A day in the life of an osteopath
Each osteopath works differently, but I thought it may be interesting to share how my usual work day goes. One of the things I love about osteopathy is the variability and flexibility- no two patients are the same, so every day brings different challenges. An average day goes like this...
When I arrive at work, I settle down with my notes for the day (and a coffee!) and read through to familiarise myself with the patients who are coming in and what I did at the previous session with each person. I schedule my diary so I have regular breaks, which helps to keep my energy up. Osteopathy is a physical job and I want the person booked in the last slot of my day to receive the same quality treatment and attention as the first.
I usually book thirty minute appointments for follow-ups and one hour for a new consultation. I like that both clinics I work from allow me to make appointments longer if I'm working on various areas with a patient. If you're interested in what happens during a consultation, you can read my previous post about it here.
The most common problem I treat is back and neck pain, but I also treat minor sports injuries, prevent headaches, osteoarthritis and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. I often give exercises, particular with long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis, so gaps between patients and at the end of the day I can use the programme Rehab My Patient to record exercise plans and email them to patients.
At the end of each session I record thorough notes about how the patient is progressing, what the examination in the treatment found, my working diagnosis, the treatment I carried out and any exercises or advice I gave. This is a legal requirement, but I also find it really helpful to assess how someone's symptoms are improving over time and I can look back at the treatments to see if something particularly helps. This is also really important if a patient sees one of my colleagues and it helps with continuity of care.
At the end of the day I change the laundry in my room over and get prepared for the next working day. Often I spend time in the evenings and at weekends researching things for patients and furthering my knowledge. I have always been fascinated by the human body and I find osteopathy a really intriguing type of manual therapy, so the extra time learning is always interesting and rewarding.
Sometimes unexpected things happen. For instance, last week a new patient presented with pain on the left side of their ribs. The pain had appeared gradually and hadn't been triggered by an injury. There were no other symptoms and nothing relieved the pain. This made me suspicious. My examination couldn't find anything wrong, other than tenderness over the left kidney area. Given that the patient had a history of kidney infections, I called their GP surgery and got them an appointment for one hour later. They were assessed and diagnosed with a kidney infection and put on antibiotics to treat it before it caused worse symptoms or complications. Luckily not all days are like that, but it shows why it's important for me to be alert and up to date with my knowledge.
I find osteopathy a really rewarding way to help people and I'm always motivated to do my best for my patients. I hope you've enjoyed having an insight to my working day! If you have any questions, please do let me know. If anyone is considering a career in osteopathy, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me.
Zoë Clark is a registered osteopath trained at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in London. Practicing in Howe near Norwich (01508 558373) and Burston, near Diss (07543 557746) in Norfolk.
When I arrive at work, I settle down with my notes for the day (and a coffee!) and read through to familiarise myself with the patients who are coming in and what I did at the previous session with each person. I schedule my diary so I have regular breaks, which helps to keep my energy up. Osteopathy is a physical job and I want the person booked in the last slot of my day to receive the same quality treatment and attention as the first.
I usually book thirty minute appointments for follow-ups and one hour for a new consultation. I like that both clinics I work from allow me to make appointments longer if I'm working on various areas with a patient. If you're interested in what happens during a consultation, you can read my previous post about it here.
The most common problem I treat is back and neck pain, but I also treat minor sports injuries, prevent headaches, osteoarthritis and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia. I often give exercises, particular with long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis, so gaps between patients and at the end of the day I can use the programme Rehab My Patient to record exercise plans and email them to patients.
At the end of each session I record thorough notes about how the patient is progressing, what the examination in the treatment found, my working diagnosis, the treatment I carried out and any exercises or advice I gave. This is a legal requirement, but I also find it really helpful to assess how someone's symptoms are improving over time and I can look back at the treatments to see if something particularly helps. This is also really important if a patient sees one of my colleagues and it helps with continuity of care.
At the end of the day I change the laundry in my room over and get prepared for the next working day. Often I spend time in the evenings and at weekends researching things for patients and furthering my knowledge. I have always been fascinated by the human body and I find osteopathy a really intriguing type of manual therapy, so the extra time learning is always interesting and rewarding.
Sometimes unexpected things happen. For instance, last week a new patient presented with pain on the left side of their ribs. The pain had appeared gradually and hadn't been triggered by an injury. There were no other symptoms and nothing relieved the pain. This made me suspicious. My examination couldn't find anything wrong, other than tenderness over the left kidney area. Given that the patient had a history of kidney infections, I called their GP surgery and got them an appointment for one hour later. They were assessed and diagnosed with a kidney infection and put on antibiotics to treat it before it caused worse symptoms or complications. Luckily not all days are like that, but it shows why it's important for me to be alert and up to date with my knowledge.
I find osteopathy a really rewarding way to help people and I'm always motivated to do my best for my patients. I hope you've enjoyed having an insight to my working day! If you have any questions, please do let me know. If anyone is considering a career in osteopathy, please don't hesitate to get in contact with me.
Zoë Clark is a registered osteopath trained at the British College of Osteopathic Medicine in London. Practicing in Howe near Norwich (01508 558373) and Burston, near Diss (07543 557746) in Norfolk.
Email zoeclarkosteopath@gmail.com
'Like' my Facebook page www.facebook.com/zoeclarkosteopathy
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