Being newly qualified feels like a big jump, but in many ways it’s less stressful. You don’t have an assessor continually looking over your shoulder. You have more time to think about things before deciding a plan of action. You can begin to try different techniques and see which work better for you, rather than just following what your clinical educator did. You’re also able to build up better relationships with patients and unlike on a student placement, work with them long enough to see them improve from your treatment, which is very rewarding.
For at least the first 18 months of my career I’m working on rotations. Each one is in a new and different area so I always feel nervous! However I now feel much more confident about my knowledge and skills. I’ve seen a large number of patients now and have developed strategies to help me make an appropriate treatment plan for them.