Through the eyes of a Co-Op student – Our Oakville clinic and beyond

Boy growing shoing physio to kids, massage, foot clinic, wart treatment

The school year is winding to a close and with that so has the placement of our grade 11 co-op (co-operative education) student who had her placement at our Oakville Physiotherapy, Massage, Yoga, and Chiropody (foot care) clinic. We’d like to thank all of our patients who graciously allowed her to shadow the Physiotherapists and Chiropodist (foot care specialist). She may have even benefited from some Massage treatment and acupuncture treatment in the meantime.

A large part of practicing as a Physiotherapist, Massage Therapist, Chiropodist, and Yoga Therapist is self-reflection. It allows us to critically evaluate our treatment and treatment plans for patients as well as plan  where we would like to focus our learnings in the future. We asked this co-op student some questions towards the end of her placement to help critically evaluate her experience at our Oakville Physio, Massage and Chiropody clinic:

Questions for an Oakville Co-Op Student:

  1. Why did you decide to do a Co-Op placement through your school?

I decided to do a co-op placement because I am apart of the health and wellness specialized high school major (SHSM) and taking a co-op was required. However I would have taken co-op anyway because it is a great opportunity to get a better idea of the field I am hoping to go into.

  1. What made you decide on a Multidisciplinary clinic for your Co-op placement?

I decided to go to a multidisciplinary clinic for my co-op because this way I get to see a variety of different treatments and get exposed to more than if I were at a single disciplinary clinic. Palermo Physiotherapy and Wellness in North Oakville was perfect because they have Physio, Massage and Chiropody.

  1. What are some things you knew about Physiotherapy, Massage Therapy and Chiropody prior to starting your placement?

Prior to starting my placement I only had knowledge about physiotherapy and massage therapy from attending them myself, as a patient. My knowledge was very limited to just my experience, yet I was still very interested in what they do.

  1. What are some things about Physiotherapy that you were surprised to learn or that you didn’t know?

I have learnt so much about what physiotherapist do and the different types of physiotherapist. I have been able to watch a variety of different treatments which has been interesting to see how much can be done to treat someone. One thing that really surprised me was the wide range of treatment given by a physiotherapist. I learnt that some physiotherapists treatment would only consist of heat and ultrasound (modalities) where as at this clinic (Palermo Physiotherapy and Wellness in Oakville) they do those if needed but focus physical treatments such as manual therapy and exercises. Another thing that surprised me was the babies that come into the clinic, I did not know that babies would need physiotherapy but it has been very interesting to watch and see how the physiotherapists work with them without them even realizing that they’re getting physio.

Oakville Paediatric physiotherapy, massage, yoga therapy

  1. What are some things about Massage Therapy that you have learned?

I have had limited exposure to massage therapy because I can on sit in on the appointments but I have learned that massage therapy can be used as treatment for injuries and pain, not just for relaxation.

Massage in Oakville, Burlington, Milton

  1. What did you learn about Chiropody that you hadn’t known before your placement?

Before my placement I did not even know what a chiropody was so I have learnt a lot about it. I learnt that through chiropody they cast feet for orthotics, work with toe nails, warts and many other things to do with the feet. A Chiropodist can even do ingrown toenail surgeries. I have been able to sit in and watch some assessments which have been very interesting to see how much she can learn about someone’s feet just by the way they stand and walk.

  1. After your experience at Oakville’s Palermo Physiotherapy and Wellness Centre, what direction do you see yourself going for your post secondary experience.

After my experience here I am more interested in physiotherapy as a career that I would like pursue. I plan on heading in the direction of becoming a physiotherapist by applying to different kinesiology programs next year.

 

We would like to thank our Co-Op student for all her hard work in the clinic. We saw as she because more comfortable communicating with patients, she was always eager to learn and she even pitched in on the laundry (which there is always plenty of with Massage and Physio). We wish her well in her future studies and think that she would make an excellent health care practitioner in whatever field she decides to focus on!

Oakville working injury prevention tios from a Physio - study tips from Oakville Physio near Bronte