Good Or Bad? Making Mistakes As A New Grad Physio

Posted By: Andy Barker

Is making mistakes as a New Grad Physio a good or bad thing?

There is a thought process that making mistakes is generally a good thing as a New Grad; as you are said to learn from these experiences and as a result get better.

But is it all that simple?

The fact that you are told to make mistakes as a New Grad Physio could actually be a bad thing and for some therapists it is actually preventing you from making progress in your learning, progress in your career and even progression in your pay.

In this blog you will discover that whilst making mistakes as a New Grad is inevitable it is important that you limit your mistakes in some specific areas.

Otherwise, you may run the risk of getting ‘stuck’ and not making the progress in your clinical skills and career that you hope for.

Avoiding The ‘BIG Mistakes’

I am not for one second making claim that you will not make mistakes as a New Grad Physio, Sports Therapist or Sports Rehabilitator.

Once you qualify you will realise that there are gaps in what University taught you and what you actually need to know in the real world.

This mismatch equals mistakes.

These mistakes might relate to your clinical skills, like making an incorrect diagnosis.

Maybe you make errors when handing over clinical information to your patients or even to senior staff you are working with.

Or you could make mistakes with your CV or when you reach out to prospective employers that result in you not making those career opportunities you hoped for.

Whilst you will make mistakes as a New Grad, the key is not making BIG mistakes.

As a New Grad making mistakes with more complex things is inevitable but making mistakes with the simple stuff should not be…

The ‘Hidden’ Problems

The problem is, however, that close to ALL New Grad’s make mistakes, BIG and small, but for most, they don’t actually know they are making these mistakes.

The impossible task then is putting right these ‘hidden’ mistakes.

If you don’t know you are making a mistake, then how do you know it needs fixing.

If you have reached out previously to people to try to arrange a placement, shadowing opportunity or even paid work and received a negative response (that’s if you got a response at all), then I guarantee you will have had made some BIG mistakes, and these mistakes are stopping you getting your ‘Foot In The Door.’.

I speak to New Grad’s every week who are making these BIG mistakes and this is preventing their progress both clinically and in relation to their career path.

So, what do you do?

Reach Out For Help

Quite simply, the fastest way to learn what these mistakes are and how to overcome them is to reach out for help from someone that has overcome the same problems you are facing right now.

Firstly, you need to be aware of the mistakes you are already making.

Otherwise, you risk making the same mistakes over and over and over again…

Without even knowing you are making a mistake in the first place.

Then, you need help and support to learn the quickest and simplest way to overcome these challenges and there is no one better to ask than someone that has already done this.

Everyone wants to give you advice, but often this is the problem.

Getting advice that does not tell you EXACTLY the problems and EXACTLY how to fix these problems will not help.

The person to ask is the one that has experienced and ‘lived’ these problems and can show you how to side-step these issues, giving you a clear path to progress your career at the speed and in the direction you want.

Key Points

Avoid The BIG Mistakes – Making mistakes on the small stuff is ok, but you need to avoid making the BIG mistakes in both your clinical practice and your career choices

Identify Those ‘Hidden’ Problems – You can’t fix problems if you don’t know what they are. You need to identify what these problems are and then you can get to work trying to fix them

Reach Out For Help – The best person to advise you on how to overcome these problems is someone that has done it themselves or even better still, has previously helped other New Grad’s, just like you, through the same problems in the past

If you found reading this blog post useful you will also find BIG value in my book ‘How To Become A Competent, Confident & Competitive New Grad Physio.’

In the early part of my book I tell my own story and all the mistakes, BIG and small I made, to help you avoid these very same problems.

Learning what these potential pitfalls are, means you can side-step these very same problems and enjoy a successful start to your career as a New Grad Physio, Sports Therapist or Sports Rehabilitator.

Get your copy HERE.