As the 2018 Commonwealth Games comes to close, I thought I’d reflect on my recent volunteering experience within the Physiotherapy Department of the Athlete’s Village Polyclinic.
This whole process began way back in 2015, at the Sports Medicine Australia Conference. This is where the opportunity to volunteer at the games first came to my attention.
As I was still quite the newbie physiotherapist, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to apply. Then I realised this was an opportunity I simply couldn’t miss. I decided there and then to throw my hat into the ring…..and I’m so glad I did!
I was pleasantly surprised to be accepted as part of the team earlier this year. Since 2015, I had become more experienced and confident in sports physio, but my work was all in team sports… Olympic sports are a whole other kettle of fish. I was excited but also a little nervous. When I got there, I assumed I would be assigned a team to work with, but I was allocated shifts in the Polyclinic instead. I’ll admit, I was kind of disappointed. I didn’t even know what a polyclinic was!
Let me clarify, I had this initial reaction because I’d been burned in the past with previous voluntary roles that promised ‘a great learning experience’ and was left rubbing the calves of middle aged corporates, who saw the physio tent as a ‘free massage’ sign. Now there is nothing wrong with engaging in sport in this way, but this is NOT a LEARNING experience.
I flew to the Gold Coast and picked up my uniform (you can’t miss it… see photo) and accreditation, and couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited. Whenever I’ve heard people say ‘It just feels great to be a part of something,’ I’ve somewhat scoffed at those being swept up in the romance of it all… I’m a bit of a cynic. This was the first experience where I’ve had that warm and fuzzy rewarding sensation working in sport. To know you are playing a small part in an athlete’s attempt at doing something special, feels… well, special.
Anyway, enough of the feelings stuff. Let’s get on to the games.
I quickly realised that the Polyclinic was one of the best gigs for a physio volunteering at the games. The Polyclinic’s open room layout enabled plenty of cohesion, discussion and cooperation between therapists, and a chance to ‘borrow’ techniques and clinical gems from others working along side you. The clinical leads and clinic managers created an open and accepting learning environment. An environment where it was okay and encouraged to ask clinical questions… and we all know how much physios LOVE discussing physio. After having a chat to some of my peers working at sporting venues and with teams, it turned out they much preferred their time in the Polyclinic.
The clinic also provided exposure to many different sports, from track and field to team sports like hockey and even weight lifting (Muscles!!!). This was a great challenge, and on reflection, really highlighted how geared to team sports my practice style is (Reflective practice… La Trobe would be proud).
During competition time, a physio must adapt and take on quite a different role . You would love to take these athletes through a perfectly planned, periodised and progressive rehab… but they only have days to hours until they compete!!! This calls for a very different set of skills, and very different clinical reasoning… a real fish out of water situation for myself.
In a large multidisciplinary centre, you can discuss cases with sports docs, radiologists, nurses, podiatrists and more. I found this so valuable and learnt so much having multiple professionals look at the same athlete but with different disciplinary lenses.
Discussions with the other physios in the clinic, did quickly highlight that I was one of the more ‘junior’ physios… We had therapists who had worked in international and professional sport all over the world, and had done so for years. Whilst this can be somewhat intimidating, all of those individuals were kind, welcoming and keen to teach… but also learn!
A word of advice. Being one of the most inexperienced therapists in the room offers the best learning environment, so put yourself into these situations!!
When you’re working so intimately with others, professional relationships quickly form. Another great benefit of my experience was crossing paths with physios at the top of the game. Who knows where these professional relationships will lead.
Ok. Enough about me and the clinic… let’s talk about the athletes.
Access to the Polyclinic was offered to everyone, but athletes from more affluent nations were well resourced with their own staff. Inevitably, this meant our caseload mainly consisted of athletes from African and small island nations. This was fantastic!! These men and women were an absolute pleasure to work with. Sometimes language was a challenge, but it just meant you had to get creative! They were so grateful to us, and diligent with any advice or self-management we provided. Working with these athletes provided a dose of perspective bigger than physio and sport, but of the world and how lucky we are to be living and working in a country like Australia. Being able to provide assistance to help them achieve their athletic goals was immensely rewarding.
My final day on the Gold Coast was spent watching some of the athletes I worked with competing in their events on television. I’ve never felt nerves like this watching sport. I rode the highs with one running a PB, and the lows of another reinjuring themselves competing… that’s the life of a sports physio.
For those wanting to work at any future Comm games or Olympics, a few tips from a first timer:
Be aware that applications for these roles open years ahead of the games, so keep an eye out at conferences and on the APA website
Formalised postgraduate education is required
Ask for some work in the Polyclinic. It’s an excellent learning opportunity
Be open to learn and teach.
Know the pin system or you’ll end up without pins (in a nutshell… ask each athlete you treat for a pin and try and collect them all).
It’s not a holiday, it’s still hard work. You are there to do a job, and you may have pretty full on schedule.
Overall, I had an excellent experience and I can see how it can be addictive to be part of such great athletic events! This must be why some of those on the team were at their 4th or 5th games! I would like to say a huge thank you to those who decided to take on a young therapist like me in the Polyclinic, and for being such a fantastic group of people to work with and learn from!
