Physiotherapy so youve got your degree

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Physiotherapy so youve got your degree?
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Career Services

• Jennie Collins
• Career Services
• Room 3B2
• www.canberra.edu.au
• careers_at_canberra.edu.au

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The good news

• Currently there is high demand for your
• skills and knowledge across the country
• and internationally
• Government identifies physiotherapy as one
• of the Migrant Occupations in Demand.

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Where are the jobs? ..

• Canberra may offer fewer opportunities
• (physio_at_act.gov.au)
• Think suburban, regional, rural, remote
• Think private sector, public sector, NPOs
• Think part-time, contract, temporary work
• Think New Zealand! (They speak English there!)

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The Position Description

• Every advertised professional job will have
• a Position Description which describes the
  duties/activities/responsibilities of the job and
• a list of Selection Criteria or Competencies
• which you respond to in writing to show why you
  are the ideal candidate for the job.

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Found the position ?Now apply for it.

• The Curriculum Vitae aka the CV
• aka the Resume
• This is your crucial first point of contact with
  a
• potential employer. You get an interview on
• the basis of your CV.
• It gives information to the employer about your
• knowledge and skills and provides the employer
• with your contact details. The CV is all about
  you.

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Your clinical placements ..

• You need to talk about your clinical placements.
• Employers want to know that you survived
• the experience and learned from it.
• What did you learn clinically?
• What did you learn about communication?
• What did you learn about administration?
• This is the experience you will bring to the job.

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Placements on the CV

• Clinical placement 1
• Outpatients Clinic, Calvary Hospital, ACT
• 2 March to 5 April 2009
• During this placement I worked I attended
  unit and
• clinic staff meetings once and week . I kept
  records of
• I treated on average 15 patients per week .
• I attended two one-day in-house workshops, one
  on Knee
• and Ankle Immobilisation After Sport Trauma, the
  other ..

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Clinical Supervisors

• They worked with you, they saw you in action,
  they assessed you from a personal and
  professional viewpoint.
• Approach them for a referee report, verbal or
  written. Ask if you may list them on your CV as a
  referee.

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Physiotherapist, Austin Hospital, Melbourne

• Selection Criteria
• Clinical physiotherapy experience and skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Creative and positive interactions with people
• Able to work autonomously and as a member of an
  interdisciplinary team
• Able to problem-solve in a timely manner
• Commitment to self-learning professional
  development
• Commitment to quality improvement

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Claims Against the Selection Criteria

• PhysiotherapistAustin HospitalPosition No
  1298/2009
• Clinical Physiotherapy experience and skills
• I gained my Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2004
  from the University of
• Sydney. Since then I have worked full-time at
  the Greenslopes
• Repatriation Hospital in Brisbane in the
  Outpatients Clinic for Veterans.
• I have worked mainly with injuries ..
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• I have excellent interpersonal skills gained in a
  clinical rehabilitation
• setting in Brisbane. I am able to deal
  sympathetically and effectively
• with elderly veterans as a result of my work at
  Greenslopes.

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Physiotherapist, Mercy Care Centre, Brisbane

• Job Competencies Required
• Assessment and diagnosis of a range of
  muscular-skeletal conditions
• Understand the role of a physiotherapist in a
  rehabilitation setting
• Demonstrated ability to work with people with
  multiple co-morbidities and their families
• Commitment to quality improvement activities
• http//www.rch.org.au/css/qie/index.cfm?doc_id101
  12

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PhysiotherapistMercy Care Centre, Brisbane

• Job competencies
• Assessment and diagnosis of a range of
  muscular-skeletal
• conditions
• I have two years experience in the assessment and
  diagnosis of
• muscular-skeletal conditions from employment in
  the Adult Orthopaedic
• Unit, Innisfail Regional Hospital. During this
  time I

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Mercy Care Centre contd.

• Personal Competencies Required
• Ability to function within the Mercy Care
  Centres mission, values and code of conduct
• Able to abide by the APAs Code of Ethics
• Able to communicate with clients, family members,
  carers, medical officers and other service
  providers
• Able to work across a variety of settings within
  a multidisciplinary team and individually

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• Personal Competencies
• Able to abide by the APA code of Ethics
• I understand and have studied the APA Code of
  Ethics.
• During my clinical placements, I abided by the
  provisions of
• the Code in my dealings with clients at all
  times. I will
• continue to uphold the APA Code of Ethics in my
  work with
• the Mercy Care Centre.

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The Interview

• A professional conversation, so approach it as a
  professional calmly
• Position Description and Selection Criteria are
  the basis for the interview
• Be able to talk clearly about your studies,
  placement, experience, personal attributes,
  professional interests
• Case Study question scenario. Think about the
  context of the patient as well as the treatment
  aspect.
• OHS, diversity, equity, workplace democracy