Jane studied osteopathy at the European School of Osteopathy in Kent, graduating in 2015. As with others in her field, she was drawn to the career having had successful treatment for her own pain, in this case lower back pain, by an osteopath. She took up a post in Eyre Place in October 2016 and now works a day and a half a week here.
Osteopathy can be a relatively solitary profession, but Jane finds Eyre Place a friendly place to work. The team is warm and welcoming, and Glynis is particularly supportive as a mentor and a colleague, and she cares deeply about the profession. Members of the team are always willing to share knowledge, discuss treatments and help out. Jane believes that it’s an amazing achievement for the practice to be celebrating its twenty-first birthday this year. It’s a stable, settled clinic in a good place in the community. If you’re in pain, it’s an excellent practice to come to for help and support.
Jane’s favourite aspect of being an osteopath is the people. She loves people and enjoys being with patients. She particularly enjoys treating older people who often have great stories, and where she can see a difference quite quickly. Her patients would probably describe her as chatty, friendly, warm, and easy to talk to. An ideal day for Jane is when she is busy, patients are getting better, and she can see that she has been able to help. It’s a real buzz when a patient announces they can now move their neck when they couldn’t before. Jane cares about her patients and enjoys learning about their lives and their families. If she is not able to help a patient improve, that sits heavily with her, and she will consider referring them on if she believes that a different approach may be more beneficial.
Jane learns continually from her patients, particularly through palpation. Every patient is different, and she says that her hands learn that too. Working with patients is itself a key part of continuing professional development and, as Jane has progressed her career, her confidence has grown. Whilst she prefers to treat using structural techniques, such as soft tissue release, joint mobilisation, and joint manipulation, she employs a wide range of techniques.
For Jane, building a rapport with patients is vital. Part of Jane’s dissertation research involved shared decision making and she retains a strong interest in this approach. She takes time to listen when talking through a patient’s case history. As with all the osteopaths at Eyre Place, Jane explains to the patient what she thinks the problem is, goes through the risks and benefits of each treatment option where she can, and discusses this with the patient. This is important both with new and longer-term patients, as issues and circumstances do change.
Jane sees many opportunities for osteopathy over the next five years or so. In PROMS (patient-reported outcome measures), a high percentage of people say that they are satisfied with osteopathy treatment. She believes that osteopathy should become more mainstream and be available within NHS Scotland as well as in private practice.
Jane has been a dancer, ballet and tap, all her life and pre-pandemic she was dancing three times a week. She also loves gardening and is developing a cottage garden with roses and a wildflower meadow in her home outside Edinburgh. She has aspired to be a midwife and is considering doing more study in obstetric osteopathy as it’s an area of health care that has always fascinated her.
Jane works on Monday afternoon/evenings and Thursdays at Eyre Place. You can book an appointment here.