Reasons to be a member of your professional association
Shane Guna
I help physio clinic owners create purpose-driven practices | Physio Business Coach | Profits Course (see "Featured") | cultureofone.com.au
I don’t practice currently, I haven’t actually had a clinical diary open since the end of 2020.
Yet, I’m still an Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) member.
I also still pay for professional indemnity insurance for some reason,
Perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope that I’ll pull the boots back on one day.
For the moment , I’m a physiotherapy business coach.
Yet I remain a passionate physiotherapist at heart.
I haven’t always felt this way though.
In fact, I didn’t even join the APA until I started my first role in private practice.
And that was purely to get the discount on courses.
It’s fair to say, as a young graduate I felt fairly indifferent towards this group.
This is part two of my Linkedin leadership series, where I’ll be looking at where our profession sits in 2024.
The place to go for career pathways
Early in my musculoskeletal physio career the APA showed an established pathway forward.
As someone driven towards clinical excellence I found that path quite compelling.
I completed several APA courses in my early years, as so many others had done before me.
I knew my way to and from the Camberwell campus by heart.
Which was lucky, because the only alternative at the time was to use the Melways.
And so became the place many of us have visited of an evening and on quite a few weekends too.
But it wasn’t until 2020 that I realised the value the APA really holds.
And why it plays such a pivotal role in the leadership of our profession.
Advocacy
The APA does a hell of a lot behind the scenes.
It is actually a massive organisation.
As of 2022 there were over 31,000 members, from a registration base of 37,000 physiotherapists.
That means 8 out of 10 physiotherapists are part of this organisation.
The group represents in excess of 7000 businesses and over 2.6 billion dollars in revenue!
Impressive?
What was more impressive was how hard the APA worked to keep physiotherapy at the forefront of patient care back in 2020/21.
As we proverbially went to war with COVID-19.
What this meant for so many of us as small business owners was something else.
We were at least able to maintain a bare-bones level of service to those who really needed our skills.
At a time where health mattered more than anything else.
And the world had descended into madness, especially the state of Victoria...
We have since seen how important health has become.
And how big a challenge it is going to be to manage an ageing population in this post-Covid world.
It makes sense, the APA was established to support physiotherapists.
It gives our profession a voice.
There were some monumental things achieved last year itself, including the APA having a seat at the table of health discussions with some of the big boys.
In the scheme of things physiotherapy remains a country town compared to the metropolitan sized medical and pharmaceutical industries.
A challenge in itself, which I discussed last week.
The power of a shared voice
There were some monumental things achieved last year itself.
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Including the APA having a seat at the table of health discussions with some of the big boys.
In the scheme of things physiotherapy remains a small country town.
Especially compared to the metropolitan sized medical and pharmaceutical industries.
A challenge in itself, which I discussed last week *** link ***
As much as we may have differing views on many specifics, we all do come together under this shared umbrella.
A profession which we all hold dear to us.
One in which many of us have given our entire working lives to.
And one that returns so much to those who are prepared to venture deeper into the profession itself.
By which I mean those who choose to upskill themselves.
To teach, to mentor others and to help grow the physiotherapy brand itself.
We saw late last year why that voice matters too.
With the SIRA decision to potentially open the playing field on lower back pain.
It may have appeared a tit-for-tat battle with those unwashed EP’s. (this is a joke, please don’t @ me guys).
However in all seriousness, the points made in the APA’s advocacy were real and valid.
We are a profession which has a dual layer of governance.
And that’s actually pretty important in my opinion.
Especially when you consider who is responsible for so many vulnerable Australians.
Have you been paying attention?
The APA has also put out a series of papers in the last few years.
They’ve probably been doing this for a long time...
I’ve only really started paying attention since stepping out of clinical work.
And those papers are of serious quality.
Such as the recent APA White Paper on the Future of Physiotherapy (2022) - well worth a read.
The Value of Physiotherapy in Australia report from 2020.
A paper which gives us a lot of ammunition around what our value is to the community.
And, as my friend Antony Hirst would love you all to read, the APA Service Descriptors.
A document which outlines the levels of expertise required for the patients we treat.
The future of physiotherapy
If this sounds like I’m trying to suck up to the APA… well you’re absolutely correct.
Although I haven’t gone as far as applying for the vacant CEO position.
I think it would be a seriously challenging role.
And I also feel the outgoing CEO Anja Nikolic has done an amazing job.
Through easily the most turbulent time in recent history.
As an entrepreneur and private business owner I prefer to remain fiercely independent.
But it’s good to know how aligned we are at this present moment.
And how well placed the physiotherapy profession is going into the future.
Shane Guna is the Founder of Gun Physio Academy.
He writes about leadership, personal development and commercial skills for physiotherapists.
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