Promoting customer independence

For Dean, aged care works

Having a customer no longer require one-on-one support is the most rewarding part of Dean Bonnici’s job as an Exercise Physiologist at ACH Group.

In Dean’s world, having a customer regain their strength, fitness, or mobility is the grail.

“What I want is for customers to be able to continue their health journey on their own terms,” he said.

“This can be at a health studio or with a sporting club or even just keeping busy in the garden or shed at home.

“Every so often, I’ll see someone in the health studio or out walking in the community and it gives me so much satisfaction seeing how far they’ve come.”

As an exercise physiologist, Dean has spent a lot of time with friends and customers explaining what the role means.

However, recently, he said there is becoming a better overall understanding of the vital work exercise physiologists do in keeping people healthy and active.

“The way I’ve started to describe it is that exercise physiologists treat exercise similarly to medicine,” he said.

“Customers can benefit from certain types of exercise in certain frequencies in the same way different types of medicines in different dosages do.

“My job is to work with the customer to find the right balance of exercise types and frequency to support them to reach their goals.”

In addition to working to develop tailored exercise plans for customers, Dean also works with people who require greater one on one support.

“I work a lot with people who just aren’t in a position to be able to participate in a group gym class,” he said.

“The goal of the work I do is to support them at the functional level to support them to get back to being able to do the things they previously struggled to achieve.

“Most of the time our work is about incremental improvement moving towards a goal that is always set by the customer.”

Dean said one of the most rewarding parts of his job was working with a team of ACH Group allied health staff to deliver the best outcomes for customers.

“We really are a team. Our customers will see me, they will see a physiotherapist, they may see a dietitian and we all work together in the best interests of the customer,” he said.