A final year physiotherapy student experience at Active

Emma Doyle - CSU student

I felt very overwhelmed entering into a Musculoskeletal private practice placement having only experienced hospital-based clinical placements in the past. I was unsure of what to expect. The uncertainty and high level of nervousness was immediately diminished when I met the Active Physio team. Instantly I felt welcome. From the moment I entered the doors of Active, it didn’t take long to realise they were a close knit team filled with kind, knowledgeable and welcoming therapists. All of whom were on my side to take that extra mile for nothing but the best 5-week experience.

There was always a helping hand around the corner, from both therapists and the lovely admin staff, that enabled me to feel comfortable and well supported throughout the placement. Over the 5 weeks, I was able to self-reflect through the '0-25' student resource and weekly reflection tasks. This process opened my eyes to self-mastery, insight into my strengths and potential goals to work towards in the future. This positively affected my performance in many ways, increasing my confidence leading sessions with clients to provide the best service. Active provided weekly education tutorials that best prepared me to assess and treat clients. I personally took a lot from these sessions and give a big 'thank you' to my supervisor Paul Heffernan, who took time to share his knowledge, educate and lead me in the right direction.

The additional experiences I was afforded at Active Physio were an asset to my learning. These included; a Paediatric physio focus day each week, Hydrotherapy and Pilates classes, and I was even fortunate enough to observe a Reverse Shoulder Replacement.I will be forever grateful for the experience I had at Active Physio and for the high standard of amazing therapists I got to meet and learn from!