Set Great Goals: Achieve Great Outcomes
Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy (WMHP) exists to restore pelvic health, empowering every person to live their best life. This is our cause, our belief and what we stand for. As the physiotherapists treating, guiding and supporting you to restore your pelvic health, it is vital that we are all clear on what you would like to achieve as we embark on your journey to pelvic health.
Why do we set goals?
You may be familiar with setting personal goals or goals at work, either as a team or individually. Goals are important in all aspects of life; they help give us clarity and direction about what we want and why.
Goal setting has been researched extensively across many different health care settings and organisations. Change is hard. It has been shown that having a goal increases the motivation and behaviours required to make change happen. It is well known that setting goals can improve quality of life and self-efficacy (the belief in yourself that you have the ability to accomplish and achieve things).
In a health care setting, clearly discussed goals that are understood by both the patient and their health practitioner, provide clarity and focus, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same outcome.
How Do We Set Goals?
Many of you will be familiar with the concept of a SMART goal, which can be summarised by:
| S | Specific | What is it that I want to achieve? |
| M | Measurable | How do I measure this? How will I know that I have achieved my goal? |
| A | Achievable | Is the goal doable? Do I have everything that I need to be able to achieve my goal? |
| R | Relevant | Why do I want to achieve my goal? What will this give me? |
| T | Time Related | How long will it take me to achieve my goal? Is it a short term or a long-term goal? |
This acronym has also recently been expanded to include:
| E | Evaluated | How am I progressing towards my goal? |
| R | Reviewed | Is it achieved or do I need to re-adjust my goal? |
Goal Setting at WMHP
At WMHP we explore your symptoms and also your values, hopes and priorities to set SMARTER Pelvic Health Goals. We use a whole person approach, creating a safe place to listen and truly understand your story. We establish meaningful connections and facilitate a conversation that supports you to establish empowering pelvic health goals.
We will ask “Why you want to achieve your goal” and “What would that give you”?
Some examples of our patients’ pelvic health goals are:
- “To be confident having a kick of the footy with my kids without worrying about leakage”
- “To use tampons with my period so that I can go for a swim as this helps me stay fit and clear minded”
- “To have pleasurable sex with my partner because that is important in our relationship”
- “To be able to enjoy a coffee with my friends knowing that I’ll be able to make it to the toilet on time”
The majority of our patients are working towards achieving at least two Pelvic Health Goals, which are a combination of short and long term goals.
Every new patient leaves their first WMHP consultation with their meaningful and inspiring Pelvic Health Goals recorded on a Pelvic Health Plan. Achieving a short-term goal provides increased motivation and positive feedback to both you and your Physio that you are on the right track towards a longer term goal. When a long term goal is achieved, the excitement is a shared experience between you and your Pelvic Health Physiotherapist and is one of the reasons why we love what we do!
10 Year Dream
We wouldn’t ask our patients to do anything we aren’t prepared to do ourselves. WMHP is committed to growing, improving and becoming the best version of ourselves. That’s why we’ve set a long-term goal that we call our 10 Year Dream. This ambitious 10-year Dream translates our Core Purpose and Core Values into a focussed goal that inspires and guides us.
December 2023
We have challenged ourselves to make our 10 year dream a reality, starting with the stepping stone of a 3.3 year Adventure#1. This describes how WMHP will look, feel and act by 30th September 2025.
Wherever you are on your journey to pelvic health, thank you for trusting us to support and guide you to achieve your Pelvic Health Goals.
