A rehabilitation specialist is a specialist who helps recover after serious injuries. It is usually addressed by people who have suffered complex diseases that entailed complications, changes in the functions of the body or individual organs.
Let us consider in more detail this profession, which has recently become more and more popular and in demand.
Rehabilitologists are great psychologists
A rehabilitation specialist is not only a doctor who uses many medical methods and enables people to stand up. It is also a psychologist, a person who helps to overcome a difficult emotional state, to cope with depression, despondency. Often, people with disabilities, people who have gone through hot spots, turn to such a specialist to be able to integrate into the world, adapt, accept themselves, and learn to communicate with others. Therefore, the methods used by a rehabilitologist have their origins not only in medicine, but also in pedagogy and psychology.
Essential Skills
A competent specialist in this field should have the following skills:
- well versed in human physiology;
- keep abreast of modern methods of healing, actively apply them;
- be interested in innovations in this area, draw up their rehabilitation programs, offer new methods and solutions to problems;
- Know the psychology and fundamentals of pedagogy;
- own the skills of massage and physiotherapy exercises;
- be able to correctly diagnose the patient.
A rehabilitation specialist may be a theorist or practitioner. Some are engaged exclusively in science, develop new programs and techniques, gather together all the available theoretical knowledge in medicine and psychology, using the experience of previous generations. The treatment itself is carried out by practitioners.
When to contact a rehabilitologist
Sometimes a person does not even know that undesirable effects after a disease have not passed by themselves. That the dislocation itself will not go away, and waiting can only exacerbate the situation. That, it turns out, many people experienced exactly the same problems and overcame them with dignity.
Here are the most basic cases when you should seek help:
- You have suffered a disease that caused serious complications.
- Musculoskeletal problems.
- Limited physical abilities.
- Excess weight.
- Trouble breathing.
- Problems with the nervous system.
- Skin diseases.
- Bruises, dislocations, sprains.
Qualities of a good rehabilitologist
Of course, working with people, moreover, sometimes with people of a difficult fate, with complexities of character and attitude, a rehabilitologist must have certain personal qualities, in addition to high professionalism. Firstly, it is patience, the ability to listen and understand. Without this, it is unlikely to truly help. And this is not only about medical, but also about psychological support. Secondly, a rehabilitologist is a responsive, sensitive person who is capable of empathy and empathy.
Where will the rehabilitologist be needed
Every sports team and any individual athlete has a rehabilitation doctor. He closely monitors his physical and emotional state. But this does not mean that in other areas this profession is not in demand. Here is an incomplete list of where a person who decided to study as a rehabilitologist can go to work:
- Hospitals (of course, this is the place where the doctor’s clients have an endless stream. There will always be people who need qualified help).
- Rehabilitation centers (from the name it is clear that people who want to recover from illnesses, injuries and a serious emotional state visit such centers).
- Orphanages, boarding schools (in such institutions, children need psychological help and support in order to enter the world as full-fledged people, not to be afraid, not to feel restrained and “not like everyone else”).
- Homes for people with disabilities (adaptation of people with disabilities).
- Social security authorities.
- Educational institutions.
How to get this profession
In all major medical universities of our country, you can get a specialty "rehabilitologist". This requires the applicant to know standard disciplines and pass the exam: Russian language, chemistry, biology. In any case, you will have to get a higher medical education. And the work of a rehabilitologist will be the direction. Recently, more and more people began to choose this profession for themselves, it is becoming more and more popular. And it is paid not so much as it was several years ago, but much higher. The more new and creative ideas a specialist offers, the more techniques he applies in his work, the more noticeable his results. There is an opportunity for growth, the main thing is to set a goal. Having completed the training completely, there will not be a question about where to go to work, because medicine is now developing, and it always needs competent specialists.
Union of Rehabilitologists of Russia
In our country, there is such an organization (or, as it calls itself, an alliance) that unites medical specialists in this field from all over Russia. It includes both individuals and legal entities, medical and non-medical specialists, simply interested citizens, public organizations and volunteer communities. All well-known Russian rehabilitologists are members of this union. The leaders are well-known scientists, professors, cultural workers, teachers, etc.
Their main goal is to increase the level of quality of support and care for patients, cultivate a healthy lifestyle. Moreover, the creators and leaders aim to make rehabilitation assistance more accessible to ordinary citizens, those who live not in big cities, but in small towns. It is worth saying that the work gives tangible results. If before many did not even know that there is such a profession as a rehabilitologist, now young people go to universities and colleges specifically to connect their lives with this serious type of activity.
A rehabilitation specialist is a very complex profession, requiring tremendous dedication and patience. It is not known how the student’s life will turn out: will he work with adults or will help children; he will work with complex teenagers or people with disabilities, athletes or bedridden patients. Activities are always diverse, patients are completely different, and you need to be able to find an approach to everyone. Even someone who has been working in this field for a long time can not always say about himself: “I am a good rehabilitologist.” You can go through training, but here are personal qualities - they either exist or they do not exist. Well, experience, of course, and the desire to develop, to learn and find something new in this matter, decides a lot. In any case, if you really want to help people, perhaps this profession is exactly what you need!