nhs physiotherapy personal statement

Physio Newbies

Not so Newly Qualified Physiotherapists from Cardiff University, 1 year into life in the working world – whilst sharing our journey with you!

Writing a Band 5 Job Application

Starting a job application can definitely be daunting, especially when you have no experience of writing one before. But don’t fear, we have been there very recently and thought we’d offer our support to those of you thinking of applying for jobs in the near future.

You may realise that writing the supporting info for a band 5 job is very similar to your university application (although you now know more about physiotherapy, and you have more experience), so don’t overthink it! Once you start to create a structure, it can be added to and changed for each job you wish to apply for.

We would also like to point out, there is no right or wrong time to apply for a job – if a job comes up that you feel is right for you or something you really want to do, APPLY for it! You never know, you might end up getting the job, especially if you are enthusiastic about it, its not always down to who has the most experience or the better grades!

The basics:

• Sell yourself
• Prove you can meet the health-board or NHS trust values and job description
• Add your personality to the application – make your application unique (remember this blog is an example)
• Reflect on both clinical and personal experiences
• Remember even if you don’t get an interview with your first application, you will continuously be building on your experience day by day, which you can add to your application

Opening paragraph:

• State what degree you are doing and where, and the date you expect to graduate.
• Explain why you are attracted to working for that health-board
• State some qualities about yourself (i.e approachable, team player ect.)
• Sum up clinical experiences and what you wish to gain in the future working for the health-board
• State the core values of the health-board and how you will show these (i.e. treating each and every patient individually, to the standards I would expect of my own loved one, whilst acting with respect and care, ensuring patients are put at the centre of my care).

I am currently studying for a Physiotherapy BSc (Hons) degree at Glenohumeral University, and I am due to graduate in July 2021, when I will receive my full HCPC registration. I am attracted to working for Cerebellar healthboard because it has been recognised for its range of high-quality specialist acute services and active promotion of good health and wellbeing. I am an empathetic, friendly team-player, but can work independently. To date I have enjoyed all my clinical experiences and have used these to build on my classroom learning. I hope to continue expanding my knowledge and experiences in a wide range of areas before specialising. I believe I can show evidence from… to demonstrate the core values of Cerebellar healthboard…

Second paragraph:

• Describe what you have done in your degree and the placements you have completed and what you are yet to complete.

During my degree, I have completed seven clinical placements within four different health boards. These placements have encompassed the core areas of Physiotherapy alongside more specialised services…. I have completed my core placements in Musculoskeletal Outpatients… Trauma and Orthopaedics. …

Clinical placement, skills and knowledge paragraphs (normally 3-4 paragraphs ):

• Expand on your placement experiences and what skills and knowledge you have developed from them (i.e verbal and non verbal communication).
• Use an examples of where and how you showed these skills/values of the NHS/health-board
• What you have achieved from these experiences and how you changed your practice from these

Throughout my placements, I have learnt to adapt my communication skills, particularly within Paediatrics and ICU, to ensure communication remains competent with a range of individuals with different needs…

The high flow of appointments within my Musculoskeletal placement, allowed me to work on my organisation and time management….

I have successfully and autonomously managed my own caseloads using my assessment and management skills. In cases where I have been presented with challenges, I have used my initiative and been proactive in finding ways to overcome these…

Strengths paragraph:

• Sum up your strengths and how these are recognised in your work

I feel that effective communication and building a strong rapport with patients are two of my strengths; both have been recognised in feedback I have received on clinical placements…. I am hardworking and motivated evidenced by my 100% attendance…. In a clinical setting, I work hard to improve my knowledge by doing independent research and presenting this back to my colleagues…

Dissertation/research paragraph:

• Provide a background to your research/dissertation or some research you have recently read and what you have learnt from this

I completed my dissertation about… I have found throughout my degree that I have become more interested in this area of physiotherapy and the important role physiotherapist play in these situations. I believe my research will greatly benefit my future practice where I will have to…

Outside of Physiotherapy paragraph:

• Give a brief summary of what you do outside of your studies (i.e. a job you have, volunteering you have done, sports you are involved in)
• Express how you balance these activities
• Explain the qualities that these activities have given you

Outside of my studies, I have a part-time job as a… which I have been doing for the past 6 years, and I volunteered for two of the projects at Glenohumeral university… Being employed and participating in these projects alongside my studies encouraged me to effectively establish resilience…. I have been a keen swimmer from 8 years of age and I still swim at my own leisure. I was also an active member of Cerebellar University Spikeball team which I thoroughly enjoy and had the opportunity to play for the national BUCs team this academic year.

Final paragraphs:

• State if you have a full driving license and car access
• State if you can use computer software and experience using note writing systems
• State why you would be the best physiotherapist for that health-board.

I have a full driving license and access to a car. I can effectively use computer software and have had experience writing discharge reports and referral letters, as well as working with online note systems.

I believe that I have the desired skills and qualities to be a compassionate and trustworthy physiotherapist within Cerebellar health-board. Should I be successful in securing a position within Cerebellar health-board, I would carry out my job with enthusiasm, integrity, and full commitment.

Best of luck in completing your applications, please feel free to message one of us if you want your application checking over!

Physio love x

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This is a fab post! Thanks for the advice

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Hey there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

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You'll impress them by reflecting on your experiences and understanding of the profession, talking about how you've demonstrated relevant skills, and by showing your awareness of the breadth of what physiotherapists actually do.

That's what admissions tutors told us when we asked them what they're looking for – here are some more of their dos and don'ts.

For more personal statement advice, see our article on how to sell yourself in your statement .

Show you know what physiotherapy involves

This is a competitive field. To have a good chance of being selected you will need to demonstrate a realistic understanding of the role, and show that you’re 100% committed to it. It’s important to show that you’ve researched the career – the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is a good starting point. You should also back this knowledge up with your experience – but what experience?

Firstly, experience of observing or at least talking to physiotherapists is highly desirable. It’s even better if you can do this in more than one setting, whether it’s in hospitals, private practice, GP surgeries, schools, residential homes, sport centres, or clubs or out in the community. Although it’s increasingly difficult to obtain formal work experience, try to plan ahead and use your initiative to secure this in time.

The next best thing is general experience or voluntary work in any health or care setting. Take the opportunity to observe how staff communicate and interact with people, especially vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly, or people in distress.

What to include in your statement

There is no one-size-fits-all way to structure your personal statement, but here are some pointers:

Check what specific universities want

Some universities provide information about their selection criteria on their website, and some actually score your statement against those criteria. It may give you a handy framework to base your statement around.

Explain your motivation

Why do you want to be a physiotherapist specifically? How did you arrive at the decision that it’s the right fit for you? Convey your enthusiasm and determination. Don’t just say you want to be in a caring profession – be specific!

Show you understand the scope of physiotherapy

There’s a tendency for some applicants to be drawn to the profession through their passion for sport, with a view to becoming a sports physiotherapist. But the reality is that you will probably work with a range of patients with a wide variety of conditions, not necessarily sports-related.

This partly explains why one admission tutor's top personal statement tip was 'don’t mention sport!' It’s important to realise that sport isn’t representative of the profession as a whole. For instance, sports physiotherapy is predominantly concerned with musculoskeletal conditions in patients who are likely to otherwise be healthy and motivated.

So do show what you’ve learned about the diverse range and backgrounds of patients you will be treating or the kinds of situations these patients may also be dealing with. Reflect on the challenges this creates for the physiotherapist, such as how to motivate patients to manage their own long-term recovery when they are also having to cope with other conditions, illnesses, or struggles (such as depression, dementia, or family circumstances).

Reflect on the skills and qualities required

Don’t simply list what you saw in any experience or placements – they want to know how what you observed changed your perceptions or understanding.

Similarly, it’s not how much experience you’ve had that matters, it’s the quality of your insights and how you reflect on them.

Referring to your own experience as a patient may also be helpful, but only if you’ve gained a real insight through it.

Demonstrate that you have these qualities

The final piece in the jigsaw is to provide evidence of how you’ve personally demonstrated some of the important qualities you’ve observed.

Pick out your key observations and be explicit in explaining the links with your own skill set. For example, ‘on placement I noticed that physiotherapists needed skill X... I demonstrated skill X myself when I...’

Physiotherapists have to talk to, collaborate with, and counsel people, so do include how you’ve demonstrated these ‘softer’ caring, helping, or listening skills (this can be in or outside of school).

Other relevant qualities to talk about might include problem-solving, coping with pressure, being non-judgemental, leadership, and working in a team.

Values based selection

We spoke to a member of the admissions team at one of the universities who score your personal statement against their selection criteria. One of her key messages was that they assess your suitability for the career as a whole, not just the course.

In fact, some of the heaviest weightings in their scoring criteria are linked to the six core values of the NHS Constitution. So make sure you’re familiar with the NHS Constitution, and that you’re able to demonstrate behaviours of your own that align with these core values.

Mention any ambitions

This isn’t essential but, if you have a clear view of the direction you want your career to take, blend this into your statement too. This could be in the opening, the middle, or as a concise concluding sentence.

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8 steps for the perfect physiotherapy supportive information / personal statement / cover letter

• March 03, 2019
• Tags: #NailMyPhysioInterview , band 5 , cv and application , Interview Preparation , tips

Updated 3rd Jan 2021

Are you confident your personal statement will get you shortlisted for the job you want? Take a look at these 8 steps to write the perfect application and make sure you get through to the interview.

NB: Although this is applicable to most job adverts out there, bear in mind that this article focuses on the process of applying for a job through the NHS Jobs website . 

All articles from the Physio  Interview Preparation  blog series  ››

1. Mirror the job description and person specification  

Read the job description and person spec, and read them again. These are what your application will be marked against. You’ll have to make sure you provide enough evidence for each of the criteria. To make it as easy as possible for the reader, the easiest thing to do is to mirror the language used in the job description and person spec.  Obviously mirror doesn't equal copy-paste, but if the job description says you need to be able to work in a range of community, inpatient and outpatient locations across a certain borough, then tell them you're able to do that. If the person spec says you need to manage a caseload and prioritise under pressure, then write about how you can do that too. Your employer needs to know that you’re meeting all the criteria, and the clearer it is for them, the better .

A good thing to do is to start writing your application using the same subheadings as the person specs (eg: qualifications, skills, experience, knowledge) and then remove them if you like (nothing prevents you from leaving them in for added clarity). For now - don’t worry about the word count if there’s one, just make sure you’ve got everything in.  

2. Give examples from your own experience

You should now have the "skeleton" of your supporting statement. It is crucial to add specific examples from your own experience to substantiate what you’ve been writing about. This will basically show the employer that you’re not just talking hot air. For each of the points you've talked about, think of an example taken from work/academic experience, placements, but also voluntary work, previous jobs, hobbies etc. (think transferable skills) and describe what happened and how you’ve demonstrated your ability to perform that specific skill. Try describing what you did, but also why you did it and what the outcome was. You’ll find that some of the examples or situations you’ll describe will often cover more than one criteria from the person spec. For instance, you can talk about how you've managed your own caseload during a placement on an elderly care ward, delegating to TAs when appropriate. If you expand correctly on this, you’ll cover several criteria such as experience with inpatients, delegation, prioritisation, caseload management, working under pressure. This will help you keep your application short and sweet (and staying within the word count if there’s one).

3. Give the employer extra reasons to employ you  

Now that you’ve covered all the required skills and criteria,   think about extra reasons why the recruiter should choose you over someone else . Really sell yourself. Any other skills you have that could give the employer more reasons to employ you?

If you are graduating in 2021 and feel you may be missing some “core” practical skills, try and think about transferable skills that you may be able to draw from less traditional ways. Thinking especially about those of you who have done less traditional placements in areas like project leading, QI, etc.

Think about the values of the hospital or clinic you're applying for . Do your homework on the employer and show how you’ll be the best new addition to their team.  You will definitely get your interviewer's attention if you are able to write about specific research projects or specific developments the Trust is focusing on now or in their laid out 5 year plan (think services affected by COVID19, or meeting new service users' needs such as long term covid etc).

As a general rule, it’s best to show how well you will fit in the team/how great you'll be at the job you're applying for, as opposed to focusing on the feedback you've had previously. One of the reasons for this is that employers cannot necessarily rely on what people have said in the past to make their decision, but need to   quickly identify whether you will be the right fit for their team . If you help them do that, you'll have more chances to be selected.

4. Watch out for extra questions 

More often than not, the employer will ask for extra stuff such as answering a couple of questions as well as completing your application. Make sure you read the job advert a few times as well as the person spec and job description (and any other documents provided) so you don’t miss these. Make it clear in your supportive statement if you're answering additional questions (use subheadings).

Example of extra questions include: “Describe how you would ensure your personal safety when working alone in the community?”, “Describe how you would utilise your physiotherapy skills in the management of dementia?” You usually have a word limit for these.

5. Proofread, proofread, proofread.   

Spelling and Grammar! Make sure you proofread, and show your application to other people so they do the same too. First impressions really count , and if your letter contains typos and mistakes, it’ll just look unprofessional. Use strong words - ban words like hope, if, think. Ensure your letter demonstrate your ability to meet each criteria but keep it as short as possible. Avoid long sentences and make sure your paragraphs are easy to follow. It has to be easy to read - if the recruiter gets an headache reading you, you won’t last long.

Don't forget you can send us your CV & application for review!

6. Don't get done on the easy stuff   

Now the easy part. Make sure you fill everything in, tick all the boxes you need to tick, provide your full contact details and proofs of professional registration (HCPC, CSP). Referees may be contacted prior to interview: ask your referees if they are happy with that before putting their names down. Then make sure you provide up-to-date contact details for them to avoid any delays (email addresses especially, it's easier for everyone).  If you're not sure about something, don't hesitate to contact the employer. Their details will usually be on the advert. This will also give you a chance to clarify a few things about the interview and know who's likely to be on the panel. Lastly, watch out for the deadline given: applications often close before the said date due to the maximum number of applicants allowed being reached.

7. Get ready for the interview 

Make sure your CPD portfolio is up-to-date and easy to flick through. Also, be comfortable talking about what you've written in your application: you're likely to be asked about it! If you know who the interview panel is going to be, do your homework and know their specialities: this often influences their questioning. Lastly: revise!

8. Ask for feedback

If you're unsuccessful, contact the employer  and ask if they can provide any feedback about your application. Use this to tweak your application and make sure you'll get shortlisted next time.

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• Physiotherapy Personal Statement Examples

Your personal statement is an essential part of the UCAS application process , as it allows you to showcase your passion for physiotherapy and demonstrate why you are the ideal applicant for the course. To help you write a winning university application , we are showing you free physiotherapy personal statement examples that you can use for inspiration.

Physiotherapy Personal Statement Example

As someone who has always had a passion for physical activity and fitness, I believe that studying for a degree in physiotherapy is the ideal next step for me. Having already achieved a first degree in physical education, I am now eager to build on my knowledge and experience and to develop the skills that will enable me to help people recover from injuries, prevent future injuries, and live healthy, active lives.

One of the reasons why I am so passionate about physiotherapy is that I believe in the importance of physical fitness and well-being for the health of the whole person, both physically and mentally. Through my work as an instructor, I have seen first-hand the positive impact that regular exercise can have on people’s lives, and I am eager to help others experience those same benefits.

In addition to my work as an instructor, I have also gained valuable experience through my involvement with the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Over the past four years, I have completed my Bronze and Silver awards, and more recently, I achieved my Gold Award. As part of this award, I spent a week at a camp for disabled teenagers, where I was a buddy to an 18-year-old girl with profound Cerebral Palsy. This experience gave me a real insight into the challenges faced by people with disabilities, and the important role that physiotherapy can play in helping them to lead active and fulfilling lives.

More recently, I have had the opportunity to gain further experience through my work at Nottingham Nuffield Hospital. Here, I observed clinical assessments in the outpatient department and saw firsthand the crucial role that physiotherapists play in helping patients to recover from a wide range of injuries and conditions. I also had the opportunity to work alongside physiotherapists on the ward, where I was able to see how they use their skills to help patients who are recovering from surgery or illness to regain their strength and mobility.

I am convinced that studying for a degree in physiotherapy is the ideal next step for me. With my passion for physical activity and fitness, combined with my existing knowledge and experience, I believe that I have the qualities and skills needed to make a real difference in the field of physiotherapy. I am excited about the prospect of learning more about the science of human movement, rehabilitation, and injury prevention, and I am eager to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this field. Ultimately, my goal is to become a skilled and compassionate physiotherapist, helping people of all ages and abilities to lead healthy, active lives.

Physiotherapy Personal Statement Example For UCAS

I have been drawn to the field of physiotherapy. From the early stages of my academic journey, I have been interested in the human body and how it functions, particularly with movement and sports. Pursuing this passion, I have taken on various experiences that have allowed me to gain an understanding of the essential role that physiotherapy plays in helping people achieve their physical goals.

My work experience placements at Watford General Hospital and Mount Vernon Hospital have been instrumental in shaping my decision to pursue a career in physiotherapy. During my time there, I was able to observe and learn from skilled professionals, as well as get an insight into the various techniques and treatments used in the field. I was particularly fascinated by the paediatric centre in mid-Wales where I had the privilege of accompanying a physiotherapist on house visits. Witnessing the impact that physiotherapy had on children’s lives was truly inspiring, and I felt a sense of fulfilment in being able to contribute to their wellbeing.

In addition to my work experience, my recreational and competitive background in sports has helped me to develop an understanding of how physiotherapy can help to prevent and treat injuries. As a Senior Sport Organiser, I have gained experience in working with young athletes and have learned how to create a safe and healthy environment for them to thrive. My part-time job as a pool lifeguard has also allowed me to hone my communication and interpersonal skills, which I believe will be vital in my future career as a physiotherapist.

Throughout my experiences, I have come to appreciate the wide range of skills and knowledge required of a physiotherapist. It is not only about diagnosing and treating physical conditions, but also about building relationships with patients and their families, educating them on how to take care of their bodies, and helping them to set achievable goals. I am excited by the prospect of developing these skills further and making a difference in people’s lives.

I am eager to pursue a career in physiotherapy and believe that my academic achievements, work experience, and personal qualities make me an ideal candidate for the program. I am committed to continuous learning and growth, and I am confident that I will excel in the program and make valuable contributions to the field of physiotherapy.

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It’s time to put your hard work into practice and take the first steps in your career.

Job hunting can seem like a stressful activity, especially as it often happens around times of intense pressure, whether that’s as you’re about to finish your degree, during rotations, or at a time when you’re tired and feel you need a break.

However, putting time aside to plan and prepare a job hunt can pay off many times over later – your future self will thank you.

Remember – always read the job description and person specification carefully and make sure you address in your application, how you meet all aspects, whether you’re filling and application form or making your CV bespoke for the job. Use information you’ve collected in your degree portfolio and draw on practical examples of these to illustrate how you meet each aspect of the hob description/person specification.

Application forms and NHS statement writing

Many employers will send you a standard job application form and prefer this method to sifting through CVs. Departments that receive many applications will usually use the application form as the first stage of their selection process and draw up a shortlist of people to invite for interview. It is therefore essential to take time and care when completing an application.

Be precise about your work/placement experience: give clear dates, locations and job summaries. The NHS website provides guidance on how best to make your application successful and how to write your application form .

Qualified Physio have written a useful online blog called ‘ 8 Steps for the perfect physio or health care application, personal statement and cover letter ’.

An up to date and accessible CV is an essential instrument in your job search toolbox, so that you can apply for posts with minimal notice. There are many schools of thought as to how a CV should be organised. Much depends on the individual and the job you are seeking, but some of these general points may be useful:

• Type the information, spacing sections well, so it doesn’t look cluttered.
• Check your spelling and grammar.
• Keep your CV to no more than two sides of A4.
• Include your full name, address, phone number and email address.
• Include a short personal statement to give the reader a snapshot of who you are and what you are bringing to physiotherapy. This statement can either sit as an introductory paragraph, or can work equally well at the end of the CV – pulling the information presented together as a summary.
• Education and training: list in date order the schools and colleges you have attended since age 11.
• Academic qualifications: list the examinations passed with your grades.
• Practice education: make a note of how your placements were organised (e.g. 8 x 4 week placements, 6 x 5 week placements + one elective). List the placements you have undertaken and the key achievements/learning outcomes for each one. You should also list, under the title ‘Positions held’, any positions of responsibility, for example, Prefect, society committee member, etc.
• Work experience: include details of any vacation, part-time or voluntary work undertaken, briefly mentioning your duties and what the job involved. Link these where possible to the behaviours/knowledge/skills from the CSP’s Physiotherapy Framework (accessible via the CPD ePortfolio). Mature students should detail any previous full-time employment.
• Interests and achievements: consider what impression it is you want to create before completing this section. List any special skills or hobbies and give details. Include any special courses you have attended.
• References: you may want to include ‘References available upon request’ at the end of your CV although this is not mandatory. In any case, make sure you have on hand the names and addresses of two people who are willing to be contacted by the prospective employer with a view to commenting on your experience and personal qualities. At the outset of your professional career, most employers will require a reference from your university. Speak to your course leader and another lecturer (or an employer from a clinical job or volunteer work) to gain their permission before using their names. Where possible, try to provide referees who are available at short notice.

Preparing for interviews

Your hard work has paid off and you’ve been invited for an interview, well done! This is your opportunity to demonstrate your qualifications and knowledge, your interest in the role and your personality. Taking some time to prepare for the interview will help you feel calm and confident on the day.

We suggest dividing your preparation into three main areas:

• Identify why you will be able to do the job, with specific reference to the job description and person specification. Think of at least three examples of what you have actually done in relation to each of the areas of the job description and person specification, using examples from different experiences. Think about the impact each of your example had, focusing on your achievements. If you have not had direct experience, think about what you may have done in other areas of your life (domestic, voluntary, student rep roles, etc.), which may have given you transferable skills and experience. Think about your successes, big or small, and the lessons you have learnt from where things haven’t gone as well as you had hoped. Draw out information from your portfolio if you have it that can act as supporting evidence for your statements – you may be asked for this at interview.
• Research the employer and the physiotherapy department via the Internet, personal contact, the organisation’s annual report, etc. Find out as much as you can about the particular Trust and/or department, which will enable you to prepare some questions to ask at the interview. Trusts place an emphasis on values-based recruitment so look at their values beforehand, especially working in the NHS. Values are often available online on the organisation’s website.
• Wherever you look to work, get yourself up-to-date on the policies and guidelines relevant to that sector and the contribution that physiotherapists can make, now and in the future. Write yourself notes under these three headings, and then condense your notes into key bullet points that you can go over the night before the interview. 

After the interview

Analyse what you did well in the interview and note down anything you were not prepared for and think about how you might answer differently in the future. If you aren't successful, ask for feedback. 

All the steps above and included in the Final Year Student Handbook will hopefully lead you to your first job offer. Once you have received an offer, it is important that you know what to look out for in a contract of employment. So it is equally important that you are given a written contract by your employer to avoid any confusion or disagreements at a later date over what was originally agreed. 

The CSP has created a handy  Guide to your First Employment Contract ,  giving you guidance on what to look for when checking your employment contract before you sign it. 

For more advice on preparing for interviews including group interviews, download the Final Year Student Handbook

Find Out More

Next steps after graduation.

You’re about to complete your degree – now what? And what happens to your CSP student membership when you graduate?

Career advice for graduates

There’s a wide range of opportunities available to the holder of a physiotherapy degree. So where will your career take you?

Applying for jobs & interview preparation

Job hunting can seem like a stressful activity, however putting time aside to plan and prepare a job hunt can pay off in the long run.

Building experience and skills

Developing professionally is a key part of any physiotherapist’s career. You will have already started doing it through placements during your study years but this doesn’t stop here!

Writing Your Personal Statement

INtroduction

A personal statement is an incredibly unique piece of writing which makes it difficult to provide specific advice for. That said, universities will have certain expectations when you are applying for physiotherapy.

We will help guide you through the steps to ensure that you have provided the information that universities will be looking for.

Get Individual Personal Statement Advice Now!

It's easy to worry about not having the right "structure" but to begin it is important to make sure that you have all of the right detail required.

To produce an impactful personal statement, you must answer the following four questions:

1. Why do you want to be a physiotherapist?

2. What do you know about physiotherapy?

3. What skills does a physiotherapist require?

4. Why do you think you will be a good physiotherapist?

Before beginning your writing process, answer each of these questions in as much detail as possible. Most of the information you write here will be useful throughout your personal statement.

Alongside these answers, make a list of any additional information about yourself that you would like to include: your hobbies and interests, your previous jobs or additional non-physiotherapy related experiences.

The Structure

The structure of a physiotherapy personal statement is not significantly different from any other course. General advice on the structure of a personal statement splits it up into three main parts; beginning, middle and end.

Check out all of the sections individually below!

The Beginning

The beginning is the part where you really need to sell you passion for physiotherapy and explain why you so want to be a physiotherapist!

If you have already answered the questions in the detail section (above) then you already have the answer! You just need to make that language a bit more fancy, enthusiastic and exciting with a sprinkle of some “buzzwords” (see buzzwords section) and you have a quality opening paragraph.

Ensure that right from the beginning you show that you have a wide knowledge of physiotherapy - avoid answers that only suggest your passion for physiotherapy is sport. Many applicants are inspired to become a physiotherapist with the goal of becoming a sports physiotherapist, however, universities are looking for applicants who want to join the profession to provide empathetic and compassionate care for all patients.

This part is going to be the biggest and probably the most important.

This is where you have to demonstrate that you know what a physiotherapist does. The answers from questions two and three from The Detail section will come in useful here!

During this part you need to show off all of your knowledge and show how have gone above and beyond to find out as much as you can about physiotherapy. Meanwhile, you can begin to show them exactly why you will be a good physiotherapist (question 4!). As much of this as possible should be reflections on your own personal experiences and activities. Everyone is able to say that physiotherapists should be “this, this and this,” but for a good quality personal statement, you need to show them that you already have the personal qualities required to be a physiotherapist.

They will be looking for evidence that you have meaningful insight into physiotherapy and what the career entails - this can be shown through your work experiences and wider reading.

They want to see demonstration of interpersonal skills such as care and empathy alongside teamworking and good communication skills. Try demonstrate these through evidence.

Finally, they may also be looking for signs of self-reflection - the ability to reflect upon what you have seen or done and the way that it changed your attitude or practice.

This is perhaps the most individual and interesting part of your personal statement.

You need to show how you are unique – what makes you different from the rest, why do you stand out from all of the other candidates. Try to show off your extra-curricular activities, exciting courses you have completed and anything else that you think makes you look individual.

This will be the last thing they read so try to make it impactful. If possible, link it back to the beginning and your reasons for wanting to be a physiotherapist.

If possible, it is nice to finish with something topical at the time of writing. For example, has the COVID pandemic increased your desire to improve the quality of peoples lives?

Getting the right balance

To reiterate, everyone’s personal statements will be different and individual to each person. However, it is important that there is a good balance of information in each relevant area. As a very basic guideline, it is suggested that you beginning and end should make up about 25-40% of your total writing.

The middle makes up the rest – this gives you plenty of opportunity to talk about your experiences, show what you have learnt about physiotherapy/physiotherapists and explain why you would be a good physiotherapist.

THE Physio Specifics

Often teachers/lecturers/friends/family (and the rest) will be very helpful in making sure your personal statement reads well and has a good amount of information, however, it is likely that they will not have any specific knowledge on the things that physiotherapy courses look for.

The following suggestions are things that universities are commonly looking for in your personal statement. Try to demonstrate these in the best possible way.

Physiotherapy Knowledge

You must show the reader that you have a broad knowledge of physiotherapy and know that they don’t just massage people!

Demonstrate a good basic knowledge of the main three physiotherapy disciplines and that in addition to these physiotherapists also have many other roles in healthcare.

Don’t mention what exact specific career in physiotherapy you want even if you know you are only interested in sport or MSK, the university will look upon this badly.

Work Experience

Work experience is incredibly useful and almost always essential for universities (they have been more lenient on this during COVID times).

You must tell them what you learnt about physiotherapy but also what skills physiotherapists demonstrate and how you have those skills.

If you haven't been able to gain specific work experience, think about what experiences you have had that would be valuable as a physiotherapist; carers, sports coach, healthcare assistants, etc.

It is not so much about the quantity but the quality of what you learned and how you explain why this gives you a greater understanding of what it takes to be a physiotherapist or how it has developed your skills that will make you a better physiotherapist.

Wider Reading

Universities will love it if you have already begun reading physiotherapy literature!

Pick a random specific topic in physiotherapy that interests you and read some journal abstracts – you can find these on Google Scholar or Microsoft Academic.

You will look even better if you are able to critically analyse what you have read and learnt!

For example, learn as much as you can about one treatment technique and how effective evidence suggests it is.

If not already familiar, make sure you are well aware of the NHS values and the 6 C's.

You should try to incorporate these into your personal statement as skills/traits you have learnt from seeing physiotherapists or examples of where you have demonstrated them.

Ultimately, these values are requirement to become a physiotherapist, therefore, the universities want to see that you understand and demonstrate the personal traits needed.

Hopefully this guide has given you a better idea of what universities are looking for in physiotherapy personal statements. I hope that you have found the advice useful.

Your personal statement is unique to you, therefore, any more prescriptive advice would be a bigger hinderance than a help.

If you are unsure about your personal statement, or would like more in-depth personal advice, remember that we offer a personal statement checking service - HERE

Doctor of Physiotherapy

For the physiotherapist by the physiotherapist

How to Write a Personal Statement for Physiotherapy?

When it comes to pursuing a career in physiotherapy, crafting a compelling personal statement is a crucial step in the application process. Writing a personal statement for physiotherapy allows you to showcase your passion, qualifications, and suitability for this rewarding profession. In this article, we’ll explore how to write a personal statement for physiotherapy that effectively communicates your dedication and readiness to excel in this field.

To write a personal statement for physiotherapy, start by highlighting your genuine interest in the field and your motivation to pursue a career as a physiotherapist. Share relevant experiences, such as volunteer work or internships, that have influenced your decision and provided insight into the impact of physiotherapy on individuals’ lives. 

Additionally, emphasize your academic background, relevant skills, and personal qualities that align with the values and requirements of the profession. Lastly, convey your understanding of the role of a physiotherapist and your commitment to contributing to the health and well-being of patients through compassionate care and evidence-based practice.

Table of Contents

Personal Statement of Purpose for Physiotherapy

Crafting a statement of purpose for physiotherapy is a crucial step for individuals to express their passion and readiness for this rewarding career. It offers a platform to showcase qualifications and convey dedication to patient care, highlighting their suitability for the field.

Expressing Passion and Dedication

Crafting a statement of purpose for physiotherapy allows individuals to express their genuine passion for the field and their dedication to making a positive impact on patients’ lives. It provides an opportunity to communicate their enthusiasm and commitment to pursuing a career in physiotherapy.

Showcasing Qualifications and Readiness

Writing a statement of purpose for physiotherapy enables individuals to showcase their qualifications , relevant experiences, and personal qualities that make them well-suited for the profession. It serves as a platform to highlight their readiness and enthusiasm for embarking on a career in physiotherapy.

Conveying Understanding of the Profession

A statement of purpose for physiotherapy allows individuals to convey their understanding of the role of a physiotherapist and their commitment to upholding the values and responsibilities of the profession. It provides a means to articulate their understanding of patient care and evidence-based practice in the field of physiotherapy.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write a personal statement for physiotherapy:

Express Your Passion

Start by expressing your genuine passion for physiotherapy. Share what sparked your interest in the field and any experiences that influenced your decision, such as volunteer work or internships.

Highlight Your Skills and Qualities

Highlight the skills and personal qualities that make you a great fit for physiotherapy. This could include strong communication skills, empathy, and a solid understanding of healthcare practices.

Demonstrate Your Commitment

Demonstrate your understanding of the role of a physiotherapist and express your commitment to providing compassionate care and making a positive impact on a patient’s health and well-being. Show that you’re ready to contribute to the field with enthusiasm and dedication.

By following these steps, you can craft a personal statement that truly reflects your dedication and readiness to pursue a career in physiotherapy.

How to Write a Personal Statement for a Physiotherapy Job?

Here’s a simple guide to help you write a personal statement for a physiotherapy job:

Show Your Enthusiasm

Express your genuine passion for physiotherapy and why you’re excited about the job. Share experiences that motivated you, like internships or volunteer work.

Highlight Your Skills

Talk about the skills and qualities that make you a great fit for the job. This could include strong communication skills, empathy, and a solid understanding of physiotherapy practices.

Demonstrate Your Dedication

Show that you understand the responsibilities of a physiotherapist and how you plan to contribute to patient care. Express your commitment to making a positive impact on people’s health through your work.

By following these steps, you can create a personal statement that showcases your passion and suitability for a physiotherapy job. 

Final Words

In conclusion, writing a personal statement for physiotherapy is an opportunity to convey your genuine passion for the field, showcase your qualifications, and express your commitment to patient care. It serves as a powerful tool to demonstrate your readiness and enthusiasm for pursuing a career in physiotherapy, ultimately highlighting your suitability for the profession. By crafting a well-thought-out personal statement, you can effectively communicate your dedication and aspirations, setting the stage for a successful journey into the field of physiotherapy.

MAHMUDUL HASAN

"Hasan", I am a physiotherapy Doctor. I have completed my B.S.c course (4 years) under Rajshahi University, Faculty of Medicine, Rajshahi. Currently I am working as a clinical physiotherapist at a renowned physiotherapy center and I am continuing my MPT (Master's of physiotherapy) degree at CRP, Savar.

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Physiotherapy Personal Statement Guide

Personal statement guidelines.

When writing your personal statement  please consider the following areas:

• Justification for wanting to enter the profession – what attracts you to this profession?
• Is it the values, characteristics, behaviours &/or variety of roles and responsibilities?
• Why does this profession stand out for you compared to other health and social care professions?
• Investigation of Physiotherapy as a career – to be able to make an informed career choice you must investigate some of the diversity of the profession ideally through direct observation of physiotherapists in diverse areas of practice
• Evidence of additional skills, knowledge, experience – Transferable skills – how do your personal attributes, values, characteristics, behaviours and experiences relate to or prepare you for this challenging academic programme and a future career as a physiotherapist.

Structured Personal Statement

Tell us the reason you have chosen to study physiotherapy..

Within this answer you can tell us what motivated you to become a physiotherapist, and what you find interesting or inspiring about the profession. We would like you to show that you understand the role of the physiotherapist in different areas of clinical practice and the skills, values and qualities that are needed. Additionally, describe why this health care profession suits you personally. We expect you to give examples that show you have a caring attitude.

Describe the roles and responsibilities of physiotherapists.

In this section you should tell us about your investigation into the physiotherapy profession, particularly discussing experiences you have had of physiotherapy. Although receiving physiotherapy yourself might have been your introduction to the profession we expect applicants to explore further than this. This must include work experience or placements within a physiotherapy setting, the opportunity to talk to physiotherapists about their role and evidence of reading around the subject or accessing information on the internet. Rather than simply providing a list, please expand on what the experience taught you about the profession. Physiotherapy is very varied profession, working with different populations in different settings; you should demonstrate an awareness of this.

Tell us about skills, knowledge and experience you have and explain why this is relevant to a future career in Physiotherapy.

Please use experiences from previous learning, work, volunteering, hobbies, sport, music and any other activities you think relevant. Again, rather than a list of achievements please explain the specific skills or values demonstrated and how this has helped prepare you for study and a future career as a Physiotherapist. It may be useful to look at the NHS Constitution Values as this discusses the values and behaviours important for working in health care in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/the-nhs-constitution-for-england 

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Physiotherapy personal statement example 2.

Pursuing a career in the physiotherapy industry has been my major aspiration since a young age. This degree maintains a combination of sport and science, which makes it suitable for me, as I have a huge passion for both learning areas. Furthermore, being an energetic individual the practical approach to science has been hugely appealing to me.

Another significant reason for me choosing a physiotherapy degree is because I generally like to encourage good health and fitness. In addition to this, my flexibility enables me to adapt to different situations. I believe this is critically important as during the day of a physiotherapist they will need to adapt to the different patients needs. Excellent communication skills is what is required in a degree such as this and I believe I posses this in huge quantities.

Furthermore, I also believe that this flexibility offers me the chance to fully adapt to the frantic university environment. Moreover, my deep love for science has always acted as a foundation for my constant pursue of a physiotherapy degree.

During this year I attended the 2008 British athlete league (BAL), which was held at Windsor. Furthermore this was a hugely prestigious event, which only allowed the elite athletes to participate at the event. The physiotherapists who worked at the event came from different regions of the country in order to assist the athletes.

One of the main pieces of knowledge that I had obtained from this experience was that the elite physiotherapist had to purchase their own equipment in order for them to provide an excellent and efficient service. In addition to this, my experience on this day also taught me how to perform strokes such as; effulge stroke, longitudinal needing, transverse needing and I became familiar with key words used in the physiotherapist industry such as tappomoe, hacking, trigger pointing, muscle energy techniques, PNF, neural tensioning and ACL.

In order to further my experience, I studied through a book called Clinical sports medicine. The book contained a variety of information useful for physiotherapists such as, acute injuries and overuse injuries which where topics that were highlighted mainly in the book.

Additionally, I had further work experience in the radiography departments in both hospitals and clinics. I believe the experience I gained gave me a glimpse of the radiography side in the physiotherapy industry. This benefits me as it opens my options in the physiotherapy industry. During this year I was selected to be on the sports bursary scheme, which then enabled me to have further my work experience.

My high quantity of motivation levels, has allowed me to achieve a variety of qualifications and awards. This year I was awarded the 'Community Sports Leadership Award (CSLA)'. The course required completing a set of hours of voluntary work.

I have successfully completed fifty-one hours of voluntary work, which has awarded me a bronze certificate in volunteering work. The hours included organising and leading community sports events for different local schools. One of the events I organised was at a special needs school. This now enabled me to further develop my communication skills.

In my spare time, I like to be energetic and spontaneous by playing outdoor activities such as football and hockey. In both these sport I have represented them at district level. Furthermore, I am currently playing semi-pro football for Manford Way Football Club.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by Genaral for application in 2009.

Genaral's Comments

Tell me your opinions on my P.S

Related Personal Statements

"One of the main Knowledge"

Mon, 27/09/2010 - 09:32

That doesn't make a lot of sense. Knowledge doesn't need a capital either. Try: I obtained a lot of knowledge, including ...

Recommendations

Tue, 04/01/2011 - 20:20

'My high quantity of motivation levels' sounds very wordy, you could instead say 'My high level of motivation' or 'being highly motivated...' There seems to be a lot of summary of events in your statement rather than things about yourself, and you should keep in mind that those you're applying to know a great deal more than the things you've included to impress them with. You could replace some of your 'futhermores' with 'in addition to this' or 'moreover'and in some instances you can cut it out completely. Hope that helps!

Wed, 24/07/2013 - 04:44

I am so grateful for your post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.

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Susanne Arnold

2 Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK & AGILE, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, London, UK

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3 West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board Long-term Conditions and Personalisation Function, Wakefield, UK & AGILE, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, London, UK

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Christopher Hurst

6 AGE Research Group, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

7 NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle University

Avan A. Sayer

Dawn a. skelton.

8 Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

Miles D. Witham

Objectives:.

The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP) service improvement project seeks to determine and promote the exercise training characteristics associated with positive outcomes for resistance exercise for older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia or physical frailty.

Mixed-methods service improvement project. Ten UK National Health Service physiotherapist-led therapy services delivering exercise interventions for older people submitted anonymized data for up to 20 consecutive patients. A multidisciplinary expert panel generated a report and recommendations with site-specific benchmarking data and feedback. In parallel, participating physiotherapy team members were interviewed to elicit feedback on BEPOP rationale, processes and perceived value.

Data from 188 patients were included, mean age 80 years (range 60-101). 115 (61%) received objective assessment of strength-based physical performance. Bodyweight exercises (173 [92%]) and resistance bands (49 [26%]) were the commonest exercise modalities. Exercises progressed predominantly through increased repetitions (163 [87%]) rather than increased load. 50 (30%) had no reassessment of outcomes; only 68 (41%) were signposted to follow-on exercise services. Staff interviews identified themes around knowledge, diagnosis, data collection and practice reflection.

Conclusion:

BEPOP was feasible to deliver and generated actionable insights for service improvement via improved diagnosis, measurement and progression of resistance exercise.

Introduction

Sarcopenia (the loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass) and physical frailty (a ‘spiral of decline’ characterised by low muscle strength, low activity, weight loss and exhaustion) are key health conditions affecting older people[ 1 , 2 ]. Both are common, and both increase the risk of adverse health outcomes such as falls, hospital admission, longer length of hospital stay, loss of independence, an increased need for care, and earlier death[ 3 - 5 ]. Resistance exercise is established as an evidence-based, effective intervention for treating sarcopenia and physical frailty[ 6 , 7 ]. However, even when these conditions are diagnosed, older people often do not receive this effective treatment.

Survey work undertaken in 2018 by the British Geriatrics Society (BGS)[ 8 ] found that many services specialising in the care of older people do not make the diagnosis of sarcopenia, and such services provide exercise therapy for patients with sarcopenia or frailty in only half of cases. Further survey work[ 9 ] showed that even where exercise interventions are being offered, the content of these interventions varied significantly, with the majority focusing on falls prevention and balance training rather than on the resistance exercise known to provide the most benefit to people with sarcopenia and physical frailty. Even in those programmes focused on addressing sarcopenia and frailty, resistance training was offered in only two-thirds of programmes. Outcome measures were related in the most part to falls (e.g., balance assessment) rather than assessment of muscle strength. Effective resistance exercise training requires progressive overload of muscles to stimulate physiological adaptation (i.e. increases in strength and size). This in turn requires progressive increases in intensity of the weight or resistance used, with or without increases in the number of repetitions and sets (volume)[ 10 ]. Existing data highlight that current practice does not reflect the existing evidence base, demonstrating that there is a need to improve delivery and monitoring of exercise programmes for people living with sarcopenia or frailty.

Data comparing different services (benchmarking) has been a powerful driver for service improvement in other areas of clinical practice, such as hip fracture care[ 11 , 12 ], and can help build the business case for service development both locally and nationally. This approach, grounded in the real-world implementation of evidence, is arguably more likely to drive change in practice than conducting further large-scale clinical trials where sufficient evidence already exists as is the case for resistance exercise. Such an approach empowers individual sites to make changes to improve, to align their practice with current best practice, to learn from high-performing sites, and to adapt recommendations to their local needs, giving them ownership of the change process in a way that would not be the case if a uniform process was externally imposed across sites. The Benchmarking Exercise Programmes for Older People (BEPOP) project aims to develop and implement a UK-wide benchmarking and feedback service improvement system to determine and promote the exercise training characteristics most associated with positive outcomes for older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia or physical frailty. In this paper, we describe the design of BEPOP, present quantitative and qualitative data from wave one of BEPOP and summarise key recommendations for practitioners arising from this first wave of data collection.

Design of BEPOP

BEPOP was designed as a benchmarking and feedback service improvement project. The project was designed around the concept of a cycle of continuous quality improvement, involving: a) collection of data to describe current practice, b) feedback to participating centres on their current practice, benchmarked against other participating centres, c) recommendations to all centres to guide future evolution of their services. We envisaged that participating centres would then use this information to redesign their services before participating in future rounds of data collection. BEPOP planned to collect quantitative data from multiple participating physiotherapy teams in the UK, and based on these data, provide overall feedback of aggregate data from all sites, together with site-specific benchmarking and feedback to individual sites. An expert multidisciplinary panel provided recommendations based on interpretation of the results in the context of the current evidence base on exercise training for people living with sarcopenia or physical frailty. Interviews with staff were embedded within the project to understand the experiences of the physiotherapy teams participating in the project. It is important to note that we did not seek to impose a uniform protocol for exercise delivery or outcome measurement on sites; instead, BEPOP sought to describe existing practice and outcome measurement at participating sites.

Participating services – promotion and selection

Services across the UK providing community-based exercise interventions to older people at risk of sarcopenia or physical frailty were invited to participate in the project. BEPOP was promoted via AGILE (the professional network for physiotherapists working with older people recognised by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy), through the BGS Special Interest Groups on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research and the Nursing/Allied Health Professionals BGS Council, through National Health Service (NHS) Health Education England, the British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences (BASES) and through personal contacts and social media (Twitter/X and Facebook). Expressions of interest were reviewed by the BEPOP team. The main inclusion criterion was that services had to deliver exercise-based therapy for older people in outpatient or community settings. This criterion, whilst broad, enabled us to include services where a high proportion of service users were likely to have sarcopenia or physical frailty – groups known to benefit from resistance exercise training. The diagnoses of sarcopenia and physical frailty in clinical practice in the UK are often not made or written down before referral to therapy services and therapy services do not currently select patients on the basis of sarcopenia or physical frailty alone[ 8 , 9 ]. Confining selection to those patients who had already received a diagnosis of sarcopenia or frailty before referral to services would have excluded many patients who have these diagnoses and would benefit from resistance exercise, limiting the utility of the findings. We therefore took a pragmatic approach to service and patient inclusion to reflect the way that therapy services currently operate in the UK. Services based outside the UK National Health Service, inpatient and early supported discharge services, post-operative rehabilitation services, services specific to falls management (where a different type of exercise intervention based on lower limb strength and balance training is indicated)[ 13 ], and services offering disease-specific interventions (for example cardiac rehabilitation, post-stroke rehabilitation) were excluded as the goals of these services, measures of service success and types of exercise required may be very different from those required for sarcopenia or frailty. Services operating within the same NHS Trust as another participating service and which covered a similar population were also excluded, as were services where the information provided was insufficient to determine suitability to participate.

BEPOP was designed and delivered as a service improvement initiative, using anonymised data already collected by clinical teams through their usual practice, and did not impose a standard protocol, standard exercises, standardized outcomes measures or new data collection on sites.

Identification of individuals to include in data reporting

Each service was asked to identify and report data from twenty individuals, consecutively referred to their service. Data from patients could be included if they were aged 65 years or over, undergoing exercise intervention delivered in an outpatient/community-based setting. Data from patients were excluded if they were referred for a disease-specific intervention (for example pulmonary or cardiac rehabilitation); referred for rehabilitation or early supported discharge following a stroke diagnosis, or referred for rehabilitation post-operatively. No checks were performed with participating services to determine whether individuals included in the analysis were consecutive. Given the currently low rates of diagnosis of sarcopenia and the frequent co-existence of multiple reasons for referral to therapy services, we did not specify that individuals had to have received a diagnosis of sarcopenia or physical frailty to be included in data reporting.

Data collection

Participating services entered data into a RedCAP electronic data collection system[ 14 ] hosted on Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust servers. No identifiable data were uploaded to the RedCAP system. Each data entry was assigned a unique identifier and the analysis team were unable to access patient names, dates of birth, addresses, or other identifying variables. Participating services were asked to upload initial descriptive information on each patient at the start of their assessment period, and then to complete data entry at the end of the period of physiotherapy. Data were collected on patient age and sex, baseline assessments including frailty status using the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Score where collected, means of assessing muscle strength and/or physical performance related to muscle strength, details of prescribed exercise intervention including modalities of exercise training, method of delivery, and planned duration of intervention. Information was also collected on how patients were reviewed and reassessed during and after the course of the prescribed exercise intervention, reasons for discontinuation, and whether patients were signposted to follow-on programmes after the end of their prescribed exercise intervention.

Statistical analysis

Data were checked and cleaned in Newcastle by the BEPOP analysis team before export from RedCAP as comma separated variable files. Simple descriptive analyses were generated with additional statistical analyses performed using SPSS version 25 (IBM, New York, USA). Waterfall plots were used to present comparative data between sites. Individual sites are not identified on these plots; the site number on each graph refers to the order of sites on the waterfall plot and does not identify the site. Given the wide range of different measures of muscle strength and physical performance reported, we converted changes in these measures to the percentage change between baseline and post-exercise measures ([end of exercise programme measure – start of exercise programme measure] * 100). For measures where a reduction in the measure denoted improvement (e.g. 5x sit to stand test, timed up and go test) the reciprocal of the measures were taken before calculating the percentage change. If an individual patient had data on more than one outcome measure related to strength, we used the outcome with the biggest percentage increase for that patient. Percentage changes for different outcomes were merged in the dataset and we explored associations between the best percentage improvement for each individual and different aspects of individual exercise programme characteristics using Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Interview data collection and analysis

All physiotherapy team members involved in the project were invited to take part in a semi-structured interview. The aim was to explore and understand participating team member roles and experiences of being involved in BEPOP. Interviews were conducted by a member of the BEPOP core team experienced in qualitative interviewing (SA). Each participating team member gave verbal consent to be interviewed; interviews were all carried out remotely, via telephone or video conferencing. We used a flexible topic guide with prompts (see Supplementary Material ) to encourage those being interviewed to tell us about why they agreed to take part in BEPOP, the training provided in data entry and project participation, their perceptions of what the project is trying to achieve, their overall experiences of collecting and entering data and the impact on their clinical work. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked for accuracy. Transcripts were organised using QSR NVivo 12. Based on Braun & Clarke’s six-phase framework[ 15 ], thematic analysis was used to identify important and interesting patterns across the data to derive themes.

Using Moran-Ellis et al’s ‘following a thread’ technique[ 16 ], the findings from the quantitative and interview components were integrated during analysis of the project data[ 17 ]. This involves analysing each data set separately to identify key themes or questions in one that may need further exploration by following them across to the other data set (i.e. following the thread). This in turn helps to create a more in-depth understanding of the question of interest.

Development of recommendations and feedback of results

Data from the quantitative and interview results were considered by a panel comprising physiotherapists with expertise in the care of older people (SDB, SA, CB), geriatricians including those with expert knowledge on sarcopenia (AAS, LC, MDW), and sport science and exercise physiologists (DAS, CH). This panel developed a series of recommendations based on current evidence with the aim of supporting services to address the issues highlighted by the results. A report of the results was distributed to all participating sites along with individualised, specific feedback highlighting how each site had performed relative to peer sites. A slide deck with overall results and a one-slide site-specific summary of results was shared with each site to facilitate discussion within services. The main findings and draft recommendations were presented at a Chartered Society of Physiotherapists event (The Complexity Summit, October 2022) and refined prior to finalisation of the report in response to discussion at this event. Main results were also disseminated via the British Geriatrics Society conference and via webinars with physiotherapy colleagues from across the UK. A training and learning webinar was hosted by AGILE in September 2023 to provide on-line training for physiotherapists from across the UK (not just those engaged in BEPOP) on how to deliver effective resistance exercise training, and for participating BEPOP sites to share how they had made use of the findings of wave 1 to start improving their local services.

Fifty-two expressions of interest were received, of which 26 services were eligible to participate and were invited to take part. Of these, 12 progressed to obtaining local Caldicott Guardian approval. Two of these services did not submit any data, leaving ten services that contributed data to the first round of BEPOP. One service was in Scotland, one in Northern Ireland, one was on the Isle of Man, and the others were in England.

Quantitative data collection

Data on a total of 188 individuals were collected between 18 th October 2021 and 27 th September 2022, as detailed in Table 1 . Most patients were referred for multiple reasons, with fewer than half (36%) referred explicitly for management of sarcopenia or physical frailty. Not all sites returned data on 20 consecutive patients, thus fewer than the requested 200 patient data sets were collected. Of 75 individuals with either a handgrip strength measure or five times sit to stand measure recorded, 65/75 (87%) met the current European Working Group definition[ 18 ] for probable sarcopenia.

Details of individuals included in BEPOP Wave 1 analysis.

Baseline assessments

Figure 1 shows the percentage of individuals assessed at baseline using a range of different strength-based assessment methods. Timed up and go was included as an assessment which includes a strength-based component despite also being a test of mobility and balance. Many individuals were assessed using more than one method, with a high percentage of individuals undergoing non strength-based assessments (for example Tinetti score or Berg balance score, labelled as ‘other’), which reflects the large number of older people referred for broad-based exercise interventions who also had a history of falls. Overall, 115 (61%) individuals received at least one objective strength-based assessment of physical performance, such as grip strength, timed up and go (TUG) test, one-repetition maximum, five times sit-to-stand test, and 30-second sit-to-stand test. Supplementary Figure 1 demonstrates the percentage of individuals who received any assessment using an objective strength-based assessment method at baseline at each participating service.

Baseline assessment methods reported in BEPOP wave 1.

Exercise Delivery

Table 2 shows the planned frequency and duration of prescribed exercise interventions. The majority of individuals were reviewed once a week with a quarter being reviewed less frequently. Self-directed practice made up the majority of sessions prescribed (n=1771, 64%). Of the 865 supervised sessions 476 (55%) were individual sessions; the others were group sessions. 49 (29%) of individuals did not complete the prescribed exercise intervention as planned with illness being cited as the most common reason (n=27, 55%). Figure 2 shows the modes of resistance exercise training prescribed across the cohort. Almost all services included some element of resistance exercise training in the prescribed exercise programmes ( Supplementary Figure 2 ). Bodyweight resistance training exercises were the most common method of resistance training (n=173, 92%). For 82 (45%) of individuals this was the only modality of resistance exercise prescribed. 98 (52%) of individuals were prescribed an additional mode of resistance exercise, most commonly involving the use of resistance bands (n=49, 26%) or ankle/wrist weights (n=40, 21%).

Details of exercise session frequency, duration, and delivery route.

Modes of resistance exercise training reported in BEPOP wave 1.

Exercise Progression

Figure 3 shows methods used to progress resistance exercises. Most individuals had resistance exercise training progressed by an increase in volume (for example increased number of repetitions), with only 48 (26%) progressed via an increase in intensity, for example by an increase in weights used, stronger resistance band, or progression based on one-repetition maximum. Supplementary Figure 3 shows the differences between participating services in the percentage of individuals whose resistance exercises were progressed by intensity.

Methods of progressing resistance exercise training reported in BEPOP wave 1.

Post-intervention assessment and outcomes

Post-exercise intervention assessment data were submitted for 165 (88%) of individuals as shown in Supplementary Figure 4 . Across almost all methods of assessment, rates of assessment following an intervention were lower than at baseline and 50 individuals (30%) had no assessment following completion of the prescribed exercise programme. Rates of paired outcome assessment, using the same assessment method before and after an exercise intervention, varied across assessment methods, as demonstrated in Supplementary Figure 5 . All individuals who performed the 30-second sit-to-stand test at baseline underwent the same test after completion of the prescribed exercise intervention but other baseline tests had lower rates of paired completion. We did not assess how many patients met the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia at the end of their exercise programme.

Factors associated with greater improvement in strength and physical performance measures

Percentage change in strength and physical performance measures in relation to different aspects of exercise programme delivery are shown in Supplementary Table 1 . Supplementary Figure 6 shows the association between the number of face-to-face sessions and the percentage change in strength-related measures. No significant association was seen between the number of face-to-face sessions and the percentage improvement in strength-related measures; (Spearmans rho 0.07, p=0.53); this remained non-significant in a sensitivity analysis when the 38 individuals who received no face-to-face input were excluded (Spearmans rho 0.16, p=0.19). No significant association was seen between the total number of supervised sessions (face to face, remote or telephone combined) and the percentage improvement in strength-related measures (Spearmans rho 0.05, p=0.69).

Referral and signposting to exercise services

A total of 68 (41%) individuals were signposted or referred on to further exercise services following completion of the prescribed exercise intervention. Supplementary Figure 7 shows how this metric varied between services.

Interview results

Seventeen physiotherapy team members from ten services participated in data collection for BEPOP. All were invited to take part in the interview process. Eight agreed to be interviewed from five different services, one declined due to lack of time, and eight did not respond. Six of the therapy team members were qualified physiotherapists and two were rehabilitation assistants (PT1-8 denoted under quotes). Six interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams and two over the telephone. Mean duration of the interviews was 30 minutes (range 18 to 38 minutes).

Four overarching themes were developed from the interview data:

“Never quite knowing if we are doing the right thing”

“Are we diagnosing sarcopenia?”

“We collect a lot of that data anyway”, and

“It has made us think”

i) Never quite knowing if we are doing the right thing

Physiotherapy team members were willing to participate in BEPOP to find out more about their own practice and reflect on their service provision in comparison to others, as well as exercise guidelines:

“I thought it would be interesting to reflect on what I’m providing; you know what my service is doing and how that measures up to the guidance” (PT5)

The project also raised questions for some about their knowledge and skills in prescribing strength exercises for older people:

“I just don’t think it is something that we’re terribly good at as physios. Which is bizarre because exercise is supposed to be our thing. But we’re not very well trained in strength training” (PT2)

ii) Are we diagnosing sarcopenia?

Sarcopenia was rarely given as a reason for referral into the services. This raises the question as to whether it is being diagnosed formally, diagnosed but not recorded on referrals, or whether (like the therapists who were interviewed), clinicians just ‘think’ or ‘assume’ that older people have it based on clinical judgement and experience:

“Sarcopenia is never given as a diagnosis but I’m sure they have it” (PT4)

“There’s some people I’ve actually ticked that they’ve got sarcopenia… because I know they have… but that’s just because I know they have” (PT2)

iii) We collect a lot of that data anyway

The practicalities of being involved in and collecting data for BEPOP were not considered too onerous as the necessary information was already being collected routinely:

“it’s part of the stuff we do on a normal day-to day basis…the data we collect, we’re now collecting for BEPOP” (PT1)

However, some questions were perceived as not mapping easily to current practice:

“One thing that has been difficult to interpret onto the form is the frequency of sessions. There is no option for less than once a week” (PT5)

And whilst the importance of objective measures was acknowledged, it was suggested that what is matters to the patient may be equally important:

“…but it hasn’t picked up the kind of more subjective stuff. Although I’m putting in Berg’s and TUGTs, what’s making the difference to the patient is they can get out of a chair, they can get off the floor” (PT2)

iv) It has made us think

At the time of the interviews the project was not complete, but the participants were keen to hear the results. In some instances, being involved had already made some clinicians revise their approach to prescribing and progressing strength exercises for older people:

“… we prescribe an exercise programme and our assistants will do it. We haven’t particularly thought about how we’re going to progress people” (PT3)

“…it has highlighted the lack of strength training that we do. And I still think we still don’t always prescribe it. I think we’re a little too cautious” (PT5)

“Progressing resistance exercises is more in our minds than it was” (PT6)

Summary of key findings

• Physiotherapists wanted guidance on best practice and recommendations for managing sarcopenia and physical frailty.
• There was a need identified for physiotherapists who provide community-based exercise interventions for older people to assess and diagnose sarcopenia and physical frailty.
• Physiotherapy teams acknowledged the need to ensure they are prescribing and progressing appropriate resistance exercises.

We have shown that it is possible to develop and implement a UK-wide benchmarking and feedback programme which aims to improve the quality of resistance exercise training in services treating older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia or physical frailty. The programme was well received by participating sites, successfully collected data and delivered actionable insights which could be fed back to participating sites. Key issues highlighted as areas for improvement activities included a need to improve sarcopenia diagnosis, heterogeneity of outcome measures hindering comparisons across sites, low levels of repeat outcome measurement during and at the end of exercise programmes to evaluate progress, a lack of progression of intensity of resistance exercise during programmes and low levels of signposting to follow on programmes after the end of an exercise prescription. We have developed five key recommendations (shown in Box 1 ) for practice to address these issues. Nevertheless, the majority of patients reported on received some component of resistance exercise training and some progression of exercise, mostly through increased repetitions. Guidance on how to assess, prescribe and progress effective resistance exercise was identified as a key educational need.

Key Recommendations from Wave 1 of BEPOP benchmarking.

To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to implement a national benchmarking and feedback programme specific to exercise training for sarcopenia or physical frailty. It is important to reiterate that we did not seek to impose a uniform exercise delivery protocol as part of this work. Similar benchmarking and feedback programmes have been successfully deployed in other areas of the care of older people, most notably for patients with hip fracture, but also patients in intermediate care facilities[ 19 , 20 ]. These programmes rely on data collection from a large number of participating sites, collation of data, and individualised feedback to participating sites to enable comparison with peers. Such approaches have been successful in driving up quality and improving outcomes. The participation of large number of sites has been key to the impact of such programmes, highlighting an imperative to expand BEPOP to more sites in subsequent waves of data collection.

Current evidence confirms that resistance exercise is an effective intervention for older people with sarcopenia or physical frailty[ 6 , 7 ]. Resistance exercise is a necessary component of any programme targeted towards people with sarcopenia or physical frailty[ 21 ], and the diagnosis of sarcopenia or physical frailty should therefore be a trigger to employ this exercise modality. One challenge in clinical practice is that the diagnosis of sarcopenia is infrequently made and thus practitioners may not be directed to prescribe resistance exercise[ 8 ]. For maximum benefit, resistance training may need to be performed at higher relative intensities, although lower intensities can also be beneficial, particularly in the early stages of exercise programmes. To ensure that resistance training programmes provide an appropriate overload stimulus throughout the duration of a training programme, the intensity, not just the volume (i.e. the number of repetitions) of exercise should be progressed[ 22 ]. Monitoring of individual resistance exercise training sessions, as well as monitoring recovery from exercise sessions, is necessary to inform effective exercise prescription through the manipulation of exercise intensity and volume to ensure progressive overload[ 10 ]. As well as this, regular re-assessment of the desired outcome (e.g., muscle strength) during and at the end of an exercise programme is needed to enable adaptation of the exercise prescription to meet goals and can also support patient motivation and engagement[ 23 ]. However, the potential usefulness of this is dependent on using an appropriate outcome measure to evaluate muscle strength or physical performance both at the start of the training programme and also as the programme progresses. It is clear that outcomes that measure strength or physical performance (rather than less relevant outcomes such as balance) are not always collected, hence the first of our five recommendations. Finally, as benefits of exercise are lost upon cessation, and most reviews suggest exercise programmes should be six-months or more in duration[ 24 ], signposting of patients to community-based exercise programme is essential as most physiotherapy teams cannot work with patients for this length of time. Yet, currently, only 41% were signposted on to other programmes.

Our initiative had several strengths. Use of a benchmarking and feedback process enables engagement of a wide range of sites, reflects usual clinical practice without excluding data from patients (which is often not the case for randomised controlled trials), and provides a robust methodology for rapid continuous learning and improvement. With this approach, individual sites have the flexibility to adapt changes to their local needs and constraints, taking into account local culture, service organisation and resources. Such approaches have been shown to be effective at driving up quality of healthcare services[ 25 ]. We included sites from across the UK with a wide range of geography and service types, and we sought data already recorded by physiotherapy teams to minimise burden to participating sites. Our study design enabled us to obtain interview data to complement the quantitative data obtained from sites and to triangulate these data sources for deeper insights than would have been the case from one source alone. In particular, the qualitative insights highlighted where physiotherapists felt they needed further training, highlighted areas for refinement of quantitative data collection in future waves and helped to confirm the perceived value of the programme within the physiotherapy community. The use of a transparent methodology and the development of a set of tools and processes should facilitate scale-up of this initiative to a larger number of UK sites.

Some limitations deserve comment, both with respect to the processes underpinning the initiative and also the data obtained. Comparisons across sites in benchmarking initiatives may be difficult to interpret; variation in outcomes between sites may reflect differences in casemix, differences in measurement or reporting, or differences in the remit of the service under study[ 26 ]. These issues undoubtedly complicate interpretation of our results and point to the need to further evolve data collection processes, taxonomies and definitions used in future waves of data collection. Some sites were reluctant to participate due to challenges navigating approvals and information governance despite the fact that this project was not classed as research, used fully anonymised data and that we sought to provide standard documentation and support to sites. Although participating sites were enthusiastic, we lack information on the reasons for non-participation by other sites or an understanding of what changes would be required to enable these other sites to engage with the programme; the results shown here apply to those sites participating in BEPOP but cannot be assumed to generalise to other sites. Although the focus of BEPOP is on resistance training for older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia and physical frailty, not every individual whose data were included had sarcopenia. Available measures suggest that the great majority did have sarcopenia, and even for those lacking measures to confirm this diagnosis, a majority of individuals were living with frailty as defined by the Rockwood Clinical Frailty Scale. Some participants had other conditions or comorbidities (e.g. falls) requiring therapy in addition to sarcopenia or frailty. This is to be expected as sarcopenia or frailty rarely occur in isolation, and although this makes interpretation of the results more difficult, it more accurately reflects what happens in real-world clinical services. Future larger waves of data collection may enable more detailed characterisation of individual exercise programmes at different sites.

The wide range of outcome measures used, and incomplete post-intervention measurement data, make it challenging to analyse which aspects of exercise programme delivery are associated with greater gains from exercise programmes, which in turn limits the scope of recommendations that can be made on how best to optimise practice. The heterogeneity of exercise programmes used by sites did not permit us to describe every combination of intensity, progression and volume for individual exercise programmes. Even if the outcomes data were more consistent, the observational nature of the data makes it difficult to draw causal inferences about the relationship between exercise programme characteristics and outcomes. Differences in the degree to which outcomes improved do not necessarily reflect differences in the effectiveness of different type of exercise progression but are more likely to reflect differences in the progress of the individuals concerned – those who are doing well are more likely to be given more repetitions or sets than those who are struggling to complete the starting level of exercise. It is however possible that the lack of association between the number of sessions and outcomes may simply reflect that exercise sessions were insufficiently challenging to deliver progression regardless of the number of sessions undertaken. Future, larger waves of data collection may be able to explore some of these issues further by stratifying by initial measures of physical performance or physical frailty.

Future iterations of BEPOP (or a similar benchmarking and feedback programme) should seek to expand the number of participating sites; this will improve our ability to examine what exercises, and what characteristics of these exercises, are most likely to deliver the best improvements in outcomes for patients. One of our key recommendations for site development is implementation of a minimum core outcome measurement dataset (for example handgrip strength, sit to stand test) which would greatly facilitate future data collection and analysis. Additional support for sites in obtaining data approvals and uploading data would also be desirable, as would national consensus on appropriate information governance requirements for similar projects. BEPOP has already led to the development of a nascent community of practice to exchange learning around the delivery of effective programmes of exercise for sarcopenia and physical frailty, and we anticipate that this will grow in importance and activity. Another area for future work is to better understand what components of the BEPOP process of benchmarking and feedback are most effective at driving quality improvement, possibly via embedded process evaluation work. Future rounds of data collection should also seek to capture what changes in policies and processes (for example sarcopenia diagnosis, patient selection, outcome measures, frequency, duration and progression of programmes) were made in response to feedback from this first round of data collection and feedback, and how participation in the programme is facilitating continuous quality improvement between rounds of data collection. Taken together, these changes should improve the ability of BEPOP or a future similar programme to maximise the translation of evidence on resistance exercise into effective clinical care for older people with sarcopenia or physical frailty.

Ethics approval

Following UK Health Research Authority (www.hra-decisiontools.org.uk) guidance, the project was not classed as research and did not require research ethics approval. Although no identifiable patient data were transferred outside participating Trusts, services were encouraged to obtain Caldicott approval for use of data and were supported to do so by sample documentation, project descriptions and lists of data points provided by the central BEPOP team .

This work was funded by a British Geriatrics Society specialist registrar start-up grant (SPR/03/2020) awarded to Dr Lorna Caulfield .

Acknowledgements

Dawn Skelton is a director of Later Life Training, a not for profit training provider, delivering training to exercise instructors and therapists in evidence-based delivery of strength training and falls prevention programmes. She is also the chair of the British Geriatrics Society rehabilitation group .

We thank the 10 sites who participated in this first wave of BEPOP .

Supplementary files

Supplementary table 1.

Association between exercise programme characteristics and outcomes

Supplementary Figure 1

Percentage of individuals undergoing any objective strength-based assessment method at baseline at each participating service.

Supplementary Figure 2

Percentage of individuals by participating service whose exercise prescription included any method of resistance exercise.

Supplementary Figure 3

Percentage of individuals whose resistance exercise prescription was progressed by intensity.

Supplementary Figure 4

Percentage of individuals who received re-assessment following completion of exercise intervention by assessment method.

Supplementary Figure 5

Percentage of individuals who had a paired outcome assessment (before and after intervention), using an objective strength-based assessment method.

Supplementary Figure 6

Percentage improvement* vs total number of face-to-face therapy sessions. *best improvement from grip strength, gait speed, 5x sit to stand (5xSTS), 30s sit to stand or timed up and go (TUG). 5xSTS and TUG times converted to reciprocals before analysis. NB. Outlier (900% improvement) omitted from graph for clarity but included in correlation calculation.

Supplementary Figure 7

Percentage of individuals signposted or referred on to further services after the end of exercise intervention.

Supplementary material

Process Evaluation: BEPOP Qualitative Interview Topic Guide

Aim: Qualitative interviews using semi-structured questions to aid research team to understand participants role and experience of being a participant in BEPOP

Target group : aim to capture feedback from participants:

• a) working in different contexts e.g., delivering exercise for sarcopenia through different service models/care pathways and/or
• b) working with different populations (e.g., at risk versus confirmed sarcopenic)
• Interviewer to introduce themselves and recap on the aims of the interview.
• Explain what will happen during the interview.
• Discuss confidentiality.
• Ask the interviewee if they have any questions.

Professional experience

• Can you tell me a little about your clinical/professional role and your role in BEPOP?

Experiences of BEPOP

• Explore what made them want to participate, if relevant.
• Was it what you expected?
• Was it adequate?
• Is there anything that you think was missing from the information/training?
• How would you describe BEPOP? What do you think the study is trying to achieve?
• What did it involve for you?
• What did being a participant of BEPOP mean to you? Tell us how it felt to participate?
• How does BEPOP fit with your normal working methods for this patient group/your existing clinical pathways?
• Did your team meet the full set of inclusion criteria for involvement? If not, why apply? If not, why do you think you were selected?
• What impact does recruiting and recording data for patients in the study have on the day to day running of your service?
• What problems did you encounter?
• Can you tell me about the specific data that you were required to enter and how you go about doing it?
• What is your understanding of the reasons why you were asked to enter that data requested through the REDCAP data collection system?
• What might have made the data collection process more user friendly (or acceptable) to you/others responsible for entering the data e.g., more information; training on using REDCAP etc.
• Did you/your team meet these? If not, why not?
• Has your practice changed, or have you implemented anything new based on BEPOP since starting the study?
• Was else might have been done to support you participating? What changes would you make for future participants which might support more participation?

Closing and thanks

• Is there anything else you’d like to tell me about your experiences of BEPOP?
• Conclude the discussion and thank the participant for their time and contribution.

Edited by: Yannis Dionyssiotis

Prof. Dawn Skelton is co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Frailty, Sarcopenia and Falls. The manuscript underwent peer review process by independent experts .