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Ashna’s journey to physiotherapy wasn’t a straight path, detouring through exercise science, uncovering a passion for neurology, and now wrapping up with a life-changing placement in Cambodia. Ashna has embraced every opportunity to grow, proving that you don’t have to stay in the first degree you choose.
You can always transfer into your dream degree.
Ashna’s journey to physiotherapy wasn’t a straight path, detouring through exercise science, uncovering a passion for neurology, and now wrapping up with a life-changing placement in Cambodia.
When Ashna first considered physiotherapy as a career, she didn’t imagine it would take her on a six-year journey, with an unexpected detour into exercise science, a found love for neurology study and a placement in Cambodia.
Ashna’s interest in physiotherapy began with a knee injury in high school, where she worked with a physiotherapist during her recovery and found inspiration in their ability to not only rehabilitate their patients but build meaningful relationships along the way. Her Mum noticed her inclination towards the profession and suggested to try work experience in the area whilst she was in Year 11. Only two weeks into the work experience, Ashna was hooked and applied for physio.
However, after narrowly missing the cut to get into the degree, Ashna started exercise science instead. Initially, Ashna enjoyed sports science, which focuses on exercise for both athletes and the general population. But as time went on, she found herself drawn to rehabilitation, an area that wasn’t heavily covered in the course.
“What was missing for me was the injury side of things, and the general rehabilitation. You don’t really go through a lot of that in Sports Science, so I knew I still wanted to change degrees.”
Two years into her degree she still felt a drive to become a physio and transferred over. Now in her final year, Ashna is completing her last placement, a four-week physiotherapy project in Cambodia. Ashna is excited and feels that it’s a great way to wrap up her degree where she’ll be pushed out of her comfort zone while applying everything she’s learnt.
Physiotherapy students complete five placements across various fields, including cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal and neurology. These rotations exposed Ashna to unexpected interests. Despite believing she’d go into private practice, she discovered a fascination for neurosurgery.
“It’s so good that you get to experience different areas because otherwise I feel like I’d just pick what I was interested in and not get that exposure to new experiences.”
Ashna’s university experience has been shaped by more than just coursework. She’s taken on leadership and volunteer roles, mentoring first-year students during COVID-19, teaching English as a second language, and working with children with disabilities through Curtin Stadium’s paediatric rehabilitation program. She believes that it is these experiences that helped her develop essential physio skills, like communication, and gave her a platform to practice them practically.
“Physio is one of those jobs where you can build a relationship with people. You’re not just fixing people and then they leave, you can actually see them for a long time and get to know them.”
With graduation on the horizon, Ashna is eager to explore career options-and although isn’t yet set on further study -will always keep the option open. For now, her focus is on her Cambodia placement and finishing the degree before looking too far into the future.
