Why be a physiotherapist?

Just out of curiousity - why did those of you who are physiotherapists turn to physiotherapy as a profession initially?

Hi.

I didn't get into Medicine (4-6 weeks study before exams tend to mean you don't do well in your final high school exams! Still, I made it into the top 3% of the state!)

Then when i could get into medicine, I decided I prefered to be a physio because I could help on a more personal level, with less time constraints and responsibility (like if I make a mistake, someone lives or dies!).

But why would you want to be a biologist - when you could be a physio?!?!?

Being the physiotherapist is the most beautiful job on the world! Everybody who are phisio knows what am talking about…We may not interfere with miracles of life but we brings back miracles of moving and that is what makes human alive-motion.
So if you ask me, if I could be born again 10 times I would choose same profession again and again definitively! ;)

I knew I would not get the grades for medicine or veterinary. Did work experience to see hospital based professions and fainted watching blood drawn in radiology therefore could not involve needles! - PHYSIOTHERAPY! Been qualified 25 years now and do acupuncture!

hi,
i agree when some body says that being a physio is the most beautiful thing.as a subject there can be no comparision.studying human machine and its technology has no comparisions. its the best machine ever made.you 'll definately fall in love with it when u do it.
money ..money ...this is the world.if u r intrested in commercial exellence.i'm sorry even i dont know. u should check in ur own country or where u wish to work.
to study physiotherapy is really a wonderful experince.one has to never regret for studying physiotheray.
wish u good luck.

i basically was intrested in human sciences and i wanted to do sports medicine. i heard physio's do better in sports medicine than a medical professional.so i took it..
are u physio..?
or do u wanna do pt ..?or what?

It all depend upon the choices that you avail. My desire was to work in the medical field as a health care professional. When I passed my intermediate pre Medical, I had no idea about the Physiotherapy or Physical therapy. It was all because Physiotherapy was a very young profession in Pakistan with only limited seats available in the Government Run Institutions. And in Punjab Pakistan the teaching of physiotherapy by the Punjab Government was started in 1985 with first batch of Physiotherapist released around 1989-90. So still very limited number of Physios available in Punjab. I just came to know about word of Physiotherapy by one of senior Physiotherapist in our city just by word of mouth by a friend. And I just applied for admission after gaining some guidelines from him but I completely don't know abt the Physiotherapy at the time of admission. By and by when I started to learn about my profession I felt it was very interesting and I thought that I made a good choice. You know in every business you earn. But in Physiotherapy you earn and promote the health among humen beings and that is one fascinating thing for me. Whenever my patient recover from an illness or debility due to any cause, it is really a moment of joy and pleasure for me. And today my world is really changed as I consider myself among the best professions in the world. And I feel that I'm doing a great job by myself.

Well, i'm thinking about going into physiotherapy in Canada. thank you all for your answers, i've found them quite insightful. One thing i noticed from my experience was that physiotherapists tend to actually bond with their patients as opposed to many doctors who may see someone once, twice or maybe three times before they both go about their lives with little to no future contact. or they're family docs who see their patients once a year.

I'm a physio in Canada. I got into the profession because I didn't want a desk job, I knew there would be job opportunities upon graduation, and I didn't want to be in school for as long as it would take for med school.

I love it! But, oddly enough, there are days where I wish I had gone the other route and I dream of being a tree hugging biologist! I try to satisfy that need by camping and canoeing and trying to identify trees...

Good luck

Actually I had decided from a very young age to be a nurse (like my mother) but she noticed my distressing independence of spirit and decided that I would be no good being polite to idiots above me in a hierarchical system. In other words I like to do my own thing! she talked to a local physio, I went and worked with her and loved it. Training was a bit of a bugger (idiots above me!) but since qualifying 40 years ago I have adored the profession, been on a constant learning curve and worked all over the world - go for it!!