German Physiotherapist ---> Master/working in english speaking country?

[physiogirl76]

Hi there,

well, I think, I need to reply to this thread as well since I`m a German physio. I did my first training in Germany, but continued for another year in the Netherlands to get my bachelor degree (since most physio degrees in Germanys are not academic...even though it`s slowly changing towards a university taught degree). I have worked in Germany, NZ and Australia (that`s where I am at the moment).

Fyzzio has pretty much summed it up very clearly: Most patients you would see in private practice here in Australia have private health insurance which contributes (depending on your specific cover) to the cost of physio treatment. You get a certain amount per year to spend on certain services (in this case: physiotherapy) - when you exceed this amount, you have to pay the full amount for the treatment yourself.
Since physiotherapists work independently in Australia (as well as NZ and most other English speaking countries), you don`t need a doctor`s referral to see a physio (unless in an outpatients department in a public hospital where physio treatments are free). Some doctors though will give the patient a letter (to hand it over to the physio) where the past medical history is outlined and then asks the physiotherapist for an assessment/treatment. Never ever would a doctor here determine the frequency/duration or sort of treatment (like it`s the case in Germany). It´s entirely up to the treating physio to use his/her clinical judgement, set goals with the client, assess and treat appropriately and then discharge the client when the goals are met. It`s VERY different from the "German" way of thinking Even though, most experienced physios in Germany would do exactly the same, but it`s not really well educated in physio schools. It usually develops with your post grad courses (e.g. manual therapy).

Medical gymnastics is the result i get when looking up "Krankengymnastik" in a dictionairy.

Well, you can`t really translate the term, as this is very specific to the German system. Physiotherapy is the term, I`d prefer to use and this is the international term.

As you implied (i assume) in germany we are not allowed to think for ourselves but only do what is prescribed.

Really??? Well, I don`t know about you, but as far as I´m concerned, I always use my brain (i.e. think) when I see patients, no matter, where in the world I´m treating these patients. Even when I worked in Germany, where the patient needs a referral and the doctor needs to come up with the diagnosis (something like "lumbar syndrome" or "shoulder-arm-syndrome"....great! what a useful "diagnosis") and the treatment modality (e.g. manual therapy combined with electrotherapy), I have ALWAYS assessed the patients and then treated accordingly. I always considered the prescription more like a document for billing purposes (as insurances pay different rates depending on treatment modalities), rather than a guide for treatment or worse: a substitute for my own clinical judgement. In my past jobs in Germany, we always had the freedom to adjust treatments. I would hope that you do the same.

Anyway, enough of my rant. My point is: Physios here enjoy greater autonomy than in Germany which also means greater responsibility. But it´s so much better After working in NZ and AUS, I went back to Germany for a year, but I had a real hard time to adjust professionally: I felt it was very rigid (prescriptions) and I couldn`t stand the snobbishness of most doctors who considered themselves "superior" (whereas here, everybody works in a team and there are little hierachies).
So I returned to Australia

Cheers, Melanie