No shocking revelation here, but I believe community is important. It can often be simpler or quicker to do things alone, but in the long run, it is more challenging if you don’t have people alongside you. Especially people that share a similar perspective and those that want to see you succeed. From a practitioner standpoint, not only is it helpful to learn from like-minded people, but it also helps with getting second opinions and providing more complete care to patients. I have many techniques and skills to draw from, but if I know another practitioner is more specialized in an area, or better suited to help a patient, I will refer out. It just makes sense to have the best person for the task actually do the task.
Luckily in the short time I have been in Victoria, I have met many great people that also feel the same way about collaborating for patient care. Collaboration vs competition has come up several times when I am chatting with colleagues. There are varying work situations from working solo to being in a multidisciplinary clinic amongst us, however the general consensus is that having a network is key. Not all situations will require a referral to another practitioner, but if the need arises, some practitioners I can call upon include:
- Physiotherapist - Kinesiologist
- Chiropractor - Acupuncturist
- Personal Trainer - Massage Therapist
- Nutritionist - Clinical Pilates Instructor
Yes, massage therapist is on my list too! Everyone treats a little differently and some RMTs do treatments that I don’t – such as craniosacral work.
My goal is to keep my network growing and to meet pretty much anyone that wants to have a chat! There's a lot of knowledge to draw from out there.