Every year the grade tens have to partake in a planning assignment. For this assignment we had to contact an employer of a business we were interested in. We then had to shadow them and see what their day to day job looks like. We are doing this because a lot of the time kids my age think they want to do something very specific but don’t really know what that job entitles. Throughout this process we also learn very valuable skills that can help us in the future. For example we have to contact employers on our time, set up dates and learn basic etiquette in a workplace. Once we complete the assignment we also have to send out a thank you letter, which is something everybody should learn how to do eventually.

The first step of this assignment was to brainstorm some jobs we could be interested in and come up with a call list. Personally, I’m very interested in human anatomy and I love to help people but at times I’m also very interested in Anthropology and evolution. It was really hard for me to decide what I wanted to job shadow. In the end I decided to pursue a job shadow that had something to do with human anatomy.

I researched several places that might accept my request to job shadow. But often I wasn’t old enough, since a lot of the time there were issues with patient doctor confidentiality. After searching for quite a while my teacher mentioned she had a friend that recently got a job at a sport physiotherapy centre. I then got her email and contacted her!

She worked at City Sports & Physiotherapy Clinic and before I got to the centre I did have to sign a few release forms just recognizing the businesses policies. As soon as I got to the clinic I got a tour of the whole place. It was really cool to see the whole layout because there clinic had a more open area so the physiotherapists could move from one patient to the next while still keeping an eye out for other patients on the floor.

We first worked with one patient who’s shoulder were super tense (and we obviously had to make sure that it was alright with him before I shadowed her). It was so cool seeing all the steps she had to take to roll out the muscles and all the questions she had to ask to figure out how to help. She was also really awesome to shadow because she explained literally everything she was doing and why, so that I would better understand. As she prepared somethings for the patients I also got to look at the files and notes she took. We then visited another patient that had a neck strain and got to prepare a heat wrap and an electrical muscle stimulator which would provide circulation.

After shadowing her, we sat down and she answered some of the questions I had prepared beforehand. I learned a lot from this portion. I asked her about the traits and personality needed for this job, she said that you need to be a people person which I didn’t realize at all. You also have to be motivated to improve peoples issues, be able to empathize and listen to patients. We then talked about similar occupancy’s I could explore like a physiotherapist assistant, rehab physiotherapist, occupational therapist, kinesiologist and athletic therapist. She then told me about how when she was little and danced, she would go to the physio when she was injured. When she went most of the physicians would tell her things like ‘the only way you’ll get better is if you quit dancing’. She always thought there had to be another way, which is why she is now a physiotherapist! Overall I learned way more than I thought I would. Along with this project I decided to create a mini collage using superimpose. The collage includes pictures that represent skills, traits and diplomas you need in order to become a physiotherapist.

As I was talking about before their are many key traits that physiotherapists need (empathy, patience, motivation and a people person). I think that many of those traits you learn over time, I definitely think I have motivation and empathy but not much patience. If I were to pursue a career in physiotherapy I would definitely have to improve my patience everyday by trying to listen and engage with people around me.

The final step of this project is to create a “thank you letter”. Obviously we know how to thank somebody, so we mostly did this so we can learn how to properly mail a letter. Once we wrote what we wanted to we handed it in to the teacher for a critique and revised what we needed to before mailing it off!

Overall this experience was awesome and I learned way more than I ever thought I would! I’ll definitely consider physiotherapy as a future career path throughout the next few years. I think to get to that point I’ll have to revaluate my education path and figure out what I have to change and complete to start a career in physiotherapy. As I move forward i’ll also have to adapt to opportunities that come my way so I can successfully begin my career. Overall I’m very pleased with the information I received, and very thankful to Sarah for offering time out off her day to guide me through her job as a physiotherapist!