Blog #63 A Note to my New Graduate Self- Part Two

Be sure to have read Part One Before Reading this Blog

2. Separate Work from Home/Take a Break: It is so tempting to be completing notes from home rather than in the allocated times that you may get during the day and we see this so much with new graduates. This leads to burn out and can mean that work can start impacting on home life as well. Try to finish up your consults in a time effective manner so that you can keep on top of them without getting a long list that you have no time during the day to complete. Start this work life balance early so that you can have job satisfaction as well as a health work life balance.

3. Do not feel like you have to “Know Everything”: Your skills as a new graduate will progress so quickly with time and exposure to different clients and conditions. Allow yourself to be open minded to new cases and ask colleagues or peers for feedback. Debriefing in a confidential manner at the end of a consult can help to clarify any uncertainty and also solidify your confidence in knowing that the tests and treatment techniques that you used someone else with more experience would have used too.

4. Get a Clear Head: A good tip to help keep a level and clear head is to ask yourself ‘why’ and what am I hoping to achieve? If there is a patient in front of you and you are forming a treatment plan, asking yourself these two questions can help to create clarity in your own head. For example, getting a patient to complete a squat- am I just asking this because it is a common objective test done for knees or am I looking into what a squat will actually tell me- Glut med weakness, poor alignment, foot posture etc. This clarity in your own mind will help to make sense on what you are trying to achieve and will assist you in educating the patient standing in front of you.

5. Ask for Feedback: Asking for feedback can be a bit scary sometimes because you can be worried it will affect your confidence as a practitioner however it can be an invaluable tool to help you progress. No matter what stage you are in your career, feedback can help you to refine your skills from a outside point of view and offer you a perspective that you may not have thought of.