Guiding Values

Our clinical and business processes are built upon the following values. If you are aligned with the following list, Coogee Bay Physio may be a good fit for your career.

• integrity

• trust

• respect

• humility

• resiliency

• autonomy

• pride

• transparency

• fun

• safety

• responsibility

Our Vision & Mission

• Our vision is to provide the highest quality Physiotherapy, Remedial Massage and Exercise Physiology services to the community of Coogee and surrounds in a caring and respectful manner that encourages patients to participate in their care and take responsibility for their well being.

• Our mission: There are about 15,000 people in Coogee… Our mission is to help everyone of you!

• We rely upon our clinical experience, knowledge of relevant research and network of medical colleagues to guide our patients’ healthcare decision making and provide the most effective and sensible treatment options.

Clinical Focus

Our services are geared towards the management of spinal problems and the full gamut of musculoskeletal injuries and pain problems. We have developed referral relationships with local GPs, for treatment of both acute and longstanding problems. We have longstanding relationships with local Rugby League, Hockey, Netball and Soccer clubs, and we are seeking out new opportunities with local triathlon and running groups.

We do not have plans to grow our practice into a physio empire. Our clinic contains three treatment rooms and a purpose built rehabilitation gym. Ultimately, we would like to have a team of 5-6 incorporating a Physiotherapist, Remedial Massage Therapist and Exercise Physiology services, each working a 30ish clinical hours per week such that we all have freedom to “work to live” as opposed to “living to work”. It’s really important to us that anyone we employ is aligned with our values. Applicants for employment with Coogee Bay Physio must provide examples of occasions from previous work experience that demonstrate an alignment with the guiding values outlined above. Specifically, examples that demonstrate that you;

• have maintained your integrity during patient care, during interactions with staff members and during the handling of personal and financial information

• have earned the trust of your employer

• have a sense of humility over your successes

• have resiliency and a sense of perspective in the face of misfortune, disappointment or failure

• respect the privacy, emotional well-being and mental health of your patients, employer and colleagues

• value your own and other’s professional autonomy within the workplace

• take pride in your clinical practice standards

• value transparency in your dealings with your patients, employer and colleagues

• enjoy promoting appropriate humour and fun in the workplace

• take workplace safety for your employer, colleagues, yourself and your patients seriously

We’re interested in reading about applicants’ examples of workplace experiences that demonstrate an alignment with these values because it helps us understand how, in your mind, these values manifest as behaviour in a workplace setting.

Clinical Standards

We value the professional autonomy of fellow clinicians but we also have a responsibility to maintain our practice’s clinical standards. To this end, we have set the following clinical standards for Coogee Bay Physio employees;

• Never let a patient leave the clinic more poorly informed than when they walked in the door

• Always ensure that the explanatory narrative that accompanies treatment is empathetic, thoughtful, individualised, scientific, biologically plausible and empowering for the patient

• Never miss a chance to de-medicalise self limiting musculoskeletal injuries and episodes of non-pathological pain

• Always prioritise the development and maintenance of skills for identifying “red flags” and other presentations requiring referral to a specialist whilst avoiding unnecessary catastrophising or medicalising of a patient’s condition

• Never be afraid to tell a patient “I don’t know- but I will find out for you”

• Always use excellent, reflective listening and communication skills

• Never take the credit for the natural recovery of an injury or natural resolution of acute symptoms

• Always encourage active, self management of chronic conditions

• Never trivialise a patient’s story or the patient’s perspective of their symptoms/condition

• Always frame a patient’s problem in terms of possible outcomes and connect the dots between their current state, appropriate treatment and their preferred outcome

• Never load your patients with issues from your personal life

• Always limit your manual therapy to a pressure that elicits no more than a “good pain” experience from the patient and always explain to the patient why it is unnecessary to push beyond a “good pain”

• Never frame a patient’s problem such that the patient is left to conclude that their full recovery is dependent upon aggressive, painful treatment

• Always take an opportunity to help a patient better understand the relationship between their condition, symptoms, underlying pathology, thoughts, feelings and their road to feeling better.

Personal Standards

It’s important that our employees have experience with, or a willingness and capacity to learn how to cultivate a following of patients from our local community. This will best happen when you;

• Adhere to our personal and clinical standards outlined above

• Commit to establishing and maintaining strong relationships with each of your patients, even after discharge from care

• Introduce yourself to local GPs, surgeons and other referring medical professions

• Introduce yourself to local businesses to explain what you stand for and how you can be of service in our local community via our “Community Care Spotlight” initiative

• Join a local sports club or social group and position yourself to receive referrals

• Are consistently punctual, reliable, empathetic and friendly in your dealings with patients