Familiarising Yourself With The Hospital

Tips on how to prepare 2-3 weeks prior to your interview as a basic grade physiotherapist in a hospital

It is important to familiarise yourself with 1) the admission statement of the hospital and 2) the specialities of the physiotherapy department. These can be accessed by visiting the hospital’s website, for example, The Mater Misericordiae’s admission statement can be accessed from http://www.mater.ie/about-us/mission/ and the specialities of the physiotherapy department from http://www.mater.ie/services/depts/p/physiotherapy/

An example of a hospital admission statement can be seen below.

Mission Statement (taken from the Mater homepage)
The Venerable Catherine McAuley founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. The visitation of the sick poor in their homes was one of the characteristic works of the Sisters from the beginning. Catherine McAuley's aspiration to establish a hospital became a reality when the Mater Misericordiae Hospital officially opened on September 24th 1861. Today, the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital continues in its healing ministry to the sick, regardless of class, creed, or nationality.
The Hospital's Vision, Mission and Ethos are enshrined in the Hospital's Mission Statement.

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As you can see from the above, the employers will be looking for competent, motivated staff that excels in clinical excellence, who value their own education, training and research and who thrive to provide a positive patient experience. The significance of all this is you can then be confident that if you instil the above into your interview you will be sure to make a meaningful impression.

Furthermore, it is important to familiarise yourself with the specialities of the physiotherapy department you are preparing an interview for. For example, in the Mater’s musculo-skeletal service they provide hydrotherapy classes, weekly lower limb rehabilitation classes for patients following leg injuries, “Back in Action” weekly exercise classes for patients with chronic low back pain, week-long intensive exercise and education classes for patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis, in-patient orthopaedic services are delivered over six days. Knowing all this you can refer back to placements and let them know why you are suitable for the job for instance if you partook in hydrotherapy classes, lower limb rehab classes or back-care classes.

This can also be applied to the cardiorespiratory department. The Mater has an emergency department, critical care units (ICU) and an out-patient pulmonary rehabilitation service which involves supervised exercise sessions and education regarding the self-management of respiratory conditions. If you have attained experience in working on ICU or in pulmonary rehab on previous placements you can draw upon your experiences to better equip yourself for your interview.

In relation to the hospitals rehabilitation service knowing the types of conditions seen in the hospital will also better equip you for your interview. For example, the Mater is an acute hospital treating patients with stroke, movement disorders, amputation, head injuries. Having experiences treating any kinds of these conditions can be a great chance to talk about previous placements and what you learnt etc.

The Mater also has a page dedicated to interview tips that can be accessed on http://www.mater.ie/careers/interview/

Tips on how to prepare prior to your interview as a basic grade physiotherapist in a private practice

In this case it is important to familiarise yourself with the services of the private practice. For example, The Physio Company which has clinics all over Ireland offer a wide array of services including and are not limited to:

• Hands-on treatments such as joint mobilisations, manipulation and massage
• Electrotherapy, be it ultrasound, interferential or Laser.
• Tailored home exercise programs so that you can keep working on your recovery between your sessions in your own time. These may include stretches, strengthening and core stability, and are especially important in minimising the risk of re-injury.
• We will discuss any important lifestyle factors such as desk postures and exercise activities that may need to be adjusted to help you recover
• We may also use heat or ice to help speed up your recovery

A further list of services which include specialities such as acupuncture, ergonomics, orthotics, podiatry, sports injury management and women’s health can be seen on The Physio Company’s website accessed on
http://www.thephysiocompany.com/our-physiotherapy-services

When preparing for an interview in a private practice it is important to show that you have experience or at least an interest in one or more of these areas. Furthermore, other things to note are, is the private practice affiliated with any local teams, the exact location of the private practice, access to parking and how to get there. Lastly, give yourself plenty of time!