Physiotherapist

Clinical Competencies and Duties
In physiotherapy services, the Physiotherapist should have the general clinical competencies below and had attained the specific area of competency for their specialty area. Depending on current rotation, the Physiotherapist should also develop specific competencies in the management of patients in one of these disciplines:

• Orthopedics
• Sports
• Neurology/Neurosurgery
• Cardiopulmonary
• Chronic Disease Management
• Geriatrics
• Musculoskeletal
• Women’s Health and Lymphoedema

He/she should be independent in the assessment, diagnosis, and management of patient within defined scope of practice. He/she should have an understanding of the limits of their expertise and seek guidance proactively when appropriate. The Physiotherapist should:

• Possess skills and knowledge expected at entry level
• Demonstrate reasonable clinical reasoning ability in identifying main problems/impairments
• Be able to develop hypotheses and differential diagnoses for common presentations
• Make clinical decisions informed by best practice and research evidence
• Able to develop patient-centered intervention and management plan
• Implement effective physiotherapy intervention strategies safely
• Document patient records accurately

Administrative Competency and duties
In the course of provision of physiotherapy services, staff must develop skills and competency in self-management, and compliance to medicolegal and governance guidelines

• Be responsible for the caseload allocated and provide coverage as necessary
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date medical reports in continuity of care
• Be familiar with and adhere to basic tenets of JCI
• Adhere to established billing procedures
• Have basic IT skills and competency in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint
• Be able to use and navigate hospital electronic medical records applications
• Maintain statistics on workload as needed by the Department and Hospital
• Coordinate processes and flow within teams which includes understanding each area’s operations

Demonstration of Teamwork and Professionalism
Physiotherapists are members of a multi-disciplinary team. Staff must demonstrate esprit de corps and professionalism to ensure that the desired outcomes are attained

• Engage actively in patient and care-giver education
• Proactive cross-coverage of colleagues in team to even out workload (e.g. if own caseload cleared ahead of time)
• Provide after hours and on-call therapist services as required
• Assist with care and maintenance of equipment, materials and resources in the Department/Hospital
• Attend department meetings, ward rounds and other professional meetings as required
• Liaise and maintain good working relations with other healthcare professionals within the hospital and with external organizations
• Demonstrate/portray professional behaviour including respect for patient privacy, personal hygiene and to be a role model to subordinates
• Adhere to policies and procedures of the Hospital and Department
• Be involved in department activities e.g. Fitness Challenge/Hospital activities when required

OTHER DUTIES
Continuous Education

• Ensure that knowledge is up-to-date
• Take ownership of personal continuous professional development of skills and knowledge in physiotherapy, which includes independent reading, and attending relevant courses and talks
• Contribute to continuous professional development of physiotherapy skills and knowledge in other colleagues, which includes provision of inservices, and peer reviews/audits
• Assist with on-job-training of therapy assistants (TA)

Supervisory Role

• Assist with supervision of TA
• Assist with appraisal of TA
• Assist to supervise personnel attached to the department as and when required
• Assist to supervise observers or students on clinical placements

3. Quality Improvement

• Embrace continuous improvements as our way of life by improving and refining work performance on a daily basis.
• Contribute actively to department’s Kaizen or other service quality improvements projects and initiatives
• Report to Senior Physiotherapist/Manager, seeking advice and providing feedback on service delivery and improvement

4. Research Contribution

• Collect research data as required and assigned by Supervisor/Manager

5. Others

• Perform other duties assigned by Supervisor/Manager
• Occasional contribution to team/departmental projects outside of office hours as determined by reporting officer
• Adhere to the policies and procedures of the Hospital and Department