, and thus my clinical supervisor and tutor did not expect me to have an expert knowledge of this field. All of the preparation I completed prior to the commencement of my placement really paid off because I was confident when asked challenging questions. Fortunately my supervisor and tutor created a really supportive and nonthreatening environment and were always willing to answer any good questions. Throughout the duration of the placement I realised that I needed to focus less on rope learning from textbooks and to spend as much time as possibly observing different physiotherapists working with the children at TCCP. This allowed me to develop a really great understanding of the physiotherapy management of Cerebral Palsy and also provided me with a plethora of treatment techniques, games and activities that I could confidently use in the future. I was really happy that I was given so many opportunities to get hands on experience and was able to try out all the treatment ideas I had seen and dreamt up.

I have finished at the TCCP with an incredible appreciation of the role of the paediatric physiotherapist. I have also gained an awareness of how enjoyable it can be to work with children, their families and as part of a dedicated multidisciplinary team.