Spotlight On An Expert – Katharine Atkin

Introducing Chartered Physiotherapist & Expert Witness, Katharine Atkin…

I recently supported my 16-year-old to make decisions about what A levels she should take. What A levels do you take when you don’t know what career path you’d like to follow? It made me recall my own decision-making at that age. I remember going to a careers fair at 16, not knowing what I wanted to do, just knowing that I didn’t want to sit at a desk! At the careers fair my friend dragged me to the physiotherapy stand as that’s what she was interested in… I picked up a leaflet, and decided there and then that physiotherapy was for me (and she became a teacher!).

During my physio degree, I visited a prosthetic centre, and was fascinated by the concept of phantom limb pain. I researched it for my undergraduate dissertation, and developed an interest in amputee rehabilitation from there. I knew that I wanted to work in a prosthetic centre, but diligently completed my junior rotations after graduating in 1996. As anyone working in amputee rehabilitation knows, there are few physio posts in prosthetic centres; there are only 35 centres in England! So, to bide my time while waiting for a post in a prosthetic centre, I did locum work.

Eventually my patience paid off, and I started working in amputee rehabilitation in 2001. In 2004 I got married, and followed my husband to a new town as he climbed his career ladder. This meant temporarily going back to locum work, while again waiting for a post in a prosthetic centre. To put myself into the best employable position, and to fill the void left by no longer having to plan a wedding, I decided to undertake a part-time Masters in Rehabilitation Studies at Strathclyde University. It was either that, or retrain to become a prosthetist, such was my interest in prosthetics!

I started working at Portsmouth Disablement Centre in 2006. Through the prosthetic centre, I helped to set up a sitting volleyball club. At a national level, able-bodied can play alongside disabled. We competed in National tournaments, and I loved it! Through this, I became an honorary physiotherapist with the Great Britain women’s sitting volleyball squad. We attended the World Championships in Oklahoma in 2010, and I remained part of the squad until 2011, when I had to step down as they needed someone full-time on a voluntary basis to support them through to the London Paralympics in 2012.

After another move close to Bath with my husband’s job in 2012, I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and got a job in another prosthetic centre.

Throughout my career, I have been a member of BACPAR – the British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in limb Absence Rehabilitation. During one executive meeting in 2017, I got talking to Kim Ryder (another Somek Associate) about medico-legal work. She sold it to me, and I successfully applied.

My start to medico-legal work was a shock! I felt so out of my comfort zone! Sara, my Associate trainer, was incredibly supportive and encouraging, reminding me that I was an expert in my clinical area, and knew my stuff, even if I didn’t yet know how to express it in a legal document. Kim was a great support too.

I told my husband that I’d made a mistake so many times, but he told me to give it three reports before I made any decisions about quitting. He was so right (don’t tell him I said that!) – the almost vertical learning ‘curve’ levelled out after three reports. I’m now 6 years in, with numerous cases behind me, and I love it! It’s an area of physiotherapy that I didn’t know existed when I trained, so I make it my mission to tell everyone about this additional role that I do.

It was medico-legal work that got me back into physio, when, in 2019, I quit what I had thought of as my dream role in a prosthetic centre. It was the job that I’d thought I’d be in until retirement. I left that job as I felt my work-life balance was off, but in reality, and with hindsight, I experienced burn-out. I stepped away from physio, thinking I’d leave it all together, and set up a cake business.

I realised after a short break, that if I was to continue doing my medico-legal work, and call myself an expert witness, then I needed to continue doing clinical work. I set up my own private prosthetic physiotherapy practice – Prosthetic Physiotherapy South West – in late 2019, and started a bank amputee job in 2020 at a local NHS community hospital. My working week is now varied, and I manage my work around my life, and I love it. If I’m not working, I’m found paddleboarding, dress-making, or still making the occasional cake!

So, although I never wanted to do a job sitting at a desk, and medico-legal work sees me sitting at my desk, I really enjoy the mix of jobs that I have right now.

View Katharine Atkin’s full profile here.