Curtin Occupational Therapy graduate Nicky Montgomery is a specialist in the field of Positive Behaviour Support and leads a team of 10 allied health clinicians delivering comprehensive support to people with disability. At the recent Curtin Careers Fair, Nicky shared her graduate program story.
I was fortunate enough to secure a graduate program position with Therapy Focus. This wasn’t the only position I was offered, and I had to think through my options carefully to make the right decision.
My goal was to become the best OT I could possibly be. I wanted to choose an employer that would help me achieve this goal, supporting my growth and committing time and resources to my development as a clinician.
Therapy Focus’ graduate program offered me many additional benefits that I knew would fast track my career goals, such as structured professional development, a dedicated mentor and access to a team that I continue to learn from 13 years later.
But wait, what is a graduate program exactly?
Graduate programs are essentially designed to fast-track your career in a specific organisation or industry. Rather than simply providing the basic on-the-job training, grad programs can offer extensive support, ongoing training and dedicated mentoring, and often help develop future leaders.
Therapy Focus’ graduate program invited me, as a new allied health clinician, to embark on an exciting journey with access to an expansive network of knowledge and support.
- Mentoring. This relationship is invaluable – having someone you can ask (almost) anything of and knowing they are there to support you. My mentor became one of my closest friends and we’re still working together!
- Extensive training. Graduate programs are invested in your learning and development. Therapy Focus pride themselves on their training programs and upskilling their grads through peer support sessions, reflective practice sessions, specific discipline support from clinical leads, shadowing opportunities and clinical supervision.
- Peer support. I started the program alongside other grads who I could share my experiences with. Plus, the social events are always fun – this was something many of my fellow Curtin grads envied!
- Varied experiences. Therapy Focus’ program allows you to work as part of multidisciplinary teams and deliver services to a varied caseload of clients – meaning you work with people of all ages and abilities.
- Structured career pathways. A clear path for progression provides assurance that you can advance your career goals. Whether you want to move into management or become an industry expert or specialist, a defined pathway is helpful to identifying where you’re at and where you want to be.
I assure you there will always be more to learn beyond your grad program. My current role as Team Leader and Specialist Behaviour Support Practitioner is not the end of my career journey. I still have so much to learn and I’m grateful that Therapy Focus continues to give me opportunities to grow.
So, if you’re a graduating allied health clinician who is interested in working in disability, I encourage you to consider Therapy Focus. We’re committed to upskilling the next generation of therapists and are currently accepting expressions of interest for our mid-year intake in August 2023.
Looking back now, I know I made the right decision. And it was the graduate program that set me up to enjoy the success I’ve had in my career so far.
