Final year Doctor of Physiotherapy student Neha Giri came all the way from Canada in 2021 to make her mark in allied health. Neha graduated from McMaster University in Ontario, earning her Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Life Sciences. There, she was part of the Women in STEM mentorship program as a mentor, and also became part of the Golden Key International Honours Society. Neha moved to Australia to undergo the Doctor of Physiotherapy postgraduate course, as she always knew she wanted to pursue higher education. Coming to Australia was an opportunity she decided to pursue in order to further grow her academic career and independence as a young professional.

Neha chose to study physiotherapy to be able to help improve people’s function and independence. It stemmed from a personal experience, after seeing how important physiotherapy was to her grandfather when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

“I’ve always been interested in preventative health and education as well, and I thought physiotherapy provided the best of both worlds for me and my interests, my passions. I think a big part of what I wanted to do was I wanted to leave my mark, by being able to improve people’s function and essentially maintaining their independent function as long as they can. A lot of people don’t know what physios do, and there’s a lot of misconceptions around it. So, I thought it’d be good to go into the field and make a difference.”

During her degree, Neha has worked on a research project in the Equity, Primary care, Implementation and Community (EPIC) Unit. She was introduced to the unit as a part of a yearlong research project in the final year of her degree, where she’s exploring how general practitioners approach physical activity in routine care through analysis of video-recorded consultations using Australia’s first and only digital library of GP-patient consultations. Though she had some experience doing research as an undergraduate student, Neha found the experience as a postgraduate student quite different.

“It was particularly great to work as a team alongside very experienced researchers and clinicians. Not just people who specialise in research, but we have some GPs on our team, we have some dieticians on our team. The multidisciplinary approach is great and the team is very supportive. As a final year student, that’s really important and it’s been such a great process. Even just being able to see different stages of the research journey, from submitting an ethics approval and now aiming to be published in a Q1 journal. It’s been great.”

Neha’s main goal for now is to gain as much experience as she can, so that she can open her own physiotherapy clinic in the future. She’s thankful that her course has already given her advice on the business side of things.

“In our program, we’re fortunate enough to have a business unit that we had to take. Part of that was opening up your own clinic and doing an analysis for that. You normally don’t learn that unless you’re in a business degree.”

For those considering a Doctor of Physiotherapy, Neha says commitment, preparation and time management are key.

“You really need to be prepared for some rigorous study. Just be prepared to see a lot; it’s a very hands-on profession. You might be very good at seeing something clinically, and applying it, but the first part of your course will be very based on theory and study and exams. Be prepared for both of those aspects; it’s not one or the other, and it’s all about finding the balance between them.”

Find out more about the Doctor of Physiotherapy.