How lucrative is physiotherapy in Nigeria?
HOW LUCRATIVE IS PHYSIOTHERAPY IN NIGERIA? How rich is a physiotherapist in Nigeria?
In Nigeria today, courses which would assure a stable and sure financial future are what the hotcakes are as the economic conditions are not smiling in anyway and every sector. Physiotherapy is one of such courses which have recently come into the limelight in these past few years as a lucrative course.
There are also a relatively few professionals who are actually qualified and therefore the employment rate as well as the demands for Physiotherapists are also high.
People are also becoming more and more aware of the role of exercise and physical activity in living a healthy life. Thus more physiotherapists are needed to meets such demands.
Physiotherapy is the treatment of disease, injury, or deformity by physical methods such as massage, heat treatment, and exercise rather than by drugs or surgery.
A physiotherapist helps people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. They maintain health for people of all ages, helping patients to manage pain and prevent diseases.
Note that physiotherapists are not doctors but rather are health and wellbeing advocates via exercise and a range of other treatments.
There is direct access to physiotherapy in Nigeria and patients of both private and public health services are able to refer themselves to a Physiotherapist without going through another health professional.
Physiotherapists have clinical autonomy; they may access their patients, make diagnoses, provide treatment and/or prevention services, and also refer to other health services. Also, physiotherapists are permitted to offer private services to patients as long as they maintain their registration/ licensure.
This alone assures the presence of “side” sources of incomes as a physiotherapist may also be employed by a hospital or health institution while also accepting patients privately. Some Physiotherapists also get contracted by schools to be in charge of sporting activities or to be guest speakers in ‘Health through exercise’ programs.
This is also another subtle source of income for Physiotherapists.
A Physiotherapist working in Nigeria averagely earns about 500,000 naira per month. This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Salaries range from 278,000 naira to 934,000 naira. Income of Physiotherapists may also be higher because of their ability to offer private services to patients which may sometimes be more expensive than the normal hospital Physiotherapy appointment.
The pay range of a Physiotherapist depends on the kind of job and job descriptions, years of experience in the field and qualification, sometimes the location affects the overall salary. Also for Physiotherapists, the salary or income may also depend on whether he/she takes on private patients as aforementioned. Therefore, Physiotherapist is a lucrative profession in Nigeria. It may even be described as a recently discovered goldmine……
Olayinka Shyllon
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