Physiotherapy Personal Statement

My interest in physiotherapy first began when I attended a hydrotherapy session with my grandmother, diagnosed with osteoporosis. After seeing the physiotherapists treat the variety of patients and help to improve their quality of life, I knew then that I wanted to be a physiotherapist. The human body and its ability to recuperate intrigues me; I am enthralled by how physiotherapy can help to restore an individual's movement and function as much as possible when affected by injury, illness or disability.
My enthusiasm has driven me to investigate the depth and breadth of the occupation. From the Charted Society of Physiotherapy I learnt that physiotherapists work in a broad variety of settings such as hospitals, community organisations, clinics,
and research. This motivated me to acquire work experience within these aspects of the profession. This was to ensure I am entering a career that I will enjoy and thrive within. I have over 150 hours' work experience in my college's sports academy, 35 hours with a local physiotherapy lymphoedema rehabilitation clinic and recently a week within a NHS hospital; experiencing a variety of settings. My NHS placement has shown me how diverse the occupation is, having observed in areas such as; artificial limb and appliance centre, outpatients, A&E, renal and orthopaedics. The experience has given me a great understanding about how physiotherapists work within a multidisciplinary team and how important interpersonal skills and working relationships with other professionals are. The difference that these professionals can make to a person's outcome attracts me to this career.
Through my volunteer work, part-time job, hobbies and general life experiences I have gathered interpersonal skills, which I received much positive feedback on in my placements.
I possess good time-management and organisational skills that I presented in my Sports Leader UK Level 2 Award in community sports (QCF) by voluntarily coaching children with disabilities. I displayed these skills by creating session plans prior to each session to ensure enough variety and content. I was also adaptive during my sessions when some individuals struggled with an activity. For example one boy had spastic hemiplegia cerebral palsy and found catching a tennis ball to be difficult. Instead I used a football for him to throw and catch so he could continue to enjoy the activity. In addition I completed the Duke of Edinburgh's Bronze Award and am currently working towards the Silver Award. The award has taught me problem solving, leadership skills and teamwork. In the canoe expedition we faced a rough current and as a team we constructed a plan to tie all three canoes together. I took upon the important role of being the leader of the group and used my oar as the rudder to guide the raft safely to shore. As a sales assistant in retail I operated in a team striving towards achieving daily targets. I also worked without supervision and used my initiative to ensure that excellent customer service was provided. I required great communication skills as a sales assistant and showed it through my ability to easily greet and converse with customers in English or Welsh, creating a rapport with
them.
In the past two years I have devoted myself to my BTEC course accomplishing a grade I am extremely proud of; worked part-time in retail and played rugby union for my local club, college, and at regional and national level (receiving a welsh colleges cap). I have continued my commitments this year whilst studying AS Biology. I believe this shows I have good time management to prioritise a high workload and I aim to continue a similar balance at university. I am excited in anticipation to join your physiotherapy degree and know I will contribute greatly to the community I join. Given my strong work ethic I firmly believe that I will embrace university with passion and vitality to become a competent and confident physiotherapist.