Tenterfield has attracted another young professional to the community in Tenterfield Hospital’s new physiotherapist Megan Rivett.
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Megan was in town last year attending her sister Allison’s wedding to Brett Lawrence, and on returning home looked up the NSW Health website to see a job going in Tenterfield. She took up the role two months ago to be nearer to family, and said she’s here for the long haul.
“This isn’t just a stepping stone in my career advancement,” she said.
The Dubbo born-and-bred physio trained at the University of Newcastle before a stint at Sydney’s RPA (Royal Prince Alfred) Hospital. Megan said it was a busy posting and a good training ground.
“I saw a lot of interesting things there,” she said somewhat enigmatically.
She also worked with children at Sydney Community Paediatrics, and feels having this broad range of exposure to her speciality was good preparation for her role at Tenterfield Hospital.
“It help me for a position like this, where I see everybody,” she said.
The country lifestyle has met all her expectations.
“Everyone has more time for each other, and they’re happy to stop and have a chat.”
Megan finds the locals much more friendly that Sydneysiders, who tend to discount the experience of a rural posting.
“Everyone experiences health problems and pain. I’d hate to see a town like this without a physio.”
The hospital’s previous physiotherapist had left in August to there was some pent-up demand by the time Megan arrived. As well as covering hospital in-patients, she can also treat anyone for free (with a Medicare card) as an outpatient as long as they have a referral from their doctor.
She finds it hard to describe a typical working day as no two days are the same, and she relishes that challenge. It could be treating major muscular/skeletal problems, respiratory conditions, those recovering from a stroke and other neurological conditions, and putting casts on broken limbs.
There’s been only one youngster with a broken bone to date and her paediatric experience helped with that, but she’s been told by her colleagues that such scenarios tend to come in waves.
On Wednesdays and Thursdays she’s the local liaison in the Telehealth Fracture Clinics where local patients consult with an orthopaedist in Armidale via a videolink, saving the need to travel.
Out-of-hours Megan admits to being the most non-sporty physio you’ll ever meet, but she has joined the local chapter of the CWA and is keen to become integrated into the community.
She said she’s excited to meet everyone, and her enthusiasm in contagious.
And while your soul may be warmed by her bright personality, your body could benefit as well.
Megan encouraged anyone with niggling worries to consult with their doctor and see if a physiotherapist could help.
“It’s not true that if you’re in pain you just have to put up with it.”
She said a lot of back pain and arthritis, for instance, can be alleviated with movement-based therapy. She’s keen to see medical professionals and patients build partnerships as a team for the best outcome. She’s excited by the challenge of matching the best treatment to an individual case.
“Two people can have the same problem but require different treatment, depending on their age, hobbies, occupation, pain threshold, what activities they want to return to…
“I haven’t met anyone I didn’t like and every day’s a challenge, in a good way.”
