Acute neurological physiotherapy - essential skills for all practitioners - with Narelle Dalwood

My guest this week is Narelle Dalwood. Narelle is an APA titled neurological physiotherapist and physiotherapy educator from Monash University Physiotherapy. Narelle and I sat down to discuss her pathway into neurological physiotherapy and the foundational knowledge and skills of an acute neurological physiotherapist. Narelle has so much knowledge and experience, I’m sure you will love hearing from her. This is a discussion aimed at health professionals. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.  In this episode: 0:00 About this episode – welcome Narelle 1:50 About Narelle – pathway into neurological physiotherapy 3:05 I didn’t want to be a neurological physiotherapist 5:20 Develop a wide variety of skills 7:35 Experience counts for a lot – let your experiences guide your interests 8:00 Be open to new and challenging experiences 10:45 How I knew I wanted to work in acute neuro 12:15 What skills are needed in acute neurological physiotherapy?  Empathy is important, but not too much 13:25 Teamwork and communication – acknowledgement of your team member’s skills 15:25 Know your anatomy 16:50 Don’t go in blind – anticipate impairments 19:05 Take your time to assess the person to their highest functional level 21:15 Narelle takes us through a typical acute neuro assessment 22:20 What if the patient’s communication is impaired? Receptive and expressive dysphasia, dysarthria, disorientation 25:15 There are no recipes – heterogeneity in neurological conditions 26:40 Non-motor impairments – confusion, memory deficits, neglect 28:40 What are the most important knowledge and skills for an acute neurological physiotherapist? 28:44 Your role as a physio is to allow people to live their most meaningful life possible 29:35 A beautiful story about the importance of goal setting 33:42 Like, share, subscribe – how you can help the podcast Read more about Narelle: https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/narelle-dalwood Follow and subscribe to Physio Foundations on your favourite podcast app. Join the conversation in the YouTube comments or via social media @PerratonPhysio For a list of episodes, transcripts and associated blogs, visit perraton.physio/physiofoundations   Follow @PerratonPhysio on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked In. Do you have a topic you would like me to cover on the podcast? Email me: [email protected], or DM on Twitter @lukeperraton Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.