From Aspiring to Practicing: Gina Rolf's Physiotherapy Journey
Dear aspiring physiotherapists,
Congratulations! You’re set on wanting to become a physiotherapist after finishing your degree. But now what? What steps do you need to take to become a physiotherapist? What does a physiotherapist actually do?
Today, I’m excited to share with you an interview that Your Kines Mentor did with Gina Rolf, who is a physiotherapist. Gina is a good friend of mine that I’ve known for many years now. We first met when we were working as youth fitness class instructors at a recreation center.
Currently, Gina works at Peak Health Kids, a private family clinic that treats everyone of all ages but has a special focus on kids. Peak Kids puts the FUN into rehab! They have a facility specially designed with kids in mind, including a rock climbing wall, swing, playroom and a focus on celebrating patient’s achievements. Their practitioners have extensive knowledge of pediatric conditions including torticollis, Severs, Osgood Schlatter, and more. They also provide services to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and other neurological conditions. Peak Kids helps provide a fun, engaging experience for patients, and a diverse caseload for practitioners who want to work with orthopedic or neurological conditions in both children and adults.
Gina strives to make every session with her patients enjoyable and educational. Not only does she work extensively with youth and muscle/joint based injuries, she also has advanced certifications in vestibular rehabilitation - which involves assessment and treatment of various conditions that cause vertigo, dizziness or loss of balance. She has taken her first level orthopedic testing as well as has her functional dry needling certification.
You can learn more about Gina and Peak Health KIDS by checking out their website:
https://peakhealthcalgary.com/peak-health-team/gina-rolf/
I have never met anyone who is so passionate about working with kids and youth. I wanted to interview Gina to share her insights about becoming a physiotherapist and her passion for helping kids.
Let’s begin!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Health and Exercise Physiology in 2019. I then went to the University of Alberta for my Masters in Physical Therapy in 2022. I have worked at Westside Recreation center with their youth programs, I currently teach marching band movement programs, and am involved with Janus Academy, a school dedicated to working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
What made you decide to become a physiotherapist?
As cheesy as it sounds, it kind of found me. I always knew I wanted to do something in the medical field but wasn’t sure where I wanted to end up. I originally started my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience (which is an absolutely amazing program!) but wanted to focus more on the full human body and the effects of injury. I then switched to kinesiology and loved the in depth anatomy and physiology classes. During this time, I worked at a youth gym and ran fitness classes. I enjoyed doing this but training/coaching wasn’t my passion. So I ended up working as a receptionist at a physiotherapy clinic to see how physiotherapy worked and loved the lifestyle. You are on your feet, working hands on with all different types of people and conditions. Every day is different and engaging.
What made you decide to specialize in pediatric physiotherapy?
Similarly, working with kids found me. I never specifically wanted to work in pediatrics but always found myself working with a youth population, starting with coaching young groups through my job at the gym and through the Alberta march band community. One of my previous physiotherapist mentors opened a pediatric clinic and reached out to offer me an opportunity to work with her. I accepted, and ever since I have fallen in love with it.
Did your undergraduate degree in exercise physiology influence the way you practice and work as a physiotherapist?
My undergraduate degree helped lay down the foundation of my exercise knowledge that I use every single day in my practice. Being involved in the exercise health world for the past 7+ years created a foundation of knowledge and skills that I frequently take for granted when it comes to educating my patients or treating various injuries. Things that seem common knowledge to me are often life changing for patients that have never been exposed to training or managing an injury. You do not require an undergraduate degree in kinesiology to become a physiotherapist, but it has greatly helped support me along the way.
What’s a typical work day look like for you?
A typical day involves reviewing your caseload (ie: what type of patients and injuries you will be seeing) and preparing anything you may need ahead of time. In my clinic we typically see 8-12 patients on a busy day (depends on your clinic setting and type of appointments this can vary greatly!) which involves hands-on assessment and treatment, reviewing or teaching new exercises, and educating patients. At the end of my day, I need to chart each interaction (ie: write down what we worked on and how they are progressing). I learn something new almost every day and each case is unique to each patient.
What advice would you give to kinesiology students who want to become physiotherapists?
Shadow a physio in the type of clinic you may want to pursue! There are many different environments physios work in (hospitals, private clinics, sports teams, pediatrics, geriatrics), so see if you like the lifestyle and type of work that is involved. Most physiotherapists I know love working with students and would love to have you shadow, so reach out anywhere you may be interested and ask if you could join for a day! If you ever have any questions or are interested in shadowing at a pediatric private clinic feel free to reach out to me at gina@peakhealthcalgary.com
Do you have any advice on how to apply to physiotherapy schools?
Even if you are in your first year of your undergraduate degree, look into what is required of each school you might be interested in. Many schools require you to take specific courses that may not be in your required degree stream. Many schools also do not require a kinesiology background/degree, so don’t feel limited if you are not in the faculty. Find out what they require ahead of time so you are not caught off guard by any courses you may have missed and need to extend your current education.
You used to be a youth fitness instructor for classes at a recreation center. How did this role shape your physiotherapy practice today?
Being a fitness instructor helped create a tool kit of exercises that I feel comfortable with to teach and use anytime. You often need to be very flexible with your plans when working as a physiotherapist so the more experience/practice you have to pull from, the better you will be able to adapt to any scenario you may be in.
What happens between physio school and becoming a practicing physiotherapist?
Like many other professions, COVID affected the timeline of my certifications and depending on which school you attend, the process might look slightly different.
For me, during my last few months of my Master’s I took the written portion of the national certification process to be a physiotherapist in Canada. Once I passed this, I became licensed as a “Physiotherapy Intern” which means I was able to start working but needed to have a supervisor who was a fully licensed physiotherapist to be able to ask questions to. During this time, I also started interviewing for jobs and accepted my first position at “THE Downtown Sports Clinics” before I had even graduated.
After I finished my classes, I practiced as a physiotherapy intern for about 6 months before I took my practical exam portion of my national exam. This involved in-person, hands on stations where I had to demonstrate how to assess and treat various conditions. From there, I became a fully licensed physiotherapist which allowed me to start practicing independently and start taking advanced certifications such as dry needling, manipulations, or learn about internal pelvic floor assessment and treatment.
Now that you’re done school, how do you continue to learn and develop your skills as a physiotherapist?
The College of Physiotherapy Alberta requires all physiotherapists to continue to build their skills and stay up to date with their knowledge. There are suggested and required courses to take, but many physiotherapists expand their skill sets to include skills such as dry needling, manipulations, pelvic floor techniques, scoliosis treatments, and other advanced skills that you learn after your physical therapy education. As you work with different health care practitioners, you also learn a ton from your colleagues and expand your tool kits even by watching how other physiotherapists treat.
Let’s Wrap Up This Interview
Thanks so much for your time, Gina! I know your insights will help a ton of aspiring physiotherapists. I remember when I wanted to become a physiotherapist, I would have appreciated the answers that Gina shared in this interview.
Like Gina mentioned above, there’s steps that you can take right now to start your journey of becoming a physiotherapist such as networking and gaining experience (e.g. practicums) while shadowing professionals in the field.
If you have any questions about becoming a physiotherapist or want to learn more about Gina, be sure to follow her on Instagram.
Sincerely,
Your Kines Mentor
