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Your Name: Reilly Creagh

Your Job Title: Rehabilitation Consultant

University Attended: Queensland University of Technology

Degree Qualification: Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology

Year of Graduation: 2020

What's your job about?

Konekt is a private occupation health company that provides services for Australian workers across the country. I am employed as a rehabilitation consultant at the Nerang office in Queensland’s Gold Coast. My daily schedule can vary from week to week depending on how many clients are assigned to me. Clients come from several sources including the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) and WorkCover (Queensland and New South Wales). The services I provide include worksite assessments, pre-employment tests, functional capacity evaluations and ergonomic assessments. All these tasks are tied with a specific worker to assist with obtaining employment or returning to work. During a typical day, I make phone calls to clients, employers and health providers to ensure my clients are progressing towards achieving their goals.

What's your background?

I was born and raised in Brisbane, and graduated from Brisbane Grammar School in 2015. At first, I started university with a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies, but during this time, my interest and passion for personal fitness started to grow and six months in, I changed my degree to a Bachelor of Exercise Physiology.

Throughout the degree I worked in a number of jobs and undertook volunteering opportunities to gain more experience. Some opportunities included working in retail, volunteering in a health services practice as well as completing three university placements.

I also joined the Army Reserve fairly ealy on in my time studying, to learn new skills and earn cash on the side. Just before my final year of studies, I completed the final training modules to earn a commission from the Royal Military College in Canberra and in January 2020, was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army Reserve. I was posted as a platoon commander to Bravo Company, 25th/49th Royal Queensland Light Infantry Regiment located in Logan. During the COVID-19 outbreak, my university subjects went online, which gave me the opportunity to volunteer for Operation COVID-19 Assist, supporting the border closures in Southern Queensland for three months in Warwick.

When class returned to face-to-face, I returned to complete my final six months of study, which included 12 weeks of placements. Towards the end of my final placement, I applied for a role at Konekt and was fortunate to be offered a full-time position on the Gold Coast at the start of 2021.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, of course! I work with many psychologists and occupational therapists. Working for a private occupational health company has been a steep learning curve, but it has introduced me to the corporate world of health care within Australia. I would suggest that if you are curious about a health career in the corporate sector or wish to transition from clinical heath care, this would be a great option for you to explore.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

Supporting people with their person-centred rehabilitation plan is extremely satisfying. As a rehabilitation consultant, I enjoy the client diversity and specialised treatment that I am able to provide to them. My favourite part of the day is when I get to head out of the office to meet with our clients for ergonomic, pre-employment and worksite assessments along with general client meetings.

What are the limitations of your job?

There are two sides to every coin. As an exercise physiology student, university didn’t really expose me to the realities of corporate work – what we learned was more orientated towards clinical treatment. In my current role, I am based in an office environment, which is not how I imagined I would be working based on what we learned at uni. This adjustment can be challenging for those who prefer to be more hands-on however the upside it has gives you the chance to learn a range of business skills and I am able to get out and about often to work directly with my clients and customers.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Take to time to ask questions and understand the content that is taught at university. It might be hard to understand right now, but it will all make sense when you enter the workforce.
Take as many opportunities as possible to volunteer in as many learning environments as possible. This is so important as we learn from others, especially since everyone does the job differently!
Take pride in what you study and find your passion. You will only achieve this by trial and error, but once you find your passion take every opportunity to learn as much as you can.

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Your Name: Julia Cham

Your Job Title: Lead Consultant, Occupational Therapist

University Attended: University of Queensland

Degree qualification: Bachelor of Occupational Therapy

Year of graduation: 2012

What's your job about?

APM WorkCare provides return to work services to injured and ill workers, assisting them to get back to work and life. My role is to provide professional assessment and case management expertise to make the process of getting back to work smooth and sustainable.

My role as an Occupational Therapist is to assess functional capacities (assessments involve Worksite Assessments, FCE’s, ADLs, Driving Assessments) and medical clearances, and pair this with the requirements of returning to work. I complete a lot of specialised assessments that I have learnt whilst on the job and are standardised in the industry and used to get people back to work safely.

My role is not a cookie cutter! Every day can look different and even the same assessment such as a worksite assessment can look very different as I see people who work in offices to people who work in factories and even places you wouldn’t expect, like zoos!

What's your background?

I grew up in Australia though I was born in Hong Kong (SAR).

I completed the Australian schooling system at a local primary school and then at a private high school through a partial scholarship. I then went to the University of Queensland where I studied a year of Science (hated that!) and went into Occupational Therapy.

I came to work for APM WorkCare after I graduated from university because of a friend I had made in university. She told me if I wanted a job, APM were looking for people to help with a new Defence Force contract at the time. I sent the State Manager a resume, and the rest is history! I never thought that being an OT would bring me into a role working out of a Defence base and two units. I have travelled interstate to be trained up and can complete standardised functional assessments and driving assessments.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes (and no)! There are aspects of the role that people from another health background can do – worksite assessments, ergonomic assessments, functional assessments – however there are also OT specific assessments that complete such as the Assessment and Driving Assessment (ADL). We work as a multidisciplinary team though, so across our different skills and qualifications, together we provide the full range of services available.

What works well in our role is a good open mind and strong proactive communication. Time management and problem-solving skills are also essential.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

I love the teamwork required in my job. My favourite thing about working in the role is knowing that while I have strengths in several areas, I can trust my colleagues and their different skills to contribute to the work that I do – for example, we have psychologists in our team who I regularly work with – to help people back to work and achieve good outcomes. We have each other’s back.

The role hits all the right notes for health professionals, I know that we are doing the right thing when workers can successfully get back to work, or if they are able to go about their life with improved quality of life.

What are the limitations of your job?

I have a fair bit of responsibility. An unofficial role I have is to ensure that the team is happy and make sure they have all the tools required to do well. Weekend work is rare, but like many professions, it can pop up from time to time when something urgent or unforeseen comes up. My job is only physically demanding when I am doing functional assessments – which involves moving and transporting weights, or worksite assessments, where I need to replicate activities that workers do in their jobs.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Pay attention when you are doing your elective course on workplace rehabilitation! Keep your mind open to this as a career pathway.
Networking is key, I wish I had made more connections to occupational rehabilitation providers and companies so that I could interview better when I applied for work.
Make sure you make the time to do things that you enjoy – for me, it’s kung fu instructing! Whatever it is that keeps you happy and healthy, make sure to dedicate time to it.

Your Name: Emma Chambers

Your Job Title: Rehabilitation Consultant

University Attended: La Trobe University, Melbourne

Degree qualification: Rehabilitation Counselling

Year of graduation: 2018

What's your job about?

APM is an Occupational Rehabilitation provider that has extensive experience in the successful management of complex psychological injury, stress claims and physical injuries. Our teams regularly work with government agencies, and an increasing number of private sector organisations. My area of work is with psychological compensation claims and assisting with early intervention requests with veterans, government agencies and private sectors. This includes going to treating practitioner reviews with clients, workplaces to discuss return to work assistance or having meetings with the client and the case managers to ensure rehabilitation is proactive. The types of employers we visit include hospitals, government sites, construction sites and schools.

What's your background?

I grew up in Toowoomba, QLD, living there until the end of eighth grade, at which point I relocated to Darwin, NT as my dad’s Army work required him to be there. It was a little strange for me, starting year 9 in Darwin as is it is still the last year of middle school – not yet high school, which in Darwin is years 10 to 12. My time in Darwin was a great experience though as it allowed me to learn about different cultures and a different lifestyle. After I graduated year 12, I went abroad with my Mum to the United Kingdom and France before returning to Australia for university. This time, I chose Melbourne, VIC and completed a Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in Rehabilitation Counselling and then a Graduate Diploma in Rehabilitation Counselling to gain my accreditation.

During my last semester of my post degree studies we were required to complete a 20-day placement within Rehabilitation Counselling and after some research I reached out to APM for the opportunity. I was drawn to APM as they worked with the Australian Defence Force, which was an area I wanted to work in after having had family be members of the Army.

After my placement I was offered a full-time role as a Rehabilitation Consultant and have been with APM for two and a half years now – 18 months in Melbourne and one year in Canberra.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, generally Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Social Workers can be considered for this role, however it also depends on the type of customers and assessments that need to be done. Unfortunately, if you are not from one of these backgrounds or similar it is likely this role would not be a fit for you.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

What I love the most about my job is the flexibility around planning your own week – and the travel – I love traveling to different areas of the state, even out of the state, and even just going to different workplaces, doctor’s offices even cafes. I also love that I get to meet so many different people living so many different lives and hearing their stories.

What are the limitations of your job?

Within my role there is a lot of responsibility around meeting timeframes and being proactive. I also find that there are my own expectations that I set for myself around my work and the help that I provide to our clients. The role can be physically demanding, especially when travelling a lot, however I would say it is more emotionally demanding. For these reasons, self-care is super important to make sure you put in enough time for the things that make you feel rested and happy.

Some of the work that I do can be done outside normal business hours, which is great for flexibility of time. I choose not to work on weekends or after normal business hours, but this comes down to planning of tasks throughout the week so that they are completed within your normal hours. Like most types of work, there are busy times – so planning and time management are essential skills to have.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

Do not worry about things you cannot control. I have always been bad at this but really working this out before moving forward with life would have been helpful.
Do not worry about other people’s opinions.
Enjoy life. Enjoy all areas of life and live in the moment.

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