Workforce

people at conference
INMOTION 01 Dec, 2023

IGNITE conference asks the big questions

At October’s IGNITE 2023 national conference at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, physiotherapists were exposed to some of the big questions facing the physiotherapy community. Here is a snapshot of key sessions.

A man rifles through an empty wallet like he is poor.
INMOTION 01 Dec, 2023

Is unpaid work ever okay?

When it comes to unpaid work, there’s a fine line between mutually beneficial and exploitative. Here we provide an overview to help employers comply with their legal obligations.

Unpaid work, though occasionally contentious, can offer advantages to both employers and the individuals involved. 

Student placements, work trials and internships, for example, can grant employers a chance to train individuals new to an industry and to assess a person’s job skills while providing them with invaluable work experience and training. 

A man in bed is slowly waking up to the dawning day.
INMOTION 01 Dec, 2023

How much money gets physios out of bed?

Do physiotherapists undervalue their services? Antony Hirst considers a sustainable model.

In October this year I presented at IGNITE 2023 in Brisbane, on the pre-conference business day. 

My topic was ‘Can Linda Evangelista teach physiotherapists anything?’ 

It echoed her famous statement that she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 and implied that, as physiotherapists, we could learn something about valuing what we do.

person holding an apple and an orange
INMOTION 01 Dec, 2023

Setting the record straight about physiotherapists

The APA recently launched its ‘Valuing Skills’ initiative.

This initiative features materials such as factsheets and infographics to help various audiences—funders, policymakers and the public—differentiate between physiotherapists and other professions. 

These materials articulate in objective, factual terms the difference in training, skills and scope that a physiotherapist brings to the table.

image of a physiotherapist treating a patient lying on a hospital bed
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

Physios in the Urgent Care Clinic

PRIMARY CARE The success of a primary contact physiotherapy service established in a Geelong Urgent Care Clinic suggests an effective approach for the future, explain physiotherapists Mark Napper and Emily Bradshaw.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) sit in the gap between GP clinics and hospital emergency departments (EDs) and are designed to relieve pressure on hospital care. 

A notepad with green ticks on it to signify a job done.
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

Checking up on Fair Work health

HR IN PRACTICE The APA’s Fair Work Health Check-up resource helps members to make sure they are compliant with their obligations as employers. Here’s what you need to know.

It is common knowledge that the Fair Work Act 2009 and the National Employment Standards are the building blocks of Australia’s industrial relations system, forming the core framework for regulating employment relationships and rights and obligations for both employers and employees. 

An artistic impression of a woman's leg stepping through a big doorway.
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

Taking the lead in leadership

Libby Soderholm discusses why having transportable practice and business skills can help you reserve a seat at any leadership table.

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Libby Soderholm APAM MACP made a decision that would alter the course of her professional life. 

Libby sold both of her multidisciplinary physiotherapy practices in Western Australia— Grange Physiotherapy in Rockingham, Perth and Mandurah Physiotherapy in Mandurah—and took the leap into holding non-executive directorships on boards and committees.

person wearing active wear and holding their knee
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

ACL fact versus fiction

VIC EVENT Dr Stephanie Filbay’s research has found that current management of anterior cruciate ligament injury in Australia is not evidence-based and that anterior cruciate ligament ruptures can heal without surgery.

‘Our study found that a majority of patients who present with acute ACL rupture don’t receive information about management options that reflects the evidence. 

books behind an image of a head with the forehead open
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

5 Facts: Physiotherapy and education

Emily Riglar, chair of the APA Educators national group, presents five discussion points about the pervasive role of education in physiotherapy and its many different forms.

There is a complex science behind effective teaching

Pedagogy is the term used to describe the theory and science behind teaching. 

A healthcare worker is standing behind a man, with her hands on his shoulder and back of his head. She is looking at the camera over her shoulder.
INMOTION 01 Nov, 2023

Who is the Australian Physiotherapy Council?

WORKFORCE The Australian Physiotherapy Council outlines its role in Australian physiotherapy education and in maintaining workforce standards.

Many of us have seen and experienced firsthand the significant workforce pressures caused by numerous factors over the past few years.