Sunny Start

PHYSIOTHERAPY GRADUATES ARE BUILDING HEALTHCARE CAREERS IN CANADA’S SUNNIEST CITY.

Physiotherapists Meghan Longmore and Jessica Sehn started their practices in Medicine Hat when they joined Cypress Sports Physical Therapy, owned by physiotherapist Dustan Lang.

“Being recent graduates, we’re just getting started in physiotherapy,” says Longmore, who started her practice a year ago. “School prepares you in a sense, and that experience piece is what we’re working on right now.”

With a growing client list, Lang moved Cypress Sports Physical Therapy from a shared office space into a 2,800 square foot bay in Box Springs Business Park. With room to grow, he expanded the practice by bringing on Longmore and Sehn, as well as a registered massage therapist and an administrator.

Healthcare is a stable sector of Medicine Hat’s labour force, according to data provided by Townfolio. Currently, 8.5% of the city’s labour force is employed in the healthcare sector, an increase of 0.5% from 2017.

Across the country, healthcare and social assistance were Canada’s largest contributor to overall employment growth in 2018, according to Statistics Canada’s Annual Review of the Labour Market. The number of employees on payrolls in the healthcare and social assistance sectors increased for the fifth consecutive year, growing by 2.8%.

Longmore and Sehn completed their masters degrees in physiotherapy at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Alberta, respectively. After years of school, they’re happy to relocate to Medicine Hat, where they plan to continue to learn and grow their careers.

“This is where I’ve been waiting to be for a very long time,” says Sehn of her new employer. “I also discovered I love working with patients at the hospital, as well. This is where I want to be for foreseeable future.”