Career developmentJan 8, 2021

Come to Dorset NHS to hone your physiotherapy skills – and the beaches are good too!

Dorset NHS is keen to recruit physiotherapists who may be new to the profession and want to develop their experience in the full range of specialities only the health service can offer.

The key attributes the local NHS – which is proud of its integrated care system – wants to see in potential recruits is being caring, compassionate, dynamic and enthusiastic about the future, according to its latest recruitment campaign.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Moving image: beaches such as Durdle Door could be on your doorstep

And if you’re one of those professionals seeking a move away from the big city in order to rekindle closer links with nature as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the campaign also highlights the county’s array of renowned beaches, unspoilt countryside and the scope it offers to enjoy an active lifestyle.

To be successful, applicants will need excellent communication skills, a professional and flexible approach and a strong skill base, the campaign notes. Experience in acute NHS settings is desirable, while full driving licence and access to a car is flagged as ‘essential’.

Rotations, which last from four to six months, are likely to some seven-day working patterns and a variety of shifts.

An insider's view

Molly Marshall, a band 5 physio, joined University Hospitals Dorset NHS Trust – one of three in the county offering rotational posts – in 2018.

‘I have completed five rotations in a wide range of areas, which has expanded my knowledge of the different skills in each area,' she said.

'I began in the acute therapy team on the surgical wards, and have since rotated to MSK [musculoskeletal] outpatients, inpatient rehabilitation, older person’s medicine and stroke, as well as spending time working on intensive care during the first peak of the Covid pandemic.'

I was happy to discover that Bournemouth placed so much importance on staff wellbeing, showing appreciation for and supporting their staff [Molly Marshall]

Ms Marshall recently became a band 5 peer support lead, which means she regularly meets her peers to discuss work-related queries or concerns in a ‘trusting’ setting.

A local who returned to the area after graduating in Cardiff, Ms Marshall is an enthusiastic advocate for the trust, which employs more than 9,000 people and has bases in Poole, Christchurch and Bournemouth. ‘I was happy to discover that Bournemouth placed so much importance on staff wellbeing, showing appreciation for and supporting their staff.’

Ms Marshall’s employer currently offers rotational posts in areas such as acute care, older people, neurological, trauma, MSK outpatients and paediatrics.

What do other trusts offer?

Meanwhile at Dorset County Hospital Trust, posts are available in areas such as stroke rehabilitation, orthopaedics and respiratory medicine. Based in Dorchester, the trust employs more than 3,000 staff and serves a population of 250,000.

Rotation areas at Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust, which is based in Poole and has about 5,000 staff members, include community-based intermediate care teams and inpatient rehabilitation.

What can a newly-qualified physiotherapist expect?