Hear from our staff

Hi, I'm Laura, a Rotational Physiotherapist at HWHCT.

I have worked for the trust since September 2022 and have completed six monthly rotations across a variety of settings including Inpatient Rehabilitation in a Community Hospital, Community Therapy in the Neighbourhood Team and Community Paediatrics. Going into rotations as a newly qualified physiotherapist is an excellent opportunity to gain skills and knowledge across a range of settings and specialities. It is a great chance to work with different teams and clinicians and to develop your assessment and treatment skills that are transferrable across the rotations. Rotations are really useful for career development and help to give an idea of where you might want to specialise in the future.

Many people opt for acute rotations after finishing university, however rotations within a community trust have provided me with opportunities that I would not have experienced elsewhere.

I have been able to follow patients on their journey from inpatient rehabilitation to a community setting. Within the community, whether inpatient or at home, you have the opportunity to really get to know your patients and their families; building those therapeutic relationships and supporting patients from admission to discharge is what I love about my job.

I also enrolled on the preceptorship programme, which is targeted to newly qualified staff members to support the transition from student to practitioner. The programme involves a block of teaching sessions with other Band 5 physiotherapists in the trust as well as regular supervisions with a senior physiotherapist in your team. I feel that the skills I have gained from completing rotations has prepared me to progress in my career and I am now looking at applying for Band 6 roles within the trust. You are well supported when on rotations in the community trust and everyone I have worked with has been so friendly and welcoming; I would thoroughly recommend the rotations to anyone considering it.