Physiotherapy Education: Minimum Standards Matter Most

Many years ago, airlines tightened their standard operating procedures to minimise or abolish human error. These SOP's became gold standard. Unfortunately, the Indonesian airline below got sloppy and adopted a sometimes Aussie practice of "she'll be right", in the face of failing to meet standards....ie a drunk pilot 

In our industry, the best medical professionals in the world do three things right: 
1. They communicate well;
2. They get the diagnosis right;
3. They apply the right treatment and/or exercise. 

Of those, the most important is getting the diagnosis right. A practitioner with great communication skills who gets the diagnosis wrong is not a great practitioner on that occasion. A practitioner with great exerise and treatment skills, applied to the wrong diagnosis, is not a great practitioner on that occasion. Getting the diagnosis correct is objective, requires an SOP and minimum standards to allocate individuals into three primary categories: 
1. pain disorders
2. mobility disorders
3. motor control and stability disorders.

Each impairment that we come across fits into one of those, so it makes perfect sense to use a road map to reveal those in our clients from the beginning. Beyond that, our industry has made a bunch of specialty programs for those who choose to become more highly skilled and qualified in one of those areas. It's a necessary reductionist approach to upskill but it should not be at the expense of the generalist approach of revealing those three categories and being proficient at managing each of them. 


Don't be drunk to your opinions when it comes to being a great practitioner.