107. Taking an Unexpected Career Path with Pelvic Health Physiotherapist Gráinne Donnelly

107. Taking an Unexpected Career Path with Pelvic Health Physiotherapist Gráinne Donnelly

Introducing Gráinne Donnelly

Today I’m talking to physiotherapist Gráinne Donnelly about taking an unexpected career path.

Her Career Journey

Gráinne earned her Bsc in physiotherapy from Ulster University. She also earned a post-graduate certificate in continence from the University of Bradford before getting her masters in advancing healthcare from Ulster University.

Working in pelvic floor rehabilitation and therapy through the National Health System in Northern Ireland she was quickly promoted to Team Lead for pelvic health. Eventually, Gráinne left the public sector and founded Absolute Physio, a pelvic health-focused private clinic. 

Gráinne does research on post-partum women staying active with sports, including publishing the first ever postpartum return-to-running guidelines. Additionally, Gráinne co-created and co-hosts the podcast At Your Cervix and runs an online course, The Athletic Female, to help teach women and health care providers about pelvic health.

Taking an Unexpected Career Path

Gráinne initially had plans to become a sports physio before an unwelcome rotation at a maternity hospital opened her eyes to a real need in women’s pelvic health. She didn’t even know pelvic health rehab was an option when she started physiotherapy school. And even when she did learn about it, she struggled against the stigma that typically only older women physiotherapists would go into pelvic floor rehab. However, she saw the need in the area and felt it tied into her interest in musculoskeletal rehab, just that it was in an area of the body that was often neglected, in women whose needs were often overlooked. 

Now, coming back full circle to sports rehab, Gráinne focuses on helping postpartum women stay involved with sport including publishing research-based guidelines on return-to-running. So in the end, her unexpected career path has still found echoes of her early career plans, and she’s joined the two together in a way that will really help a lot of women.

Inside this episode:

    • Gráinne describes the experience as a student in a maternity hospital that completely changed her view on pelvic floor rehab and therapy. After this rotation, she took the non-traditional route of specializing early in her career in pelvic health, breaking free from the expectations of what a specific career should be. 
    • She navigated the challenges she faced when she received a leadership role and began to lead people who were older than her.
    • Gráinne got her start in research when it became clear that there were no existing return-to-running guidelines for postpartum women. She and her collaborators were blown away by the response that their initial white paper received. 
    • When speaking at a large conference, she made a call to action to anyone involved in research to take up this topic. Gráinne is proud to have answered her own call and has been a huge part of this progress.
    • Gráinne and her co-host Emma Brockwell started their podcast, At Your Cervix, to reach both patients and health care professionals in a way that was accessible.
    • She describes her drive to both de-stigmatize pelvic health and spread this message on a large scale. 
    • Gráinne continued to evolve how she can help her patients outside of the clinic by creating an online evidence-based course, The Athletic Female, to provide greater access to education on pelvic health issues.

Resources

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