Dr Sarah Anderson

STARS rehabilitation medicine staff specialist Dr Sarah Anderson believes in making sure her patients leave hospital feeling happy and healthy, even if their body doesn’t work the way it once did.

When Sarah started her medical training, she was exposed to many different specialities, but it was the holistic approach to rehabilitation medicine that interested her most.

“Rehabilitation focuses on individual patient goals, what’s important to them, and their function. Throughout rehabilitation, we try to either help our patients improve their function to maximise their independence or we try and work out another way of doing something that means our patient can remain as independent as possible,” Sarah explained.

“If this isn’t possible, we help our patient navigate the various options available for services and set up the assistance they require to discharge out of hospital.

“We aim to keep patients well enough that they can do their therapy, and this means looking at not just why they ended up in hospital but any other medical conditions they may have and everything else that is going on, for example are they getting enough nutrition or restorative sleep.

“We try to optimise our patient’s health and keep chronic medical conditions controlled so they can engage in therapy which then helps them to return to their families, return to work or return to enjoying their hobbies and leisure activities.”

Sarah said it took hard work and perseverance to get out of hospital following a significant medical event, so it is humbling for her to see this side of a patient’s journey.

“Some patients want to get back to ultra-marathon running and others just want to be able to read a bedtime story to their kids,” she said.

“Goals after recovery are very personal and individual to each patient. Part of my role is to make sure we as a team can help our patients achieve realistic goals in a safe way.

“It’s a very personal and difficult time for a patient as they may have to redefine their goals to suit a new level of function, but it’s a privilege to be part of.”