My name is Tara Crammond. I work as a Chartered Physiotherapist. I qualified 27 years ago! Scary! When I first qualified I spent my first years working in hospitals in England and in Ireland. However for the last 19 years I have worked in my own Private Practice in Arklow, Co.Wicklow. I always wanted to be a Physiotherapist. To this day I love my job so much and have never regretted my choice of career.
Early career in hospitals
I loved my time and gained invaluable experience working as a hospital based physiotherapist. However, when I had my children, I opted to set up my own private practice as it gave me slightly more flexibility to also be a mother. Albeit the opportunity did come a little out of blue. My local GP rang me one day in 2005 and suddenly asked me to set up a practice next week as the area was desperately in need of a qualified Chartered Physiotherapist . Jokingly and not taking it terribly seriously I told him, “no problem, I’ll do it straight away!”. Though he had set the seed. After some deliberation I opened Arklow Physiotherapy Clinic later that year.
Running my own Physiotherapy practice
When running your own practice life can be very busy as I do all duties in the clinic. It can get very stressful at times. It is challenging trying to see everyone you need to see within the week. Therefore you have to be very organised. I always try to avoid having to say no to anyone - particularly if they are in pain. But in most cases, in the event that I can't give an appointment, people are really understanding and most will wait.
The profile of my patients
I have been blessed with the profile of patients I have had over the years. Many are repeat patients who have been coming to the clinic with different injuries. You get to know so much about them and I believe really listening to what they are saying is the most important and rewarding aspect of my job. However one of the things I find the hardest is when treating someone for a long time, you get so immersed in their recovery. But when you finally discharge them and if you never hear from them again, you always wonder how life progressed for them.
The rewards and challenges of being a Chartered Physiotherapist
Though it is a hugely rewarding career, it is also a physically tiring job. At the end of a busy week you are exhausted. It can also be mentally and emotionally draining at times as you can often be helping someone through quite difficult times. Physiotherapy is so much about looking after the whole person, it is not just that broken ankle or sore shoulder. It is often forgotten that rehabilitation can be mentally tough for many patients. Therefore having someone they can trust to aid them in their recovery is so important.
My approach to Physiotherapy treatments
Physiotherapy, particularly in private practice, is ever evolving. Like many occupations there are always fashionable treatments and fads at different times. But for me, I believe so much in basic manual therapy and touch. There are times in my clinic when a patient can lie down on the plinth in so much pain. Then after a little manipulation, they get up feeling so much better simply by moving tissues, increasing blood supply and relaxing the area. This ultimately motivates the patient to do their own exercises, which really is core to any condition we treat. Therefore I very much believe in self management. I try avoid seeing my patients week to week if possible by giving them tools to empower their own recovery. Often a patient’s condition need self management. If they are not fully invested they will not fully recover or certainly their recovery will take longer.
Maintaining a positive atmosphere in the Physiotherapy clinic
Even on the busiest days I can have a laugh. My patients tell me so many funny stories. I can't actually remember a day where I didn’t smile or make someone smile. I’ve very rarely made anyone cry. I don’t believe that it is necessary to inflict pain on someone. People coming for the first time are apprehensive initially. They have a fear that a visit to the Physiotherapist will naturally result in pain. But I regularly hear comments like “ that wasn’t as bad as I thought” or "I thought you were going to hurt me!”.
Collaborating with GPs and consultants
I have a great relationship with all the GPs in our area. We work together very well and help each other all the time trying to organise whatever the patients require. If I feel they need medication or investigation I just ask them. There is never any issue. If they are not sure what the patient requires they often ask for my opinion. We work closely day to day and I couldn’t look after my patients without their input as well. That also applies to the consultants who again will review a patient if I think it is required.
The importance of self-care for Physiotherapists
Physiotherapy is such an amazing job. To hear a patient utter the words “I’m so much better, thank you” is so satisfying. You can always help people sometimes in big or small ways. But even though it is so rewarding, I still need to decompress and take myself away from it for a time every day. Taking my dog Bailey for a walk helps with this massively. It’s so important for me just to switch off my brain for an hour and stop thinking about the clinic and my patients. You can naturally become very absorbed in their lives. So it is important to take some time everyday to detach yourself from the job . You need to learn when you have done all you can and let them go.
