Matt Pope
Workplace Health Provider, NSW State Operations Manager, Accredited Mental Health First Aid Instructor
What is your favourite thing about your job?
Teaching people how to look after themselves so that they rarely have to be in pain again. At the end of the day, what we do is about people; people who are trying to do a job and provide for themselves or a family. I find the gratitude I get from people when I help them get themselves out of pain incredibly rewarding.
How can workplaces get the most out of you?
By telling me as much as they can about their workplace, and their workforce. The more I know and the better informed I am, the better decisions I can make about patients to help them get better as quickly as possible.
When you aren’t onsite, what are you doing?
I am often looking to see what else I can do for an individual patient or the NSW clients I look after. Be it a way of rehabilitating an injury, or looking at data to notice injury patterns. Talking, and most importantly, listening to them about what their needs are, and seeing if there is something that we can do for them.
How do you stay healthy?
Weights, swimming, running. I like to make sure I’m doing at least one of those things every day, even if just for a little bit. Eating healthy has always been a battle for me, but over the past 12 months I’ve worked out which foods work for me, and which foods really drag me down. I also like to take care of my mental health. Be that with mindfulness, some quiet time to myself, or making time to do something I really love that is just for me.