User:Anthony Collett

I qualified from the University of Hertfordshire with a higher 2:1 physiotherapy degree in 2011. While studying I gained a wide variety of knowledge in many all areas of physiotherapy which give a great platform to expand on as a junior physiotherapist. I had clinical placements in musculoskeletal outpatients (12 weeks), respiratory medicine, ITU, orthopaedics, elderly rehabilitation and both orthopaedic and neurological paediatrics (each for 5 weeks). One of my most enjoyable placements was elderly rehabilitation where I was based half in patients and half in a community centre. Here I developed a real passion for working with older people and find each patient an inspiration for life from their stories and experiences. I feel that this placement is where my desire to work with older people came from and why I currently work with them. I also have real passion for musculoskeletal physiotherapy and sports injuries as well as acute and chronic respiratory care.

I have worked within the Older People’s Assessment and Rehabilitation Service as a band physiotherapist April 2012. Here I assess and devise treatment plans for a variety of elderly patients with physical, psychological and cognitive impairments. All treatment plans and goals are patient centered using specific outcome measures that have been assessed and identified as areas for improvement. This post has given me the opportunity to continually assess and treat older patients with Parkinson’s Disease and stroke, with assistance from senior members of staff to guide me as I am aware this was one of the areas I needed to improve upon with assessment and treatment skills as I never completed an acute neurological placement. Treatment sessions are carried out as group exercise classes, with one to one aspects after the group class; which I run across two sites. In this setting I feel I am able to expand on the knowledge and skills I gained from my placement experiences where I ran exercises whilst in outpatients, respiratory and elderly rehabilitation, so I feel confident both running sessions and progressing exercises for individuals with a variety of needs and conditions.

I have worked as a senior physiotherapist for several months now due to sickness and maternity leave, being both the lead physiotherapist on a day to day basis, as well as the most senior member of staff within the team. I feel this emphasises my skills as a leader, shows I am responsible and I am able to delegate tasks well within the team, moreover that I can clinically reason patient problem’s well and solve many situations. I have been in a similar position before whilst on placement in ITU, where it snowed very heavily during the night and only a small percentage of staff were able to get to work. Despite this I was able to get to my placement and I was the only physiotherapist on ITU. I had to prioritise between 8 patient’s on the ward and assess and treat who I felt was in most need of physiotherapeutic input.

My current team consists of nurses, healthcare assistants, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, consultants and GP’s, so I understand each members role and what they can offer to each patient. I feel that I communicate well with all patients and members of the multidisciplinary team in both written and verbal forms. Some patients pose a challenge with communication to in these situations I can adapt my style to ensure patients understand what is being asked of them. For example, a recent patient of mine was extremely hard of hearing. During classes I placed her in front of me as I knew she could not here my instructions but I found she could follow visual cues very well. I would also stand next to her in sessions which were being run by a rehabilitation assistant so I could demonstrate further and alter any technique that may have been insufficient. I have also applied the same procedure for other patients whose first language is not English to great effect.

My assessment and treatment skills in many areas of physiotherapy are effective, ensuring outcome measures, where appropriate are always used to show how a patient has improved over the course of treatment. This has been strong area for me in the past as my feedback has shown during each of my student placements and my current post. I am aware of my own limits with regards to being a junior physiotherapist and I am not afraid to ask for help when I am unsure. In all of my clinical placements I used an evidenced based approach, to help to develop myself to become an autonomous practitioner, which I continue to do so in my current employment. I tried to reflect on what I had done, again to further develop my skills and knowledge for the future, as I know this is a continual aspect of development. I still complete a reflective proforma both weekly and after a significant event which I feel I can learn from in the future. My most recent proforma was related to a new patient who has Brown-Séquard's syndrome. I had never come across this condition prior to seeing this patient I performed a search on this and completed a pathology template for the condition. Now if I see another patient with this syndrome I will understand the pathophysiology, aetiology, presentation, medical management and physiotherapy treatment.

I pride myself on my researching skills which I constantly do to find information on outcome measures, medical conditions and treatments, both old and new to ensure I continue to be an evidence based practitioner. I enjoyed receiving in service training whilst being a student and I have given several training presentations too. As a permanent member of staff I relish the opportunity to pass on knowledge I have learnt, as well as gaining further knowledge from colleagues to improve myself further. I also look to complete additional training outside of work which I am happy to fund myself and give up my own time over weekends to complete. Over my three years at university I was a student staff consultative committee member for my year group, who I represented and put forward changes and ideas on how to improve the course. I also volunteered to be a representative on open days for physiotherapy and the department to promote both the degree course as well as the University. This shows I am a loyal member of a team but I also take the initiative and lead when required.

Clinical governance and local and national clinical guidelines, including those from the CSP is an area that I am aware of and I understand the importance of this in everyday practice including being punctual, writing clear and concise notes and always putting confidentiality at the forefront of everything I do. I have had trust training at The Royal Marsden regarding confidentiality and information governance and I understand its importance within all aspects of care, both inside and out of hospital. I have not been part of clinical audit at present but I understand it is nationally implemented and it is a key area of clinical governance, and something I am excited to partake in. At University I demonstrated my knowledge of the new changes that are occurring within the NHS regarding commissioning of services in both presentation and essay form so I am up to date with these changes too. I complete manual handing tasks and risk assessments for every new patient I see, which helps to protect myself and other members of staff from work related injuries. During each placement I had to complete an essay which counted towards 25% of the placement grade. Each of these essay’s were centered around the NHS knowledge and skills framework and I have a solid understanding of the core areas of the KSF and how each dimension relates to myself within employment.

Within my current job, patient’s must be discharged within seven days from their last visit, letter written to GP and all notes uploaded onto the RIO patient system, which I ensure is done each week fitting it around my patient caseload. This can be challenging but if I need to stay late or come in early occasionally to complete this then I will do so. I am confident to delegate tasks to other members of staff and ensure this is done without being patronising or demeaning which is another reason why I believe I work well with members of the MDT both at higher and lower grades to myself.

In the past as a rehabilitation assistant, I was required to work one weekend in three, and I am still willing to do so in any new post. I also have a keen interest in respiratory physiotherapy and working on-call is something I would endevour to work towards and show my competencies and knowledge of conditions, manual techniques, modalities to therapy and self management. I have my own car and have access to a second car as well as a full clean driving license which allows me to travel between sites if necessary, complete community rotations and come in as an on call therapist without an issue.

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This User is a member of the Musculoskeletal / Orthopaedic group This User is a member of the Cardiopulmonary group This User is a member of the Neurology group This User is a member of the Paediatrics group This User is a member of the Sports Medicine group This User is a member of the Rheumatology group This User is a member of the Older People group This User is a member of the Medical group This User is a member of the Pain group This User is a member of the Oncology group This User is a member of the Amputees group