Who Am I?
My name is Emma McDonald, and I have been working with OFI since 2017. I am a Chartered Physiotherapist specialising in Manual Handling training, DSE assessor training, remote and DSE assessments, consultancy, webinars, presentations, and health and wellbeing assessments.
My Professional Background
I come from a family of medical professionals and became a Physiotherapist because of this, combined with a love of sport and activity. After working in private practice, I became increasingly aware of the need to manage the underlying cause of injury – not just the symptoms – and going out into the workplace gave me the opportunity to provide education and knowledge to prevent and manage injury. My interests include the impact of posture, movement patterns, and core stability on the management and prevention of injury.
A Day in My Life as a Trainer for OFI would see me...
My day is always varied – occasionally, my work is local, but more often, it requires travel to a company. Activities could range from teaching two separate courses to a full day, individual sessions or leading a group presentation. Training days are a balanced mix of theory and practical to provide underpinning knowledge and hands-on practice, problem-solving, and realistic solutions.
The best thing about my job is...
Interacting with people. I find that every time I deliver a course or an assessment, I learn something new from someone. I am lucky enough to come into contact with people from a wide range of industries, experiences, and interests.
My most rewarding moment at OFI:
Interaction, enjoyment, and positivity during the course and observing people changing their movement patterns during manual handling tasks are the most rewarding moments.
Outside of OFI...
I am a very keen tennis player; I run regularly, sail on the Thames weekly, ski, and enjoy spending time with my family.
My approach and commitment to your company’s training needs:
My priorities include understanding each company’s needs and tailoring the course, training programme, webinars, and assessments to meet these needs. It’s important to me to understand the needs of the individuals and adapt my teaching or communication styles as required. Also – timing! Making sure breaks are well structured, the course is suitably paced and finishes on time!!!
