What patients want from their physiotherapist and indeed physiotherapy is a really interesting question. Whilst I cannot predict exactly what you personally want from physiotherapy, there is a lot of research out there which looks at what patients as a whole perceive to be important.
I decided to look in to this in more detail to make sure I am offering exactly what my patients want. This blog series summarises my take home messages from what I learnt and also how I feel Weymouth Physiotherapy meet these. Let us know if you disagree with any, or if you think we are missing any
I have decided to split it up in to the following four separate blogs which will be released separately.
- What personal characteristics do you value about your physiotherapist?
- What do you want to know?
- What do you want your treatment to look like?
- What outcomes do you want?
This one is all about the personal characteristics of your physiotherapist.
What personal characteristics do you value about your physiotherapist?
-
Interpersonal skills such as listening and empathy.
You want to be heard and arguably more important believed. We consider listening one of our key skills. We are trained at getting to the deeper conversations that help us truly understand your condition and the impact it is having on you.
-
A physio who is friendly and has a sense of humour.
Physiotherapy is boring enough without it being a turgid affair due to a lack of personality. A friendly approach where you are treated as a person and not just a condition is a must. We want to know what you’ve been up to (and not just “are you going on holiday this year” to pass the time) we are genuinely interested. We crack jokes, we swear (on occasion), we share tears. We feel talking to a physio should be like sitting at the coffee shop with a friend
-
Motivational Skills
Key, Key, Key. Many of our patients are what we call ambivalent about behaviour change. That is, they know they need to do something but don’t actually do it. Our job is not to roast you about not doing it but to explore the reasons why you aren’t and help you move from I could or should do this to I will do this. Equally once on the path its our job to keep you on it even with the inevitable bumps in the road.
-
Confidence
We know trust plays a huge part in patient-therapist outcome and therapist confidence is a key factor of this. You need be sure we know our stuff, and fortunately we do. Equally we recognise how too much confidence can be a bad thing. How many of you have been overpromised and when that fails to materialise it can be hugely frustrating. That is why we pride ourselves on honesty. If there isn’t certainty we will admit it and help you make the decision on your options
-
A good educator
One of the things most people want is understanding what is going on, what treatment is needed and how treatment works (see what do you want to know blog) . It is therefore hugely important we can teach well. I think we do this well, in fact I know we do this well. At the end of most sessions I always what are your take homes, or tell me in your words what I just said. Most of time the patients interpretation matches what I wanted to get across. it However sometimes it doesn’t but if this happens it’s not you fault, your not thick, it’s mine and then we explore other ways to explain things.
-
Expertise and training
Obviously this is hugely important. You need to know your therapist has the right qualification and experience. Fortunately all physios will at least be degree qualified. However a degree does not mean everything, experience is also importance. I feel extremely lucky that as a physiotherapist I got to (and still do) work In the NHS. The learning opportunities, support and further development that I got from this particularly in the early years has improved me immensely as a physiotherapist and is something I feel some other professions miss out on. It also gave a huge throughput of patients and experience. If you’ve got it, I’ve probably seen it.
-
Time, facility, professionalism and organisation
The nuts and bolts of any physiotherapy (or any other therapy) business. It should run well. I feel we do run well. We have hour long appointments to make sure you (and us) never feel rushed – there is often a lot to talk about when you go deeper. We have recently moved and our new clinic area is fantastically well equipped ready for your needs . We also use various programs to ensure we are organised from electronic booking to automated emails and reminders. We make sure you get to your appointment and that you get the most from it.
Summary
People value lots of things about their physiotherapist and all are important for your outcome. When choosing your therapist ensure they meet the expectations you have of them. Get in contact if you would like to discuss your problem and find out more about what we could offer you. This is a free of charge service. Click here to organise this
Look out for part two of this blog – what do you want to know?