Co-Op Student Question and Answer: Oakville’s Palermo Physiotherapy

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

You may have noticed around the clinic, that we have had a co-op student over the past couple of months. Co-Op is an excellent opportunity to experience a variety of placement settings to help direct further education and career goals. In addition it also helps with soft skills that are helpful for a student moving forward, such as communication skills and initiative.

Most of the professions in the clinic such as Physiotherapists, and the Chiropodist have had some form of Co-Op or volunteer experience that has guided them in the direction of their professions, or maybe away from certain professions.

We asked our Co-Op student to answer a few questions regarding her Co-Op experience at our Oakville Physio and wellness clinic:


  1. What made you want to do a placement in a physio clinic?

A : I have always been interested in this career and the health field in general. I also used to play competitive soccer, which caused many injuries, such as an ACL tear, requiring months of intense rehabilitation at a physio clinic. This experience definitely sparked my interest in physiotherapy because I had the opportunity to see all the different treatments and go through them myself. The best part was getting to witness patients, such as myself, progress and regain their abilities, it was so satisfying. 

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A : J’ai toujours été intéressée à cette carriere et puis au domaine de la santé en générale. De plus, je jouais au soccer compétitif auparavant, me mettant sujet aux blessures, telles qu’une déchirure au ligament ACL. Celle-ci a demandée plusieurs mois de réhabilitation intense dans une clinique de physio. Cette expérience a définitivement suscitée mon intéret à la physiothérapie car j’ai eu la chance de voir toutes sortes de traitments et même les subirs moi-même. La meilleure partie était de voir les patients, comme moi-même, progresser puis retrouver leurs capacitiés. 

Growing pain treatment at an Oakville Physio clinic


  1. What are 3 things you didn’t know about physio prior to your placement/what surprised you?

A : Firstly, I didn’t know that there are specialized physios, for example a pelvic floor physiotherapist. I thought all physios were generally the same. Secondly, I didn’t know physios could treat patients with neurological diseases. Lastly, I didn’t know physiotherapy included so much charting, I was under the impression that it was all physical work but it really is not.  

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A : Premièrement, je ne savais pas qu’il existe des physios spécialisés, par exemple un physio du plancher pelvien, je croyais que toutes les physios faisaient généralement les mêmes tâches. Deuxièmement, je ne savais pas que les physios peuvent traiter des patients avec des problèmes neurologiques. Finalement, je ne savais pas que la physiothérapie incluait tant de cartographie, je croyais que c’était plutôt juste du travail physique et manuel.

Pelvic pain sign showing Oakville pelvic floor physio


  1. What will you do academically next year?

A : As this is my last year of high school, next year, I will be beginning my post-secondary studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. I aspire to complete a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Mental Health, and later possibly attempt to obtain a PhD in order to do research. 

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A : Comme cette année est ma dernière au secondaire, l’année prochaine je vais poursuivre mes études postsecondaires à l’Université de Carleton a Ottawa. J’espère compléter mon Baccalauréat de Sciences en Neuroscience et Santé Mentale, et plus tard peut-être même tenter d’obtenir un Doctorat afin de m’orienter vers la recherche.

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


  1. How will this experience impact your academic life moving forward?

A : This experience will impact my academic life moving forward because it was a good way to start learning scientific terms in English, as I am going to an English University and the transition from learning everything in French to English might be difficult. This experience might also impact my academic life by changing my plans, career-wise. Now that I have done this COOP, I believe that becoming a physiotherapist could potentially be an option in the future because I like job itself as well as the atmosphere and my interest in it has grown. 

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A : Cette expérience va impacter ma vie académique car ce fut une bonne façon de commencer à apprendre les termes scientifiques en Anglais, comme je vais à l’Université en Anglais puis la transition de Francais à Anglais risque d’être difficile. Cette expérience peut aussi impacter ma vie académique en changeant mes plans de carrière. Maintenant que j’ai complété ce COOP, je crois que devenir un physio pourrait potentiellement être un option dans le futur car j’aime beaucoup la profession elle-même ainsi que son atmosphère.  

Oakville tree out of book, showing physio Massage learning about speech pathologists and speech therapists

Next week is our Co-Op students last week in our Physio and wellness clinic. We’d like to thank her for all her hard work and hope she’s learned some skills that she can use in the future!