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Now there are a number of fields in which a physiotherapist
can specilise in like musculoskeletal,neuro,ortho,Cardio,Sports,paediatr ics,
geriatrics.
Which one does most Physio take up,why and in which specialities
there is a greater demand for physios?
why do you ask?
neving
just to carry out some research about Post graduate physios:b
This is a difficult question to give a valid answer to. Physiotherapy options vary a lot depending on the country you are in. We have all read in this forum how in India, physio is poolry supported by government and I suppose therefore by their National Health System.
In Australia and Canada we have a lot of private practitioners. Yet for different reasons. In Canada the government used to let private physios bill directly for treatment of the general public. In the 80's and 90's this lead to a huge move into private practice as it was fairly low risk and high return. Things have changed since then.
In Australia, the public face of physiotherapy is great. The physios work closely with the Dr's and are very well respected. So their primary care status is well supported by the government and also insurance companies. This means private practice is an option for some.
The majority of physios around the world however are probable still working within the general banner of "National Health". The various departments; outpatients, orthopaedics, paediatrics, vasculay, general medicine, neuro rehab, geriatrics etc off varying numbers of posts that are largely dependent on patient volume at each facility. So if you have a job in a hospital that offers more jobs in orthopaedics than in paediatrics then more physios will be doing orthopaedics. This does not mean that this role is the first choice of the physio, it is a matter of the preferred choice given the available options.
Perhaps this is the beauty of our profession. The roles are wide and varied. You can learn great skills in say neuro, that you can later use in paeds or outpatients. This keeps use from getting stale in our jobs. Working in public health gives a varied and rather extensive range of opportunities to move within. That is of course as long as the positions become available.
there is also a bit of a gender issue, most peads physios are women, while men seem to be more drawn to sports/ortho work.
ThanX physio dude for your detailed reply :)
That could be a money thing too though.
Sports clinics and private musculo-skeletal is where you are likely to find better remuneration. Something like Paeds is less likely to be privately funded, and along with say stroke rehab, is less affordable as there is often no quick fix.
Of course a lot of female physios are in private practice, but often the man is expected to be the major wage earner (stereotyping wildly here) so may be more inclined to follow the money ????