Aaron Bergey, Physiotherapist in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, doesn’t take the work he does for granted. He’s grateful for the impact he can make in his clients’ lives with his healthcare team, but above all, he is most inspired by the way his clients overcome barriers themselves with resilience throughout their recovery.
Why did you choose to become a physiotherapist? How did you get started in the healthcare industry?
I actually wasn't one of those people who always knew what they wanted to do from a young age. I was heavily involved in hockey and other sports growing up, which meant I was constantly exposed to some capacity of physiotherapy because of the injuries I experienced. It always stuck with me as something that would be an exciting career, but it felt out of reach for me. Academics weren't really my strong suit at a young age and I found myself being more drawn towards building things and taking them apart, and understanding how it all worked behind the scenes.
After I finished high school and then one year of general science in university, I decided to follow my hobbies in building things and ultimately pursued a plumbing career. I went on to complete a plumbing apprenticeship that I did for three years and it was great. However, as I neared the end of my apprenticeship, I ended up hurting my back. This led to me being enrolled in a rehabilitation program where, again, I was around physiotherapists, occupational therapists, kinesiologists, the works. It was then that it really started to click for me. When I finally paid attention to what the day-to-day life of a physiotherapist looked like and the way they supported their clients, I became increasingly interested in the profession. After asking my own healthcare team about their careers, I decided to make a pivot in my life and go for it – and I haven't looked back since.
Funny enough, now I can see the similarities between working as a physiotherapist and as a member of a hockey team or plumber helping to construct a house. Different people have a wide range of specialties that they bring to the table and every person is working towards a common goal contributing what they can. There are certainly differences between these professions, but being able to identify those parallels is a unique perspective for me as I continue in my new career as a physiotherapist.
Why did you decide to join CBI Health?
CBI Health has always caught my interest even from the start. I like the idea of being part of a national Canadian company that has a tremendous impact in the healthcare sector. One of the benefits involves the variety of client populations I get to work with. When I don’t really know what I’m going to see or it ends up being different from what I expected it to be, it keeps me excited to come to work every day. I also appreciate that CBI Health truly fosters an interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial approach (looking at biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors), which is exciting for me because that's the most up-to-date and modern approach in healthcare.
What motivates and drives your work?
Finding those moments of motivation comes about quite easily when working in healthcare. When I see clients relentlessly overcome barriers and take charge of their recovery while entrusting us to help them along the way, it’s hard not to be motivated in my work.
That aspect drives the care I provide, as does working alongside some really impressive and talented people on my team. They work hard every day in the best interest of their clients and they put their client at the center of the care and support they provide. I really admire that. That also includes our administrative team who are so positive and warm, asking our clients about their day right when they walk into the clinic. It creates an atmosphere where our clients feel like they can trust us. There is so much value to the services that we are all providing here together, and I've personally experienced it myself when I received physiotherapy treatment for my past injuries. Helping as many people as possible receive that care is really what motivates me.
Tell us about a time when you helped to improve the health of a client.
It felt really great to hear that one of my clients was able to pick up her grandchildren again. She came into our clinic with longstanding pain to the point where she couldn't carry out her normal everyday activities and the things that meant the most to her.
We worked together to identify not just what hurt, but what exactly we were working towards. What were her goals? Was it to be able to move around her house or was it to be able to pick up her nine-month-old grandchild she hadn't been able to play with because it hurt too much? In this case, it was the picking up of her grandchild that was important to her. We practiced reaching and bending over movements, and picking something up from the floor on a regular basis and how to do so safely. We incorporated and practiced everyday movements that we do as human beings. So when she was finally able to do those movements comfortably and eventually pick up her grandchildren again, it felt like we had achieved our goal together.
What sort of training and educational opportunities have been offered to you at CBI Health?
In terms of learning from my colleagues, that happens every single day. I'm fortunate to be working in a clinic with very talented individuals – each with different skill sets, which is greatly appreciated for someone like me who is new to the profession and still learning each day. My clinic manager is also a great mentor and he's very open to conversation and addresses anything I need help navigate in my role as a physiotherapist. Along with that, I’ve been able to complete an educational course on functional capacity evaluations (FCEs). Being able to integrate this added knowledge into my tool belt as a clinician has allowed me to expand the range of clients I can work with.
Tell us about a time when you were proud of your healthcare team at CBI Health.
I can think of a specific example where I felt proud of my team because we had to strongly come together to advocate for a client of ours. This particular individual was coming to the end of a rehabilitation program that had already been extended on several occasions. As a team, we thought there was more in the tank and that we could do so much more with just a few more sessions. We also saw how hard this particular client was working in the program and this client also felt like they personally had more to give. They hadn't fully reached the level that they believed they could achieve and wasn't physically able to return to their previous occupation just yet.
My colleagues and I came up with a pitch and rehearsed it, preparing to present it to a funder to explain that we've seen how motivated this client is and that we needed more time to help them achieve their health goals. In the end, we decided to go for it and the funder ended up agreeing that it was worthwhile to extend the program for this client. It felt great that in this situation, we came together to advocate for our client collectively as a team.
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