From Placement to Permanent: OT Connie finds her feet in workplace rehabilitation

A practical placement at KINNECT, chosen to broaden her career horizons, provided Occupational Therapist (OT) Connie Wong with her first step toward a career as a workplace rehabilitation consultant and a job offer straight after graduation. Here, she discusses her placement and the rewards of helping people return to work.

A Tailored Placement Experience 

Connie completed a 10-week full-time placement in KINNECT’s Woolloongabba office in 2024, where she found the environment to be very welcoming. She particularly appreciated the OT-specific support from her clinical supervisor, Liz, in a field that isn’t completely OT-oriented. However, what resonated the most was the positive outcomes achieved through KINNECT’s strength-based approach.

“At university, the professor always told me that being strength-based is one of the most important qualities for OTs. I saw this in practice at KINNECT. When we’re writing a report, we don’t focus on the impairment by saying: ‘Mr Smith is unable to do the shopping.’ At KINNECT, I learned how to use different wording so we focus on what they can do, not what they can’t do. For example, when creating a return-to-work plan, we would say: ‘Mr Smith can lift two kilograms.’”

“When I did a hospital placement, the approach was impairment-based, and the focus was on how to treat them. But here we learn about what they can do and start from there,” Connie explains.

This approach, combined with the knowledge that she would be well-supported, cemented her decision to apply for and accept a permanent role after graduation.

A Role that Keeps Her on the Move

Connie began her permanent career with KINNECT in February 2025, which she describes as involving “a bit of everything,” including return-to-work assessments, OT-specific assessments, and ergonomic assessments. A highlight of her days is visiting clients at their work sites or homes:

“For each assessment, I’ll go to the client’s work site or their home to see how they go with different activities and make a return-to-work plan with them. If it’s for Activities of Daily Living (ADL) or the Modified Barthel Index (MBI), I’ll visit their home, speak with them, and potentially with their family. I have found that talking to a partner or family member is helpful, as they have a different perspective from the client and can confirm whether the client is being honest about what they can and can’t do.”

As is the case for most KINNECT consultants, Connie loves getting out of the office. “On prac in the hospital, I was just stuck in the same room in the same ward, or the gym, for eight hours a day. But here I can drive to different places, and I can even have a lovely lunch before I go back to the office and write a report,” she says.

The best part of the job for Connie is educating clients about pain management. She enjoys sharing her knowledge about pain and its implications, helping clients understand that pain is not always an indicator to stop activities altogether.

“It’s a funny topic – everyone has pain, even me. But sometimes clients don’t understand what pain means. Pain is not our enemy. It’s not always the case that once you feel the pain, you have to stop.

“I worked with a pain specialist who said that pain is just a sign telling you that your body is suffering from something. But sometimes pain doesn’t reflect an area that’s hurting – it’s just a signal generated by your brain.

“For most of the return-to-work cases I have, the client is in pain. The suffering is what’s stopping them from getting back to work, so I like to share what I’ve learned and help them find small changes to alleviate it.

“I recently encouraged a client to take a five-minute break every hour. They got back to me to say it’s working well, and they no longer have any pain. After two weeks, they were cleared to go back to work.  When I ask clients to make a little change, they’re usually surprised by the results they can get.”

A Supportive Team to Guide Her

Connie is quick to express her appreciation for the supportive people around her at KINNECT. She’s particularly grateful for the large team of experienced consultants at Woolloongabba who have taught her valuable skills that she wasn’t exposed to in university.

“We only get one lecture on occupational health and rehabilitation in four years. The focus is on more general skills, mental health and working in paediatrics and hand therapy.

“All the communication and technical skills for workplace rehabilitation I’ve learned are from them, like writing a report on the physical demands of pre-injury duties. I knew nothing about that, but they [KINNECT’s consultants] taught me how to approach those tasks in a detailed way.”

Connie’s Advice to Final Year Students

While many students are set on a career in paediatrics, mental health, or hospitals, Connie encourages final-year students to explore different types of placements, especially in workplace rehabilitation, to gain a broader perspective.

Connie believes a practical placement in workplace rehabilitation is a low-commitment way to try a new OT ‘language’, even if it’s not your long-term career aspiration.

“I like this job so much, even though I’d never heard of it, so it’s important to broaden your horizons. In paediatrics or hospitals, you only see patients or children and their parents, but here you can see all kinds of people and jobs – like a Boilermaker!”

Closing Cases – The Ultimate Reward
Connie recently closed 10 workplace rehabilitation cases, all of which had positive outcomes. She finds it rewarding to see clients re-engage and return to work, especially after being away for an extended period.

Connie is still considered a new graduate and will remain so for another two years. However, she aspires to gain more skills in workplace safety, potentially pursuing another qualification in the field, so that she can help her clients even more effectively.

“With a stronger background and more experience and knowledge as a rehabilitation consultant, I could advocate more for my clients with their insurers, similar to how a treating professional does.”

If you’re interested in an early careers program that supports you from day one, apply for our 2026 cohort. Or, if you’re an experienced OT, explore our current vacancies in our Careers Centre