Physiotherapy personal statement guide

This information is for applicants for both our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, which comprise the following courses:

• BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy
• MSc Physiotherapy (Pre-Registration)

In addition to your academic qualifications, we are also interested in the personal statement that you include with your application. We select who we invite to an interview based on both, so it is very important that you get this right. Please make sure that you read this guide carefully, so that you put yourself in the best possible position for joining us.

Why do you want to study Physiotherapy?

We want to see why you are passionate about training to become a Physiotherapist and what you understand about the profession. Try to cover the points below to help showcase this.

• Why Physiotherapy? Tell us why you want to become a Physiotherapist. Why are you passionate about this career? We want to understand what initially inspired you and what you hope to achieve as a Physiotherapist? What are your aspirations for yourself and the people you will be treating?
• What is your understanding of the Physiotherapy profession? We want to see that you are aware of the variety of specialties’, areas and settings you can work in as a Physiotherapist. Do also consider other professionals a Physiotherapist might work with, and the types of conditions patients will need Physiotherapy treatment for. A good starting place to find out more about this (and other Physiotherapy-related information) is the website of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy.
• Do you have any relevant personal experiences? Do you have relevant life experiences or responsibilities that have contributed to your interest in the Physiotherapy profession? This might be leadership or caring responsibilities, or your own experience of having Physiotherapy. Explain why those experiences made you interested and how these increased your understanding of the profession.

How have your studies and qualifications prepared you for this course?

We want to understand how your studies have helped you develop the knowledge, skills and attributes a Physiotherapist needs.
Try to cover the points below to help showcase this.

• What academic studies and other types of training have you completed? Tell us about those that are relevant to Physiotherapy. What transferable skills have you gained and why are these helpful for a Physiotherapy career? Try to avoid generally describing your course or grades as we will see these in your application, it is more important to tell us about how this learning helped you to develop.
• Do you have any achievements to highlight? Tell us about any extra-curricular accomplishments/activities and how these are relevant to a career in Physiotherapy. Have you completed a group project which helps showcase teamwork, did that link to, and help your understanding of Physiotherapy? Have you been nominated for, or received any awards or commendations?
• Can you reflect on your learning? How has your learning made you a great candidate? Have you had any challenges you had to overcome and how did you do this? What did you learn from this experience?

How do you demonstrate the National Health Service (NHS) values?

We use your personal statement to help assess your ability to demonstrate the values needed by healthcare professionals. Before you start writing your statement, read about the NHS values.

We want to understand how you understand and demonstrate the NHS values. Try to cover the points below to help showcase this.

• What do you know about the NHS and what do you understand about the values that are in the NHS Constitution? Can you discuss examples where you have demonstrated these? Why are these values important for a Physiotherapist?

What else have you done outside education, and why are these experiences useful?

We want to know about what you have done outside of formal education and how this has helped you understand or prepare for a career in Physiotherapy. Try to cover the points below to help showcase this.

• Do you have any experience of observing or working with Physiotherapists or other Health Professionals? What have you learnt from this? Tell us about your experience, this really strengthens an application. Contact your local hospital(s) and ask them if you could spend some time observing or volunteering. Start with larger hospitals as they have more specialties to observe. If you struggle to arrange Physiotherapy work experience, you could try to other healthcare settings that are relevant to Physiotherapy, e.g. care homes and charities. Tell us what you have done and importantly what you experienced and the impact it had on you in relation to Physiotherapy.
• Do you have other relevant experiences that demonstrate transferrable skills? Tell us about other activities or responsibilities that you have had and how these have helped you gain important skills for a Physiotherapy career such as being a class representative, volunteering, completing Duke of Edinburgh or National Citizen schemes, etc. Importantly, tell us what you have learned from these experiences as well as your hobbies and interests that link to the skills or attributes needed for Physiotherapy.