What's it like being a physio here?
If you want to work as part of a team delivering high-quality, innovative, effective physiotherapy to patients as part of a multidisciplinary team, then Royal Papworth is the place for you.
Working here you will learn techniques and develop skills for treatments not seen anywhere else in the UK.
Our physiotherapists provide assessment and therapy for inpatients and outpatients across respiratory medicine, surgery and cardiology.
- Bronchiectasis and Interstitial Lung Disease
- Cardiac surgery
- Cardiology
- Critical care
- Cystic fibrosis
- Pulmonary rehabilitation
- Respiratory Support and Sleep Centre
- Thoracic surgery
- Transplant - heart and lung
Sometimes you will work with patients for many months, providing personalised goals to help them in their prehab or recovery post treatment, such as this special hug in the video below.
External roles
As well as providing world-class therapy for our patients, our physiotherapists hold a number of national and international roles. They sit on advisory boards, chair networks and are experts in national governing bodies.
Some of the roles include:
- Surgical champion in the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care.
- ECMO Physiotherapy Network Chair.
- Intensive Care Society Physiotherapy Professional Advisor Group Deputy Chair.
- Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery Physiotherapy Lead.
- Thoracic Physiotherapy Network Chair.
Published articles and research
We support our physios to publish articles and present abstracts at national and international meetings. This not only supports their career development, but helps to improve patient care here at Royal Papworth and around the world.
- ECMO: The physio's role (Frontline)
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of High-Flow Nasal Oxygen (Optiflow) as Part of an Enhanced Recovery Program After Lung Resection Surgery (PubMed)
- Does preoperative rehabilitation influence the quality of life in patients who are candidates for lung transplant? (Experimental and Clinical Transplantation)
- Physiotherapy for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support: How, When, and Who. An international EuroELSO survey. (Sage Journals)
Physio Alicia presenting her research at a national intensive care meeting
External teaching
From teaching the local St John Ambulance service about respiratory physiotherapists to a European workshop on extra corporeal life support, our physiotherapists are passionate about sharing their knowledge with others.
Conferences
We are proud to send our physiotherapists to participate in national and international conferences, where they share their learnings with global colleagues, as well as bringing back new ideas to benefit our patients.
- Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery Annual Conference.
- Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Cystic Fibrosis Conference.
- The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care Annual Conference.
- National Cardiac Benchmarking Collaborative.
- European Cystic Fibrosis Society Conference.
- End PJ Paralysis Global Summit.
- Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Virtual Conference.
- Virtual Physio UK.
- Intensive Care Society State of the Art.
- Transplantoux Time to Move symposium.
- British Transplant Society Annual Congress.
- EuroELSO.
- Assistant Practitioner Conference.
- Physiotherapy Research Society Conference.
Awards
Our physiotherapists have won a number of awards for their outstanding work.
- Physiotherapy Team of the Year at the SCTS Annual Conference 2023
- Collaboration Award (clinical) at the Royal Papworth Staff Awards 2022 - Zoe Barrett-Brown for establishing a thoracic surgery national physiotherapy network
Our physiotherapists winning a national cardiothoracic surgery award
Students and apprentices
We are always open to accepting undergraduate physiotherapists on placement from the University of East Anglia, Hertfordshire University and Anglia Ruskin, as well as MSC students.
In 2023, our physio department's first-ever apprentice graduated to become a qualified physiotherapist.