I wanted to find a career in healthcare with opportunities for being self-employed. Most osteopaths in the UK are self-employed, and the freedom to make decisions about where, how and who you work with really appealed to me.

I was fascinated from day one. The human body is truly compelling. Once you begin to learn about the body, the learning never stops.  It’s not one of those courses that you attend once a week and relax for the rest of the time.

The course is busy, involving lots of studying and engagement. It has the right combination of academically stimulation and vocational action. The more you put in, the more interesting it becomes and the more you are drawn into how wonderful the human is.

During my undergraduate studies, I was competing in a professional sport which sparked my interest in the sporty side of what osteopaths can offer. I decided to do a sports massage course and some other courses learning about strength and conditioning and sport and exercise nutrition to buffer my knowledge I was learning as an osteopathic student. This enabled me to begin to work privately whilst still studying osteopathy.

Once I qualified, with the experience I gained in those undergraduate years, I set up my own practice and worked as an associate elsewhere for a year in order to fund this ambition. Since then, I have focused my attention on building my practice and team with a focus on helping active individuals to manage and recover from pain and injury.  At Hardiman Performance, we specialise in helping active individuals recover from pain and injury. I have a small team who work alongside me across two sites in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

We typically work with active individuals who are looking to recover from injury and get back to being active. Our demographic age group is 80% 25-55 years of age.

Osteopathy and good osteopathic care is all about relationship building and management. Trust between patient and practitioner. Through this approach we have built great relationships with local sports clubs, coaches, trainers and athletes and have been lucky enough to work with and support elites in a number of sports.

It’s a different challenge every hour. People will always continue to fascinate and inspire me. The human spirit and resolve are amazing. For the most part, if you are willing to work hard to achieve it, you have control over your diary, and the types of patients you attract into your life.

Go for it. You will be moving into a phase of lifelong learning in the most fascinating field around, the human body. Work hard, be inquisitive, ask questions and continue to grow. It’s not a short course so stick at it and be patient. Your knowledge will grow day by day. The effort you put into your undergraduate studies will underpin your clinical practice forever.

Use the time well and try not to lose sight of your end goal. Spend as much time from this point onwards getting to know people, about people and with people. Your people skills and the way you interact engage with and inspire patients to make change are arguably going to be your strongest asset clinically once you qualify.

Dale’s clinics

hardimanperformance.com

Luton Clinic: 637 Hitchin Road, Luton, LU2 7UP

Hitchin Clinic: 68 Wilbury Way, Hitchin, SG4 0TP

Find out more about studying osteopathy