Physiotherapist

Position Title: Physiotherapist

Reports To: Founder/In Country Manager

Location: Hoi An, Vietnam

Status: Full Time.

Working Hours: 6 days per week - 8 hours per day as determined on the timetable

Language skills: Vietnamese. English proficiency is an advantage

Background

The Lifestart Foundation Free Disability Community Centre provides people living with disabilities in central Vietnam with new and improved opportunities. The Centre works directly with adults whose complex disabilities are a result of issues such as polio, war injuries, cerebral palsy and accidents. The Centre offers expert professional one-on-one assessments and depending on the patient’s special requirements they will receive a supervised rehabilitation exercise plan, information on nutrition, posture and details of locally based services. In addition, referral to a local hospital for surgery or prosthetics is provided for those who require specialist medical treatment.

Many people with disabilities live with pain and other side effects that restrict their opportunities and heavily impact their quality of life. The Lifestart Foundation already works with disabled adults by ensuring through the Lifestart Foundation Workshop that they have their own sustainable income and by providing wheelchairs and three-wheeled motorbikes that allow independence and mobility.

Lifestart Foundation’s rehabilitation project in Vietnam is in collaboration with the Department of Physiotherapy at Melbourne’s Monash University. The Lifestart Foundation Free Disability Community Centre opened in October 2011 after senior staff from Monash University in Melbourne visited Hoi An to work on the initial scoping plan for this project with the goal of determining the most appropriate form of rehabilitation required by the members of the Lifestart Foundation and the wider disabled community.

In 2011 the Lifestart Foundation Free Disability Center was set up and opened with very basic therapy equipment.

Towards the end of 2014 Lifestart Foundation expanded its health services and commenced two outreach programs at Hoi An Homeless Shelter for aged and disabled and at the Danang Red Cross Vocational Shelter which helps young adults with disabilities. These two outreach projects were chosen as it was seen that there was a great need to improve the quality of life of these people and to improve their health care. Prior to Lifestart Foundation working with these people nothing in the way of health service was being provided. The services offered by Lifestart Foundation will have a direct impact on approximately 200 disabled people’s quality of life through increased mobility, improvement and maintenance of health, pain reduction and being connected to appropriate support and services to meet their needs.

1. Expected outcome from physiotherapist treatment:
The physio is expected to work with patients so as their health will improve and they will ultimately have:

  • An improved quality of life
  • Reduction in pain
  • Increased mobility
  • Improved employment prospects
  • A quicker return to employment after accident and illness
  • The ability to support themselves and their families

2. Qualifications

  • Experience in assessment and treatment of people with complex disability
  • 4 year College Medicine Degree Medicine in Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
  • Excellent interpersonal skills
  • Comfortable in dealing with people with complex and profound levels of disability
  • Willingness and ability to be flexible in work practice accommodating of new or different concepts of health and health delivery
  • Ability to work independently and as a sole practitioner
  • Ability to be innovative, think laterally and problem solve where resources are limited.
  • Willingness to deliver a health outreach service to the disadvantaged & disabled population of Hoi An & Quang Nam province.
  • Ability to work in a client focused model where the clients therapy goals are identified and targeted
  • Willingness to work within the boundaries of Lifestart Foundations strategic plan and within resource availability
  • Willingness to be accountable to Lifestart Foundation Founder/In country manager including weekly reporting and record keeping.
  • Ability to meet physical demands of the job-twisting, bending, lifting,  walking, standing
  • Understanding of the principles of rehabilitation
  • Understanding of use of adaptive/assistive equipment
  • Awareness of basic anatomy and physiology and medical terminology

3. Tasks description

3.1 Therapy Assessments:

  • Conducting initial economic assessment to assess patient eligibility for Disability community centre
  • Leading in carrying out Modified Lifestart Foundation Rehabilitation Assessment

3.2 Provide Physiotherapy/activities at the Lifestart Foundation Free Disability Center:

- Work with patients with complex disabilities to help them improve their life.

  • assessing patient's level of mobility, strength, and other physical abilities to determine the impact of an illness or injury on physical function
  • analyzing assessment findings, and develop treatment plans to restore movement and function and lessen pain or limitations to mobility
  • implementing treatment plan for each patient to recover from:
    • Stroke
    • Weakness in one side of body
    • Burn
    • osteoarthritis causing movement restrictions
    • degenerative cervical and back spine
    • problem with movement
    • spinal diseases causing pinched nerves
  • Providing hands on assistance and verbal instruction to patients throughout rehabilitation sessions
  • Monitoring patient health and wellbeing through regular communication on how they are feeling.
  • Assisting in assessment of suitability for assistive/adaptive equipment
  • Providing patient and family health education and advice
  • Measure patients' progress regularly and adjust treatment accordingly
  • Advise patients on how to manage their conditions independently and help them prevent avoidable recurrences or complications

- Work with western customers who pay for the physiotherapy service to offset the running costs of the Free service to the disadvantaged and disabled Vietnamese community.

3.3 Provide physiotherapy/activities at Hoi An Homeless Shelter:

- Work with patients with complex disabilities to help them improve their life.

  • assessing patient's level of mobility, strength, and other physical abilities to determine the impact of an illness or injury on physical function
  • analyzing assessment findings, and develop treatment plans to restore movement and function and lessen pain or limitations to mobility
  • implementing treatment plan for each patient to recover from:
    • cerebral palsy
    • orange agent effects
    • osteoarthritis causing movement restrictions
    • degenerative cervical and back spine
    • spinal diseases causing pinched nerves
    • Weakness in one side of body
  • Providing hands on assistance and verbal instruction to patients throughout rehabilitation sessions
  • Monitoring patient health and wellbeing through regular communication on how they are feeling.
  • Assisting in assessment of suitability for assistive/adaptive equipment
  • Providing patient and family health education and advice
  • Measure patients' progress regularly and adjust treatment accordingly
  • Advise patients on how to manage their conditions independently and help them prevent avoidable recurrences or complications

3.4. Provide physiotherapy/activities at Vocational Center for Children with Disabilities:

- Work with patients with complex disabilities to help them improve their life.

  • assess patient's level of mobility, strength, and other physical abilities to determine the impact of an illness or injury on physical function
  • analyze assessment findings, and develop treatment plans to restore movement and function and lessen pain or limitations to mobility
  • implementing treatment plan for each patient to recover from:
    • cerebral palsy
    • mental illness
    • Weakness in one side of body 
    • Congenital
  • Providing hands on assistance and verbal instruction to patients throughout rehabilitation sessions
  • Monitoring patient health and wellbeing through regular communication on how they are feeling.
  • Assisting in assessment of suitability for assistive/adaptive equipment
  • Providing patient and family health education and advice
  • Measure patients' progress regularly and adjust treatment accordingly
  • Advise patients on how to manage their conditions independently and help them prevent avoidable recurrences or complications

3.5. Admistration:

  • Maintaining cleanliness of clinic therapy rooms and facilities
  • Washing linen used in therapy sessions
  • Setting up the gym for therapy sessions and packing up afterwards
  • Ensuring items required for domestic duties in the clinic are stocked up (for example cleaning products).
  • Ensuring if patients are sick they do not attend sessions
  • Contacting patients regarding attendance

Further Enquiries:

To apply for the role please email an up to date CV and covering letter including the following points to Ms Diem at [email protected] and Ms. Karen at [email protected].

  • Why you would be suitable for this role
  • When you would be available to start
  • Your expected salary

Deadline: 10th May 2016

Job Details
Organisation Name: 
Lifestart Foundation
Location: 
Hoi An
Application Deadline: 
Tue, 2016-05-10