Differences of opinion

On my pediatrics placement I was supervised by three different physiotherapists, spending varying amounts of time with each depending on their schedules. I initially thought this would be a great learning opportunity, and while it was, it was also very difficult because each physiotherapist approached their job in a different manner.

At Curtin we are taught to assess, treat and document in a certain way in each clinical area. On the first day of this particular placement I assessed, treated and documented in the way that we were taught, and was criticised by my supervisor (physio 1) for certain aspects of what I had done. The fact that my supervisor had criticised me did not bother me at all, after all I was there to learn and gain more clinical experience. The next day I was with a different physio (physio 2), and seeing the same patient as the previous day, I took the advice of physio 1 and adjusted my treatment accordingly. Once again I was criticised for certain aspects of the session, however the points of criticism were different than before, and some conflicted with those of physio 1. A similar pattern continued over the next couple of days until I had a firm grasp of what each physio expected and preferred, and from that point I adjusted my approach to suit each supervisor. The differences between the approaches of each supervisor were minor, however they were all quite set in their ways and it was therefore in my best interest to conform to these rather than argue.

My placement did turn out to be a great learning experience, more so for the fact that I learnt how to approach the same thing in different ways. What I did in those treatment sessions was not necessarily wrong, however each of my supervisors had different opinions of what was right. I believe the difference in their opinions was based not only on the fact that they were of different ages and studied in different places, but also that they had found that certain things work for them from past experience. I now realise that what works for one person, may not work for another, and while we have been taught to do something a certain way, there is no reason why you can’t do it differently provided you follow the basic principles.