physiotherapy courses

endacolls

Thanks for your help eilo1, really appreciate it. I have applications sent off through UCAS for UK colleges fingers crossed i hear something positive back.
To be honest though im not holding out too much hope on getting in this year, just dont think my previous degree will have any standing at all & also my lack of science background wont help. But im determined to do what it takes to be sure of getting in next year, and am looking into part time courses that can help my cause.
I am looking at maybe doing a part time Anatomy Physiology & Holistic Massage Diploma course. I am wondering if anyone could advise me if this is the right option? i.e will it stand to help me getting into the Physiotherapy degree course if i dont make it in this year?
Bascially what im asking is, the fact that i dont have a science background what is the best option for me to take, that will benefit me when i begin my Physiotherapy degree?
Thanks a million for any help on this....sorry for the long post..

dilliechick

hi
i've been reading through the posts here and might be able to help a bit. i was interested in doing physio myself but was put off by the amount of points needed and i wasn't sure if i really wanted to work in a hospital setting, i was always more interested in working with teams or running my own clinic.

i did the 3 year course with the institute of massage & Sports therapy in annacotty, limerick. The first year is holistic massage and detailed anatomy and business studies. the 2nd and 3rd years go into all areas of sports massage, detailed massage techniques for killing pain, reducing spasm etc. Also full diagnostic techniques, assessment techniques, rehab, mechanisms of injury, sports nutrition, sports taping and strapping etc,. Its a wonderful course- its about a year longer than most other ITEC sports massage courses as the lady who runs the college is a qualified physical therapist and her aim is to teach everything that we'll need to work sucessfully in the industry. I can't praise the course enough- i had done bits and pieces of courses elsewhere and some of my friends went onto do different courses, one in raheen, which turned out to be a total nightmare and another did one in Newport, which was ok but very rushed and shes having to go back to do lots of workshops to fill in the gaps which is costing her a fortune. the tutor there was also a bit of a pain and not very openminded.

what i've sort of figured out is that if you want to work in a hospital setting with patients who've had surgery or have medical issues then you need to be a physiotherapist. If you want to work with teams or general public then i would recommend doing a good sports massage course but not one thats just the basic itec syllabus.
hope this is of some help
dilliechick
ps i'm working as a sports therapist full time now, with two local teams and i've set up my own little clinic too

karlitob

dilliechick wrote: »

hi
i've been reading through the posts here and might be able to help a bit. i was interested in doing physio myself but was put off by the amount of points needed and i wasn't sure if i really wanted to work in a hospital setting, i was always more interested in working with teams or running my own clinic.

i did the 3 year course with the institute of massage & Sports therapy in annacotty, limerick. The first year is holistic massage and detailed anatomy and business studies. the 2nd and 3rd years go into all areas of sports massage, detailed massage techniques for killing pain, reducing spasm etc. Also full diagnostic techniques, assessment techniques, rehab, mechanisms of injury, sports nutrition, sports taping and strapping etc,. Its a wonderful course- its about a year longer than most other ITEC sports massage courses as the lady who runs the college is a qualified physical therapist and her aim is to teach everything that we'll need to work sucessfully in the industry. I can't praise the course enough- i had done bits and pieces of courses elsewhere and some of my friends went onto do different courses, one in raheen, which turned out to be a total nightmare and another did one in Newport, which was ok but very rushed and shes having to go back to do lots of workshops to fill in the gaps which is costing her a fortune. the tutor there was also a bit of a pain and not very openminded.

what i've sort of figured out is that if you want to work in a hospital setting with patients who've had surgery or have medical issues then you need to be a physiotherapist. If you want to work with teams or general public then i would recommend doing a good sports massage course but not one thats just the basic itec syllabus.
hope this is of some help
dilliechick
ps i'm working as a sports therapist full time now, with two local teams and i've set up my own little clinic too

I'm a physio and of course annoyed about this post.

I'm glad you've 'figured' out that physiotherapists work in hospitals. The Minister of Health also figured out that one a long time. Only chartered physiotherapists can work in hospitals.

Since members of the 'general public' attend hospital then obviously as a physiotherapist you will work with the 'general public'.

As for working with teams, I'm not sure where this notion is that physiotherapists work in hospitals and "physical therapists" only work in clinics. The Irish rugby team, provinces, all English Premiership teams (Football and rugby), Welsh premiership (rugby) have chartered physiotherapists.

If you work with sports teams I 100% do not recommend that you do a sports massage course. Will you know what to do if someone goes down with a head injury? Can you recognise and treat a transient brachial plexopathy's? A sports massage course is only good for a rub down. No where near enough to recognise and treat injury and disease.


I have posted on this ad nauseum, PM me with any questions.

Feu

dilliechick, great to get your perspective on physical therapy, as we seem to have been lacking more info on it, on this thread in particular. I must say, your course seems to have been more "detailed" than some other phys therapy courses i've heard discussed, as you mention, it seems to be atypical.

I suppose just to reiterate that physiotherapists do/can of course work outside of hospitals! Probably more so, and work with teams, or in private practice.

You may not be able to get certain work as a physical therapist, you will not have the requisite qualifications, conversely, there are a lot of physiotherapists out there now, and altho there is need of them, the HSE may not be effectively hiring for the next couple of years [the hiring embargo affects most health sciences]. So there are pros and cons to both

I think the point most people have been making, is that for people torn between the two options, it's important to really think about the kind of work you ultimately want to do, and the types of people you want to work with, and whether you might like to work more medically or not. AND then see which course fulfils your requirements, because there are definite differences in the qualifications, and they are not "interchangeable". This is why the confusing name of physical therapy has a lot to answer for!!

RV

I don't agree with implying that a physiotherapy qualification is appropriate for the assessment or treatment of head injuries. Or that only physiotherapists can recognise when an injury is outside of their scope of practise.

And why point to physiotherapy care in rugby specifically? Prominent ex-players talk of serious and needless long-term injury suffered because of the (lack of) care they received. Hardly the best example - perhaps physiotherapists should hang their heads?

Many professionals contribute to the preparation of a team of which the physiotherapist is often one. A team may have one or all of a doctor, nutritionist, health and conditioning coach, masseur/se etc.

One individual has posted "ad nauseum" IMO displaying in most posts a lack of respect for any approach other than their own - and is consequently no friend of most physiotherapists. But I think this is deliberate and just to antagonise people into a response.

In hospitals patients have access to only one treatment approach (physiotherapy) unlike in the UK where osteopaths can treat some conditions that were traditionally the exclusive preserve of physiotherapists. What if patients were allowed a choice of treatment and not confined to one private club? We know that once outside hospitals, the public choose to support an array of practitioners including physical therapists, osteopaths, massage therapists, sports therapists, homeopaths and many more.

For anyone interested there is a report on physical therapy recently posted here.

eilo1

RV wrote: »

I don't agree with implying that a physiotherapy qualification is appropriate for the assessment or treatment of head injuries. Or that only physiotherapists can recognise when an injury is outside of their scope of practise.

We know that once outside hospitals, the public choose to support an array of practitioners including physical therapists, osteopaths, massage therapists, sports therapists, homeopaths and many more.

For anyone interested there is a report on physical therapy recently posted here.

Well actually physios are heavily involved in the rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries as well as spinal cord injuries. A large part of a BSc in Physio is learning recognise conditions that may need medical attention. We spend a good deal of time learning about all systems of the body for working in various hospital environments for instance post surgery, neuro, CF etc.
This cannot be guaranteed with qualifications from unaccredited universities.

As for homeopathy it would be incredibly irresponsible of our health system to pay practitioners to treat patients with nothing but water pills.

Physiotherapy as with all recognised health professional qualifications is evidence based.

karlitob

I don't agree with implying that a physiotherapy qualification is appropriate for the assessment or treatment of head injuries. Or that only physiotherapists can recognise when an injury is outside of their scope of practise.

- a sports massage course WILL NOT qualify someone to appropriately assess and manage a pt who goes down on a rugby pitch with a head injury. To say otherwise is coming close to clinical incompetence. They do not have to requisite qualifications to assess a player with a head injury.

- of course only a physiotherapist (or indeed any therapist) can know if they practice outside their scope of practice. Scope of practice is that a therapist is competent in their area of practice. I cannot treat womens health patients as I do not have scope of practice.


And why point to physiotherapy care in rugby specifically? Prominent ex-players talk of serious and needless long-term injury suffered because of the (lack of) care they received. Hardly the best example - perhaps physiotherapists should hang their heads?

- this post predominates with rugby examples. I only treat rugby teams.
- Could you give an example of where the chartered physiotherapist did not provide competent care to ex-players thereby causing "serious and needless long-term injury". I presume that you can direct me to a court case, fitness to practice hearing, or indeed any newspaper articles. Or perhaps you should tread carefully that in the first instance you accusation is slanderous and secondly is not backed up.

Many professionals contribute to the preparation of a team of which the physiotherapist is often one. A team may have one or all of a doctor, nutritionist, health and conditioning coach, masseur/se etc.

- did I disagree with this in any way. I work in a hospital also - nurses, OT, SLT, HCA, Medics, Surgeons etc etc. My point is that more often than not the medical care of the team will fall to the physiotherapist or other 'therapists'. This is because the local GAA/Rugby/Soccer team obviously cannot afford nor has need for a full backroom team. The therapists must be interdisciplinary in their approach.

One individual has posted "ad nauseum" IMO displaying in most posts a lack of respect for any approach other than their own - and is consequently no friend of most physiotherapists. But I think this is deliberate and just to antagonise people into a response.


- well IMO you opinion is not worth much. I have posted 'ad nauseum' that I am obviously biased and will continue to be so because I believe the standards provided to patients by sports massage therapists etc are below what the patient should receive. The posts are obviously deliberate.


In hospitals patients have access to only one treatment approach (physiotherapy) unlike in the UK where osteopaths can treat some conditions that were traditionally the exclusive preserve of physiotherapists. What if patients were allowed a choice of treatment and not confined to one private club? We know that once outside hospitals, the public choose to support an array of practitioners including physical therapists, osteopaths, massage therapists, sports therapists, homeopaths and many more.

- NICE guidelines and the NHS are a world away from Ireland. I am aware that osteopathy is provided to patients. However, I totally diagree that this was a preserve of physiotherapists exclusively. Osteopathy in this country has been practiced in Ireland a lot longer than physiotherapy. Indeed, physiotherapy has its root in osteopathy, nursing, massage and remedial gymnastics/exercise.

For anyone interested there is a report on physical therapy recently posted [URL="http://www.prioryclinic.com/blog/"

- i wonder will that be biased.

Feu

perhaps we could stick to the main differences between the courses, requirements, subjects covered, hours, duration of courses, job prospects, advice for matures undertaking either course etc?

Young gunz!

Hi i am a student thinking about doing physiotherapy but i am worried that i might not get enough points is there a course i can do that will allow me to do the course after wards if i do not get the points? And what would be a good college to go to in the Uk or Ireland or even possibly america.

Thanks so much.