– Region Three Physiotherapist

ALL Aruni Shamnarine needs to help make a difference in someone’s life are her hands and the knowledge she’s acquired while studying over the years. This is one of the aspects of her job as a physiotherapist that she enjoys the most. It means that she can be in any corner of the country without any advanced equipment and still help others recover from serious health conditions.

Because the field is constantly evolving, it can be quite challenging to be a good physiotherapist and so to be able to perform optimally, a deep reservoir of knowledge would be required – and a constantly updated one at that.

“This means a lot goes into studying and professional development courses. Fortunately, challenges are what drive me; I enjoy learning new, exciting concepts and techniques every time I go to a course, which in turn help me to assist patients to get back on their feet,” Aruni expressed in an interview with Pepperpot Magazine.

She is the physiotherapist attached to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and who is hoping that more persons in Region Three (Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) will tap into the services being offered at the main hospital in Vreed-en-Hoop. Many residents, she observed, are not aware that the services they travel to Georgetown for are available right there at the regional hospital.

Now a physiotherapist for 11 years, Aruni has always been interested in a career in healthcare and with the guidance and support of her family and a scholarship from the Guyana Government, she started her career in Cuba.

“One of the reasons I enjoy practising in this field is being able to make a difference in people’s lives, whether it is decreasing pain, recovering from an injury, improving range of motion or restoring function; I have seen first-hand the remarkable impact physical therapy can have on a person’s life. It is a remarkably diverse field,” Aruni shared.

She believes that physical-therapy intervention is not only effective, but is less costly than other medical interventions. “Another fascinating aspect of this field is being in any part of the world only equipped with my hands and knowledge and being able to provide effective interventions to make a difference in the lives of so many persons,” she said.

Every month, approximately 80-85 new patients across all age ranges access the outpatient services that Aruni and her team provide in the department and approximately 15-20 new inpatients in the hospital wards. They also promote prevention and wellness, reaching about 50 persons per month through their chronic disease clinics, pre and post-natal clinics, and various health centres.

“Seeing patients recover from their illnesses is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling reasons that drives me to being a physiotherapist. It is seeing them get better from being bedridden to walking again over a course of treatment and rehabilitation and achieving their goals. Helping patients to be able to do the most simple and practical things in everyday living again is just so important and rewarding,” Aruni commented.

She works along with two junior physiotherapists, one occupational therapist and two rehabilitation assistants. While they are stationed at the main hospital with most of the patient load, they would make monthly visits to the Rehab departments in the Wakenaam and Leguan Cottage Hospitals that Aruni also supervises.

The Rehab department offers physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, among other services. Fractures, nerve injury, brain injury, strokes and amputations, are some of the things that can be treated in Aruni’s department.

Children who cannot walk, were born with a disability, or may have speech and other problems, can also be helped. “We want people to make use of the services available here. If they are interested in accessing them, they can get a referral from any healthcare worker, or they can walk in or call us and we can advise them on which path to take,” Aruni explained.

The success stories that the team often encounters do much to motivate them on the job. “We had a young patient who had an accident and got a brain injury. When he came here he could’ve only moved his neck, but by the time he finished with therapy, he could’ve walked and do everything as normal; even return to work,” she said. “It makes us feel good to know we’re effective and helping people back to their normal lives; adding quality to their lives. Most of the times when they come, they tell us it’s better they had died, but seeing them go through the process where they want to live again is fulfilling and makes us happy.”

Aruni holds a Bachelors’ degree in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation from the University Of Medical Sciences Of Villa Clara, Cuba; Masters’ degree in Sports Medicine from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica; post-graduate diploma in health systems management from Galilee International Management Institute, Israel; and she’s currently pursuing a doctorate in Physiotherapy at NOVA Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.