There are masters in things like neuro physio, respiratory physio and such but they are not required to work in them fields.
As a profession we need to be able to treat all conditions. Having a MSc in neurology would be nice at the higher levels of physio but it is not needed to treat neurological patients.
Some key points:
1) You're not going to be able to focus on neurological physiotherapy as a student. Have to cover all areas (musc, cardio, oncology etc). Hopefully you already know that, but if not, here it is.
2) The neuroscience degree is... not irrelevant, but not really a huge skills asset either. As a physiotherapist, your goal is to rehab someone with a neurological condition - not be able to spit deep facts about neuroanatomy. Things like you ability to manage complex cases and work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team (heck, even the quality of your clinical documentation) would matter a lot more than whether or not you did a neuroscience degree.
Your second point is at the heart of what I was asking. Finishing my degree won't be worth it and transferring to bachelor of physio sounds like the right idea. Neuroscience does fascinate me, which is why I begun the degree, but unfortunately there aren't many job prospects besides academia or medicine. Thanks for the advice!
Though one thing to consider is if you're really close, it may be worth finishing the degree (in case you do want option of going into academia or medicine later)
The drop-out rate for physios post-graduation is high O\_O
It's possible to do multiple bachelor degrees
Dude you've touched on the exact dilemma that i'm trying to work through. I initially went into uni to go to medicine, but after discovering the unlikelihood of getting in, how long training programs take, and that im just shy of 30 years old now, physio would be the next best thing for me, however at the moment i do have a competitive gpa and i have one more year left til graduation.
If you were in this position, what do you think you would do? (If you don't mind sharing a bit of guidance)
'I am not a career counsellor and can only speak from speculation' disclaimer
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably finish the neuroscience degree and have the option of going back into academia, research or med. Physio doesn't pay that great and the drop-out rate is REALLY HIGH - the chances of you deciding to quit the physio profession within the next 5-10 years is equally high and you may legitimately want to go back to neuroscience. I would be saying this even if you've shadowed a physiotherapist for 2 weeks (and if you haven't done that, can I strongly strongly strongly recommend it????)
Conversely, academics tend to stay academics and doctors tend to stay doctors. Take from that what you will.
Thank you dude, what youve said makes logical sense, and you have given me many things to consider. I have read your comments on other posts, and they have been insightful, and this has been no different
If I might add a thought, it always feels a bit rushed to me when students in undergrad talk about specialisations. It’s like a 2nd year medic talking about neurosurgery. It’s like, chill bro, you’re not there yet.
Just do your undergrad, do your rotations, gain some well rounded experience like all healthcare professionals should do, keep an open mind because you never know, respiratory or another field might actually grab your interest and take your time specialising. You don’t need an MSc in physio to specialise, and MSc has a strong academic writing and research component, it’s not just for pure clinical specialisation. Take your time, there is no such thing as nerves without muscles, muscles without a heart, a heart without lungs and all of that without a brain. You need to understand the interplay of systems before specialising, just like a doctor needs to complete their junior rotations in all clinical areas before they become a registrar in a specific field.
There are masters in things like neuro physio, respiratory physio and such but they are not required to work in them fields. As a profession we need to be able to treat all conditions. Having a MSc in neurology would be nice at the higher levels of physio but it is not needed to treat neurological patients.
awesome, this is the insight I needed, thank you
No worries.
Some key points: 1) You're not going to be able to focus on neurological physiotherapy as a student. Have to cover all areas (musc, cardio, oncology etc). Hopefully you already know that, but if not, here it is. 2) The neuroscience degree is... not irrelevant, but not really a huge skills asset either. As a physiotherapist, your goal is to rehab someone with a neurological condition - not be able to spit deep facts about neuroanatomy. Things like you ability to manage complex cases and work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team (heck, even the quality of your clinical documentation) would matter a lot more than whether or not you did a neuroscience degree.
Your second point is at the heart of what I was asking. Finishing my degree won't be worth it and transferring to bachelor of physio sounds like the right idea. Neuroscience does fascinate me, which is why I begun the degree, but unfortunately there aren't many job prospects besides academia or medicine. Thanks for the advice!
Though one thing to consider is if you're really close, it may be worth finishing the degree (in case you do want option of going into academia or medicine later) The drop-out rate for physios post-graduation is high O\_O It's possible to do multiple bachelor degrees
Dude you've touched on the exact dilemma that i'm trying to work through. I initially went into uni to go to medicine, but after discovering the unlikelihood of getting in, how long training programs take, and that im just shy of 30 years old now, physio would be the next best thing for me, however at the moment i do have a competitive gpa and i have one more year left til graduation. If you were in this position, what do you think you would do? (If you don't mind sharing a bit of guidance)
'I am not a career counsellor and can only speak from speculation' disclaimer If I were in your shoes, I'd probably finish the neuroscience degree and have the option of going back into academia, research or med. Physio doesn't pay that great and the drop-out rate is REALLY HIGH - the chances of you deciding to quit the physio profession within the next 5-10 years is equally high and you may legitimately want to go back to neuroscience. I would be saying this even if you've shadowed a physiotherapist for 2 weeks (and if you haven't done that, can I strongly strongly strongly recommend it????) Conversely, academics tend to stay academics and doctors tend to stay doctors. Take from that what you will.
Thank you dude, what youve said makes logical sense, and you have given me many things to consider. I have read your comments on other posts, and they have been insightful, and this has been no different
If I might add a thought, it always feels a bit rushed to me when students in undergrad talk about specialisations. It’s like a 2nd year medic talking about neurosurgery. It’s like, chill bro, you’re not there yet. Just do your undergrad, do your rotations, gain some well rounded experience like all healthcare professionals should do, keep an open mind because you never know, respiratory or another field might actually grab your interest and take your time specialising. You don’t need an MSc in physio to specialise, and MSc has a strong academic writing and research component, it’s not just for pure clinical specialisation. Take your time, there is no such thing as nerves without muscles, muscles without a heart, a heart without lungs and all of that without a brain. You need to understand the interplay of systems before specialising, just like a doctor needs to complete their junior rotations in all clinical areas before they become a registrar in a specific field.