You spent the afternoon drawing nerve pathways on your coursemate’s arm and now find yourself low-key judging everyone’s gait as you walk down the street. There’s one probable diagnosis: you must be a student physio.
In contrast to what your flatmates know (or don’t know) about the ins and outs of your degree - classic questions like; “I mean it’s mostly massage right? Wait, what do you
mean physios work on call overnight? Is that in case someone breaks an ankle?”, God gets it. And on top of this, studying physiotherapy puts you in a unique position to work for the good of creation, worship the God you work for, and witness to the world around you.
And here are a few of the reasons why…
Working for the wellbeing of creation
There are many ways in which studying physiotherapy equips you to work for the wellbeing of creation. Most obviously, there is the patient in front of you. On placement, as you give your time and energy to helping someone recover from injury, get better from a chest infection or manage their disability, you are directly working for the wellbeing of a person who is loved and created by God.
However, although lots of people go into physiotherapy because they want to make a positive difference in people’s lives, sometimes that can be harder to remember when the busyness of term sets in. You probably knew roughly what to expect before you started – 9am lectures every day, assignments alongside placements, lots of techniques to learn and anatomical systems to memorise, all whilst attempting to live something resembling a normal student life alongside your flatmates. It can be really easy to become so taken up with trying to absorb all the information that you forget why you chose physiotherapy in the first place!
Studying hard and doing your best is something that glorifies God, but as Christians our motivation is not just being able to know all the answers on placement, get a good grade, or land the dream job. I wonder, do you ever stop to think about how the way that you engage with your studies now will affect how well you can love people in the future? Even as you sit in front of a list of ABG analysis questions this evening (that give you a headache just to look at), God can use this moment right now to prepare you to be a blessing to others, when you know what to do when your ICU patient needs treating on a future on-call. Talk about a shift in motivation!
As well as the patient in front of you, physio also equips you to work for the wellbeing of creation in some broader ways. For example, physios often have the opportunity to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9). You might end up working clinically, but you might also go into public health policy, NHS management, research, or academia. Within these settings you can influence the way that our healthcare system works as a whole, and promote a society that works for the wellbeing of its most vulnerable members.
Whether you enter into clinical work when you graduate, or embark on a research career, pray that God will use you through your studies to glorify Himself and work for the wellbeing of his creation.
Worshipping the God we work for
As well as using your knowledge to benefit the lives of others, studying physio also leads us to worship. The physiotherapist spends three student years, and then the rest of their career, getting to study in detail the pinnacle of God’s creation: the human body. As we find out about the way that the brain re-wires itself through neuroplasticity, or observe the entire musculoskeletal system working together with fine-tuned biomechanics, we’re stirred to echo David’s worship for His Creator in Psalm 139:14; ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’.
However, at the same time, the fact that we need physios forces us to face up to the reality that this world is broken and not as it should be. Whether you’redischarge planning for a frail patient in elderly care, or sitting in a paediatric oncology lecture, your degree will constantly remind you that we live in a fallen world. Yet as Christians we know that Christ has changed the end of the story! Jesus not only provided a way for us to be reconciled back into relationship with God, but He also secured a certain hope that one day ‘there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’ (Revelation 21:4).
One day He will physically restore our world and our bodies. A physiotherapist’s job often involves working with people to restore to them a level of function that they once had. This means we get to reflect, in a small way, something of what Christ is doing throughout the course of history. Although sometimes the things we encounter will be hard, bearing this in mind brings us hope and stirs us to worship the One who is making all things new.
On top of this, physiotherapists also get to reflect God’s character in the way they work. When we read about Jesus in the gospels, we see a God who almost can’t help but heal people; who sees people in their pain and weakness, and joyfully restores them to health and healing. As Christians, we know the ‘God of all comfort’ from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ‘comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God’. So, as you listen to someone describe their struggle with pain during your MSK subjective assessment, let this stir you to worship the God who sees them, like He has seen you, and be encouraged as you reflect Him in your work.
Witnessing to the world
There are lots of big ethical topics that will come up throughout your degree, and knowing the value that God places on human life will massively affect the way that you engage with these discussions. Of course, every physio should respect their patient and want the best for them, but knowing that your patient is a divine image-bearer takes that to a whole new level (Genesis 1:27). If we listen to the message of the world around us, it can be easy to view our worth as humans as something that we gain through our own efforts and achievements. But what about those we treat who can’t do anything for themselves?
As Christian physios, we can hold our patients in the highest regard, not because of their level of function, or potential to achieve, but because they have unimaginable value as someone who is made in the image of a God who created them and loves them. Bearing this in mind during ethics discussions in lectures, or even just in the way you talk about your patients on the ward, will be a real witness to your coursemates and colleagues.
Finally, although it seems obvious to say, as a physio you will get to know an unbelievable amount of people! You’ll work within 5 teams whilst on placements alone, and then if you rotate when you graduate, your team will likely change every 4-6 months for the first few years of your career. On a surface level, this can be exhausting as you constantly form new friendships and get used to new environments. But at the same time, what an incredible mission field!
Not only will you meet lots more people than most Christians do in their daily life, but you will also probably get to know them really well! There is something incredibly bonding about hitting the wards as a team, day in and out, fighting through NHS pressures. Or if you work in sports, there is nothing like riding the wave of emotion of victories and losses, and spending many an evening and weekend hanging out with the team. The challenge is, when you go out onto your next placement, to recognise that God has placed you with this specific bunch of people for the next 6 weeks for a reason. Pray hard, scatter seeds of the gospel widely, and be open to how God might use you, even in a short amount of time.
Be encouraged, Christian physio!
So, wherever you are on the three-year rollercoaster that is a degree in physiotherapy, be encouraged. Yes, it’s hard work. And some days you might just want to quit. But it’s also so totally worth it! And if you let Him, God can use your time studying and working as a physio to give you an abundance of opportunities to learn more about who He is, to witness to the people He places around you, and to be a blessing to others.
Reflect and discuss
Think: Think back over what you have studied so far in your degree. Where have you seen God's fingerprints? Where have ideas presented to you challenged what you believed to be true?
Live: What do you think your coursemates would know about what is important to you from the way you live? Is there anything you want to change here?
Speak: Are there topics in your subject that are closer to talking about your outlook on life, God or the gospel? Pray for people on your course and for opportunities to share about Jesus with them this term.
