Meet a Member

Sinan Tejani, NSW Director

Sinan

How did you get into working in pain?

I came to Australia in 2015 to pursue a Masters in Sports Physiotherapy from Curtin University, WA. Having enjoyed my time working with patients during my placements, I decided to stay in Australia to consolidate my skills as a physiotherapist. I moved to Burnie, Tasmania to start working in a private practise in early 2016 and very quickly realised the challenges of working in a regional community. Most of the patients I was seeing had complex, persistent pain in the context of multiple comorbidities and mental health issues. In order to adapt to this caseload, I set upon a journey of selflearning to better help the patients in my community.

What does your current clinical practice focus on? Why is this important?

My clinical focus is mainly working with patients who experience persistent pain. This caseload is often a mix of motor vehicular accidents and injuries, workers compensation, and private patients. I like working with patients on workers compensation because it allows me to use my skills as a psychologically informed physiotherapist in helping people return to work. I am interested in social determinants of health and health inequities and in my experience of working in the compensation setting, these factors are often significant contributors to pain and recovery.

What do you think will be the next “hot topic” in your area of practice?

I think there will more of a focus on inequities in pain care and more focus on social determinants of health and their impact on pain.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a younger you, what would it be and why?

Follow what you are passionate about but make sure you take the time to enjoy the journey! How and why did you join the APS Board?

I am a strong believer in the need for advocacy for better pain care and management. The APS has a history of doing some amazing work in this space and as an organisation it is truly multi-disciplinary, and evidence based. It was a no-brainer for me when I was given the opportunity to contribute to this work!

If you weren’t in the pain science field, what would you be doing?

If not in the pain science field, I would have been a professional soccer player in Europe! While I love the sport and I am passionate armchair critic, I have no real skills, so I would’ve probably ended up a journalist!