Rebecca Dunstan, AES, Corporate Health

Name: Rebecca Dunstan

Job title: Senior Workplace Rehabilitation Consultant

Company/Organisation: IPAR Rehab

How long have you been in the role? 3 years

Give us a brief background on your career to date
- I work with EPs to implement exercise programs for work following injury
- Development of stay at work exercise routines
- Manual Handling Training and Workplace Education
- Completing of Functional testing for GPs and Employers

What have been the highlights?
- Working with all kinds of workplaces and roles from ‘chicken catches’ to call centres to dive teams. I love being out on the road and seeing a different place each day. 

Any lowlights?
- The opportunities are limited, I completed a Masters of OT following my course, which has opened up the doors a little. But I would not be able to do half of the things I do with out my AES skills and background.

What are your plans for the next 3-5 years?
- Moving in to more of a management and specialist role, assisting with training and development of other staff.

If you could name 3 skills, you need for your role what would they be?
- Problem solving – no two situations are the same, so you need to go into things with an open mind and tailor your solutions to meet the needs of the clients.
- Listen – find out about the history, the difficulties and the motivations, without understanding your client, an intervention is very unlikely to be sustainable.
- Say yes – always, take the opportunities you are given.

One piece of advice you would give a student
- Being a student is the most fun I had, learn as much as you can and make the effort to meet as many people as you can! It will make a difference in the long term. It’s normal to feel a little silly at Networking events.