New Grad Physio Continuing Professional Development

If you are suffering from imposter syndrome...

Can I ask you one question?

What if you're not suffering from imposter syndrome...

What if you're just lacking confidence.

There's a big difference.

Imposter syndrome tells you...

"I'm not good enough."

Reality says...

"I just lack confidence in this area right now."

Think about driving.

Did you feel confident during your first few lessons?

Probably not.

Did that mean you'd never become a good driver?

Of course not.

Physio is exactly the same.

Your first shoulder assessment felt awkward.

The tenth felt easier.

The hundredth feels natural.

In between all that, you make mistakes and improve.

Confidence changes everything.

So if you've just started out, stop expecting yourself to perform like someone who's been qualified for ten years.

Your job right now isn't to know everything.

Your job is to become a little better every day.

Learn from from what goes well...

Learn from your mistakes.

Learn from every patient you see.

That's how great physio's are built.

Not through perfection.

But through consistency.

One patient at a time.

One lesson at a time.

One day at a time.

Take this into this week...

With the sole aim to end the week a better physio than when you started.

Hope this helps.

Andy Barker

The New Grad Physio Mentor

PS. If you're tired of figuring everything out on your own, join our community of new grad physio's building confidence through real-world mentoring, case studies and practical CPD.

Find out more here...

newgradphysio.com/membership

One of the biggest lessons I've learned as a physio is that the most important question in my subjective assessment isn't nothing about pain, range of movement, or even the mechanism of injury.

It's this..

"What do you want most from this session?"

Every patient arrives with expectations.

They might want reassurance, an explanation for their symptoms, pain relief, a hands-on treatment, a solid rehab plan, or simply to feel heard.

If you don't understand a patients expectations, it's impossible to know whether you've actually delivered what the patient needed, even if the clinical assessment was great.

Patient-centred care starts with understanding what matters to the person in front of you.

It's your responsibility as the physio to ensure those expectations are realistic.

Sometimes what a patient is hoping for aligns perfectly with what physio can offer.

Sometimes it doesn't, and that's where honest conversations, education, and shared decision-making become so important.

I've realised that managing expectations isn't about saying "no"...

It's about helping patients understand what we can achieve together and creating a plan that reflects both the evidence and their individual goals, whatever they may be.

It's a simple question, but it sets the tone for the entire first session...

And every treatment session that follows.

"What do you want most from this session?"

I'd love to hear from you...

What's the one question you always ask during your subjective assessment?

Andy Barker

The New Grad Physio Mentor

PS. For years I thought my subjective assessment was great, until I realised it wasn't.

That realisation came when I moved out of full-time sport and started doing more work in private practice.

You cannot outdo a poor subjective assessment.

Get this wrong and the rest of your assessment, and everything else after that, suffers.

The subjective assessment is at the start for a reason, and it's also the first module as part of my new grad physio programme.

It is so important.

Want to improve your own subjective assessment?

Head here to find out how...

newgradphysio.com/membership

This will upset a few physio’s…

But it’s true!

Many of the best therapists I have worked with, don’t have a physio degree!

That includes sports therapists, sports rehabbers and soft tissue therapists.

Many physio’s put themselves (and the physio profession) on some sort of pedestal...

Because it is more ‘recognised’ ‘regulated’ and largely because it has been around longer.

But in doing so, I think we miss a trick.

So many other professionals do a much better job than us as physio’s to help their patients...

And we all can (if we open our eyes and ears) learn so much from these other professionals...

To become better physio’…

And provide a better service to your patient’s.

Surely that’s always the goal right?

Learn more in this weeks new podcast episode.

Available now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts…

Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-new-grad-physio-podcast/id1475177676

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5y322dFqxt7GFYrcc7cgkw

Plus all the usual places, just search ‘New Grad Physio’ on your preferred podcast platform.

Enjoy the show!

Andy Barker

The New Grad Physio Podcast