When Paul McCann APAM received an unexpected letter advising that he had been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday 2024 Honours List, he was both surprised and humbled. 

Travelling to Canberra to meet with ministers, ministerial advisers and departmental secretaries always brings a
feeling of excitement. 

You hope that you can educate, communicate, influence and, most importantly, deliver a consistent message. 

My most recent visit had the added pleasure of accompanying our new CEO Rob LoPresti on his first trip advocating on behalf of the APA and the profession.

The 2023 Workforce Census provides a snapshot of where the physiotherapy profession is currently at, says APA President Scott Willis.

The APA is no different and over the past nine years we have been working on expanding our partnership networks from both a commercial and a non-commercial perspective.

In 2022, the APA undertook a comprehensive research study related to partnerships. 

You’re a physiotherapist working at a public hospital. Since your employer provides insurance that meets the professional indemnity insurance requirements set by the Physiotherapy Board of Australia, you decide not to purchase your own insurance policy. 

Physiotherapists working in occupational health offer a range of workplace prevention and rehabilitation services, both onsite and within clinics. 

One of the key roles is providing injury prevention training to individuals and groups. 

Dr Paula Harding MACP, allied health director at Barwon Health in Geelong, had observed the increasing demands placed on
physiotherapists to provide clinical education in the workplace, both for students and for physiotherapists in the early stages of their careers.

A study in the United Kingdom has explored the creation of a delegation framework for use with physiotherapy support workers in musculoskeletal outpatient physiotherapy services.

Physiotherapy support workers, also known as physiotherapy assistants, rehabilitation assistants, technical instructors or physiotherapy technicians, are non-registered staff who often work alongside physiotherapists, with delegated interventions and responsibilities.

In any workplace setting, maintaining a stable and engaged workforce is essential for sustaining productivity and fostering a positive organisational culture. 

Effective employee retention strategies play a pivotal role in achieving these objectives by ensuring that skilled and experienced employees remain committed to their roles within the organisation.

Collective advocacy has been a cornerstone of Calum Neish’s life at university and is something that the recipient of the 2023 APA Board of Directors Student Prize vows to continue with as he prepares to embark as a graduate physiotherapist.