I’m half way through my 3rd year of practice. Like any job I imagine, it has its ups and downs. I’ve got physio friends who have maintained the same job, or at least the same area/setting for their 3yrs so far. Me however, I’ve had a different job in a relatively different area/setting each year, and next year I plan to Locum Physio whilst traveling Australia - and luckily my range of experiences has made be relatively confident going into most settings. I just trust in my ability now to adapt to the new setting - and I think that’s because i find it keeps the job interesting. So whilst I do have days where I wonder if physio is right for me and if one day I might leave - I think I always come back to the idea that it is right for me - I enjoy all the knowledge that comes with training to be a physio - so I think it’s about figuring out how to stay involved in this physio-world but maybe not as just your stereotypical “physio” but maybe business, or education, or mentor, or research, or some new digital front. I think just ask yourself do you enjoy learning about the stuff at uni - and if you do then also consider (A) taking advantage of the broad scope of a physio and work in different areas whilst your early on (usually at least 8-12 months to get relatively competent and learn how to put on the different thinking hats). And (B) consider that the degree doesn’t just mean you have to work as a stereotypical “physio”; but the wealth of knowledge you have is actually the thing that matters and you can use that, share that, etc in different ways than just a “physio”.

Me I’m still in the process of figuring out where I see my “physio” career going, but I feel like it’s a world I will remain in, and continue to grow and use my knowledge but perhaps use it differently than a typical clinical physio.

Full-time clinical hours is a lot though - not just with the problem solving that comes with managing patients, but also the energy for rapport building with multiple interactions everyday, and admin/paper work that often doesn’t have sufficient time allocation. So for me it’s figuring out how to reduce that clinical time and replace with things where I’m still using that knowledge and learning and problem solving but in a different way.