Becoming Physiotherapist

[Flex]

Hey, I just finished year 12 last year and was wondering what the best way of getting into physiotherapy would be? .. I have run into a problem tho as I dont have a uai mark as I was only doing 8 units but even if I did get a uai, to get into uni it would need to be in the high 90s - something I wouldnt have achieved anyway.

I'm looking for an alternative way of getting into it e.g. courses via tafe then getting transfer to uni or whatever it takes. Otherwise is there private college's available that will help get me there quicker than through tafe? I'm in Australia so any help is appreciated, Thanks in advance

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[Latrobe2000]

Hi,

I transferred into Physiotherapy by doing 1 year of occupational therapy at latrobe uni in melbourne. I know other people that did a year of science and got into it. I had to work my butt off to get in though. But it doesnt get any easier when you get in. Its pretty much full on from the start for 4 years in Oz. Like probably 25hrs a week of contact time in melb and about that for study if you want to get reasonable marks. Have known other people getting in through human movement but there is probably only a few places. I also applied to all the unis in Australia and I think in Queensland everyone must do a year of science or some other course and get really good marks-again that was awhile back...or applying for the country courses like the recent course in Albury-that was a few years ago though. It has that entry score as its quite hard slog.
Having said that -its not impossible and youll eventually get in IF you keep trying and study...goodluck

[craymant]

I also wanted to be a physiotherapist but did not achieve the required year 12 marks. So I completed a bachelor of nursing (in Australia), worked for a couple of years and then reapplied for physio. My nursing marks were high enough to get me in. I studied both degrees at the same uni which was helpful as even though I had to do the full 4 year physio program I received credits for a number of my subjects. It also enabled me to work in my holidays and pay my way through the course. Keep trying and will you make it eventually!

[outbackphysio]

Hi Flex,
At Griffith University on the Gold Coast you can enter a Bachelor of Exercise Science Degree. If you are able to achieve a good grade point average you are then able to transfer to the double degree incorporating the Bachelor of Exercise Science and Physiotherapy (5 year course). The other option, if you are unable to get your GP up would be once you have completed the B Ex Sc is then to apply for the Masters in Physiotherapy. Hope this helps.

[Flex]

Thanks for replies.. I spoke to a counsellor and they told me I could do a diploma in remedial massage through tafe then apply for physio at a uni as a category B student or something like that. Just not sure how the uni(s) will look at that. I'm best off calling a few uni's and asking for what they'd require I guess. Any more opinions please let me know.

[alophysio]

Hi - exactly what UAI did you get? I am from Sydney and A LOT of students do Exercise and Sports Science because the Masters of Physio (MPT)programme at Sydney looks on that rather favourably.

Considering how many people want to do physio, a Dip in Remedial Massage, while helpful is not going to get you in before other students who have high marks in other courses like B.Sc, etc.

I would try to get into any uni course and blitz the marks.

The reason why i asked what UAI you got is because if you were close, the above system would work. If you got like 50 or 60 or even 70, i think you would struggle at uni. I know that marks is not an indication of how good a physio you will be but it sure is a good indication of how you will cope with the uni work.

Physiotherapy at uni is so unrelated to physio in the real world but the bottom line is that you still have to jump thru the hoops. Unfortunately, physio is also a course that requires you to be good at Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and even English (written communication is important). Seeing as though these subjects are your standard school ones, the UAI is indicative of how you will go in these subjects at uni (well i think so anyway!).

I have seen mature aged students struggle badly in the first couple of years because the science load is so high and they often didn't do so much of it at high school or their other course/s etc. But once we got to the "physio" stuff, their maturity and experience was a real advantage for them.

So in summary, i would recommend that you choose wisely and play the game that the physio school wants - that is high marks in higher ed. They say they want at least a credit average but lets face it, if there are 40 places in the MPT and 100 applicants, they will take the top 40 who probably have High Distinction or Distinction averages. The moral of the story is that it is very competitive.

Hope this helps! Don't be discouraged. Rather, write your goals down, map out a path and work hard towards it.

Good luck!

[Flex]

great reply, thanks! I know exactly what you mean and that is what im worried about. I didnt get a UAI mark because i only did 8 units (hence the 4 subjects) and 10 units is required to be eligible for a UAI mark. I made a big mistake by doing this but back then I didnt know what I wanted to do.

Seeing my chances would be quite low (not very competitive) of getting in through what I have planned at the moment when i get the diploma, what else do you think I would be able to go for that will better my chances? I'm just trying to figure out the best way I can right now because im doing cert 4 in fitness at the moment and it's going to finish soon so I want to know where to go next. Thanks again

[Sonj]

Hi Flex.

I too am working towards trying to get into Uni to study Physiotherapy, albeit in Scotland so I don't know how things differ from where you are.

I will be applying as a mature student. Left school with very little qualifications years back now. Since then I have gained Higher Diploma's in Remedial Massage and Aromatherapy at Credit and Distinction level. I also have a few years of clinical working experience. I had wrongly assumed that this might be enough for a place at Uni, but no. I went to the open day at the University of my choice and was told that I didn't have enough science background and as it had been a few years since I had done any study of any kind, they would advice that I go back and get a couple of science qualifications at Higher level. This is what I am in the process of doing now, and have gained top marks in my subjects so far. Now, the Uni said, that with my Diploma's, clinical experience, and Higher Science subjects, it would only gaurantee me an interview and not a place. It's highly competitive. Also I was told that applicants who had not done any research and actually gone to visit a physiotherapy department for a look around and asked questions etc would be dismissed straight away. Don't know if that is true though.

My advice to you would be to contact the heads of the Physio departments of the Uni's you would wish to study at and let them advise you on which path to take. There would be nothing worse than say, spending another couple of years studying only to find you had taken the wrong path etc. Good luck.

[physiouk]

Gettin experience has a lot to do with getting a place at uni to do physiotherapy. I graduated last july but when I was applying in 2003 I know for a fact that universities took a lot more notice of your application if you had experience of shadowing in a physiotherapy dept. Try getting experience in different areas...most places are willing to at least give u a day where you can follow them around and have a look at what you are doing...also helps u realise whether its wot u really want to do. There is a lot more to physio than just the obvious sports phyio and outpatient that most of the public encounter....try and get into a hospital so you can also see the neuro and cardio side of it...its amazing how different it is when u look into it!!!

[alophysio]

Hi,

I agree with all of the above but if you want the fastest route into uni, i would go back and do year 12 again at TAFE.

It is actually illegal in australia to volunteer for unpaid work because people can be exploited. This tends to be for people who work on a "trial basis" for nothing. e.g. bar work on a friday night - there is one job but 4 people are there "on-trial". The thing is that probably every friday night they have 4 people "on-trial"!!!

But shadowing a physio dept is not like that. It would then have to depend on the physio dept head. Having said that, they would have to decide if they wanted someone hanging around. It can get pretty annoying to be honest. I have year 10 work experience kids at my practices and i will only take them for 1 or 2 days because they need to see hosital stuff and community stuff. Also, after a day, you have pretty much seen what a private practice physio does - only the patients and conditions change and they don't have enough knowledge to understand the differences.

Another alternative into the hospital system is to do your physio aide certificate from the Australian Physiotherapy Association. This will allow you to be actually employed at the hospital and so have a better chance at getting into physio. With you other qualifications, it will probably help get you a job in the hospital.

Lastly, physio school is HARD. Harder than year 12. That is why the mark is so high. It isn't just about the number of people who want to do physio, it is the level of knowledge required. The uni probably wants some sort of indication if you could cut the mustard.

What marks and subjects did you do?

I scraped into physio from year 12 with the following marks...

2 Unit Related English (highest 2 unit level) = 67/1000
2 Unit Maths (I did 3 unit but you have to do 2 tests) = 89/100
3 unit maths = 49/50
2 unit Physics = 83/100
2 unit Chemistry = 87/100
2 unit Computers = 93/100
1 unit General Studies (no longer offered) = 41/100
Average mark for best 10 units = 88.4%

TER/UAI = 96.7 - this is a rank of all the students in the year (everyone got one)...It means that i came in the top 3.3% of the state (out of about 50,000 students)

Physio entry mark in my year = 96.35

I hope that gives you any indication of the marks you will need in the subjects that you need. Physics and Chemistry are not pre-reqs but you don't want to have to do bridging courses as well. You will need both to cope with biomechanics, biochemistry and all the neuro stuff. And don't think that biology is a good substitute - it is not!

Put your head down, do your HSC again and aim to average 90 in every subject. It is the quickest way to make it back to uni.

BTW whoever let you do only 8 units was an idiot. Even if you only got a UAI of 60, you could have done nursing, topped the year with HDs and gone into physio via transfer. Also, you don't need to know what you are going to do when you grow up - God knows i don't know what i am going to do when I grow up!!

Good luck. HSC is easier than uni. HSC = 1 year, a bachelors in anything is at least 3 years. Do HSC while you still can.

Lastly, GET SOME GOOD ADVICE!!!!! Go talk to people who know, not your mates who are not in physio.

Good luck!

BTW - you can also go Full-Fee somewhere...

[Flex]

My marks were not the best in yr 12 I didnt take it serious enough but even if I repeated year 12 and missed out I would feel like I wasted the year.

Adv English 64/100
biology 70/100
pdhpe 80/100
modern hist 73/100

I think my second best bet would be to contact the uni and ask them, thanks everyone for great replies and advice, its helped alot.. i'll update this thread when I find out what they require.

[alophysio]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I am sure how things work these days but i think this is accurate...

1. HSC again is your best bet because even if you didn't get into physio, at least you could do a university course. As it is now you can't even get into uni until you are "mature aged" meaning at least 21 or so. Therefore the year of HSC again is not a waste and as mentioned before, school is easier than uni.

2. I think you have a snowball's chance in hell of getting in any other way at this stage because of the following (and i don't mean to be discouraging, just realistic):
a. you didn't get a UAI
b. you didn't get high enough marks in the right subjects
c. you are competing against so many people with UAIs, halfway thru uni with HD, D and Credit averages, etc. It is not like physio school is struggling to get students. I think they would put you pretty far down the list.
d. I tried to get a friend into the Uni with a reference etc but she was similar to you and she got nowhere close to being let in and she had done part of a Science degree with a credit average (more quals that you). If she wasn't even close, i think this route is pretty much closed to you.

There is the option of going somewhere where they will take your money and go as a full fee paying student. Don't know where or how but i am sure they don't knock back good money often!

Good luck. I really hope it works out for you. It is a shame you didn't have good advice (or someone to knock it into you!) at school!!! All the best!

[physiouk]

Well not sure if that last post made you feel any better about urself eh?!

I would speak to the uni's...at least then you know where you stand and can take things from there. If your not looking to repeat the year then there are other options...its not the end of the world. Maybe even go and c a careers advisors..there are tonnes around. It mite mean u go to college or uni to do a different course to take u into physio.
But dont lose hope...maybe u jus need to look into things a bit more and by speaking to the uni's is the best way to start!

Good Luck and keep ur head up...ul get there!!

[alophysio]

Yes, I am sorry about the tone of my last post. It was not meant to make you feel bad.

But i feel what you lacked was the truth about how things work. If someone had explained that without a UAI you will find it extremely difficult to get into uni to do even the lowest ranked course, maybe you would have done 10 units instead of 8?

To be honest, maybe you could finish your fitness and massage stuff then try apply as a mature aged student. You will have to wait a while but it will make you hungrier to become a physio!

Again, i apologise...

[Flex]

No need to apologise mate, I like all realistic scenarios so I wont be too disappointed in the long run and may even have backup plans. I'm still grateful for your help lol

It mite mean u go to college or uni to do a different course to take u into physio.
But dont lose hope...maybe u jus need to look into things a bit more and by speaking to the uni's is the best way to start!

Yeah this is also why I need to call uni and find out other courses that may be able to lead into physio.. now im not so worried about how long it takes.


My school was restricting students from doing maths, chem and physics in senior years if you werent in advanced maths in 10th grade.. unfortunately I was in intermediate and they said no to me when I wanted to do maths but they let me do biology beause I was good in science.. I suppose this was to up their reputation - unfortunately they didnt care as much about their students. That probably has affected me a bit for now. But im not going to blame that for the situation im in - hopefully i'll find a way around it whether I do other courses that may get me into it such as podiatry? or something along those lines.

[alophysio]

Thanks for being understanding.

If you can get into anything at uni, that would be a good start.

If you think about it, you are good at science so maybe doing a science degree with a major in anatomy would be a good thing. A lot of chiros go down that route.

[physiobob]

great reply, thanks! I know exactly what you mean and that is what im worried about. I didnt get a UAI mark because i only did 8 units (hence the 4 subjects) and 10 units is required to be eligible for a UAI mark. I made a big mistake by doing this but back then I didnt know what I wanted to do.

Seeing my chances would be quite low (not very competitive) of getting in through what I have planned at the moment when i get the diploma, what else do you think I would be able to go for that will better my chances? I'm just trying to figure out the best way I can right now because im doing cert 4 in fitness at the moment and it's going to finish soon so I want to know where to go next. Thanks again

I would go back to tafe/tec and get the extra units you missed out on completing to allow admission to a university degree course. Maybe then you could get into Bachelor of medical science? Or start with a basic BSc degree and transfer into the other with good marks. This is possible even after first year. Thanks everyone for their support of this question, there are some good ideas floating around.

Also a degree in Human Movement like those that were/still are? provided in Woollongong in NSW are a great insight into the body and will set you up to become a great PT