"Physiotherapy is such an amazing career – and this is an amazing place to work. Because these are large, specialist teaching hospitals, it’s fantastic if you want to specialise or try working in different areas of physiotherapy, say, renal, orthopaedics, oncology or paediatrics. We have a large, 30-bedded intensive care unit, for example, so working there as a chest physio is a great experience.
"We think that my job as education development physiotherapist might be the only one in the UK. Instead of having to go down either the teaching route or clinical and management, I’ve been able to combine all these in one job.
"I am an educational advisor within the phsyio department; for example, I am part of a project to get e-learning under way. I help to get initiatives going to ensure that physios here update and improve their skills and develop their careers.
"I work with academics at King’s College London university, helping to develop the undergraduate and postgraduate physio courses and I, like many of our physiotherapists, teach there.
"I have management responsibilities and have helped to develop a triage service in physiotherapy outpatients, which cut waiting lists for non-urgent patients. With the support of staff, we’ve introduced new shift patterns, known as seven-day working, for respiratory physios and I am part of a project to get e-learning under way for those staff.
"I also see patients. I am a clinical specialist and do musculo-skeletal outpatients clinics but with my managerial and education hats on, I work with physios across all areas."