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Physical therapy in Croatia

© Ozana Pope-Gajic

A day in life of a PT in Croatia is not very different from anywhere else on the world. In most cases we are starting our job at 7:00 in the morning with short briefing about job for that day. After that everybody goes in to their departments (electrotherapy, hydrotherapy, kinesitherapy). We have a short break for a quick meal and relaxation, and after that our work with patients continues. PT´s are qualified for taking functional status, applying modalities, kinesitherapeutic treatment, evaluation and team work with other profession. Working day finishes at 3 pm.

We are still recovering from the war. With many people with disabilities who need almost every day treatment we are very occupied. Our hope is to have better work environment with new and modern equipment, but with many investments that our country had for recovering from the war, that wish should wait a little longer for realisation. In our departments we have opportunity to learn about different post traumatic stages of old injuries, beside all other conditions, common in physical therapy care.

After the war, there has been a lot of amputee patients. Situation is different from the situation before the war, when the patients with amputation were mostly older people. Today our patients are mostly from the younger population. Logically, it is big difference between amputee rehabilitation of strong and healthy people then geriatric, which was the case before.

We had to learn new approaches and treatments in training of persons with limb loss and also in prosthetics. Like young amputee patients, we also see a lot of young people with severe damage of central nervous system. During the war we had deficient equipment appropriate for the specific needs of brain injured patient. Also, Croatian physical therapists have, through training programmes, learned how to help their patients with modern, sophisticated treatment skills. We are improving our knowledge every day with many courses.

In the year 1999, at 13th International Congress in Japan, Croatian Association of Physiotherapists become a member of WCPT.

It is a great honour for the Association which exist since 1962. Another step is made to get us closer to the world. Our education program recently had major changes, so now students who want to become physical therapist study three years (not two, like it was when I graduated at High Medical School).

The Physical therapy profession in Croatia has many problems, but despite that we have long tradition, high standard of professionalism, commitment and good spirit for our patients and improvement of our occupation.

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