I am enjoying this thread...I think we have all made some valid points and probably physios should start questioning their productivity with regards financial growth...however, we are stuck with a few problems...

one is the ethical aspect of the profession, I remember when i trained there were issues surrounding how much publicity a physiotherapist can draw to himself/herself. I dont think much has changed in that department, but I may be wrong. Fo example, it is unethical for one professional to claim he is better than the other...especially in a hospital setting. However, these ethical standards may not be as stringent in a business world, so in a hospital while one physio may be more skilled than another, he only gets a flat rate pay for whatever level he is. Can he go about and blow his horn? NO, he accepts what he is given and continues with his job. This is why physios in the NHS for instance often get less job satisfaction, some feel burnt out, others just cant be bothered to do a good job...the ones who still feel committed and want to make a difference are frustrated- we call all these problems blueflags generally...lol

The second is a National Health service system. Like all things run by the government, there isnt much room for financial growth. There are flatrates for salaries generally.
As soon as Chiropractors are accepted in a national health service system, then perhaps some chiros will moan about how much financial growth is possible. We forget that chiros are just like any private buisness instution out there...they are private and are responsible for their own growth, so why shouldnt they do business?

There arent many opportunities for private physiotherapy practice except in perhaps musculoskeletal and sports, and most people (where the market is) are found linked to a NHS system cos its cheaper. business wise, we are more or less screwed. Scrap the national health sevice system and you would find a business boom in physiotherapy and other professions generally.

The reality is because of these organisational constraints, there is hardly any physiotherapy done in a National Health system anyway. How can you, when the system burdens you with endless policies, paperwork, gives you only thirty minutes off your seating time in a day for lunch. rather than interacting with patients where you can actually sell yourself, you spend the majority of your time crouched in an office writing endless documents. This is the reason why people take endless annual leave in the NHS. I am a contract staff member and boy, the physios in permanent staff are worn out...they are worn out not from physio work but from this endless routine of paperwork.

You do not get this burden when you are in private practice, you only do what you want to do...you can decide to close shop for a month if you feel you are that financially capable. Physiotherapists cannot market themselves if they work for the government.

cheers