Who are you as a health care professional when you no longer practice hands-on care?

I consider myself as being in a transition phase in my career, and as such, am experiencing tension with respect to my professional identity. For the 11 years I was working as a 'hands-on' clinician, I identified strongly as a physiotherapist. I valued mobility, accessibility, equality, and my own autonomy. 3 years ago, I transitioned out of direct patient care, into a clinical leadership position - and became a Professional Practice Coordinator for Physiotherapy. This change began the tension in identity - was I still a physiotherapist? I certainly didn't feel like a 'leader'. What were my values now? How do I support patient care in this new position - do I still support patient care?

I have spent three years attempting to answer these questions for myself. This is what I have landed on:

1. I most certainly am still a physiotherapist, and feel I have a better understanding and perspective on my profession since making the switch.

2. I have realized that leadership is not about the position you are in, but about how you 'are' in that position. I now feel comfortable being considered a 'leader' and have aspirations to further my career in health care leadership.

3. Although I continue to identify as a physiotherapist, more and more, I feel this identity shifting. I no longer feel that physiotherapy is always the most important profession around the patient.

4. I now know that inter-professional collaboration and attending to fundamental care needs are the most important aspects of health care. This care overlaps many professional scopes - my current role helps to support teams in figuring this out.

5. While I continue to hold on to my values as a physiotherapist, I have also adopted values as a professional practice coordinator, including collaboration, empathy and authenticity.

6. I most certainly do support patient care, but in a different manner. I support care through supporting the individual practitioners, teams and managers. This support comes in many forms - it is important to stay grounded in the concept of support as I do my work.

Although I do not know exactly where my career is taking me, I know I have much more to give. I believe that we can provide better patient centered care, and know that collaboration is at the heart of this. I aspire to continue leading this work, supporting staff, and therefore, by extension, the patients themselves. I am excited by this #MHST601 work with social media and content curation, as I feel I can apply the skills and tools learned directly into my current work.

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