Alumni

Fatemeh Rezaei-Sajadinia

Career Path: Occupational Health Therapist
Location: Newcastle, UK

I graduated from Northumbria University with a BSc in Physiotherapy in 2002. I completed my online doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2010 and since have been practising as a Consultant Physiotherapist in London and Newcastle until I completed my move back to Newcastle in 2020. Living in London for a decade (2010-2020) gave me the opportunity to develop my career as a trusted Physiotherapist. I completed so many different projects within that time. Just a few months after my move to London, I was contracted to the Iranian hospital in Dubai to build them a Westernised Physiotherapy Department which could win them the prestigious certificate of Canadian standards. I completed that contract within 7 months and trained hundreds of employees of the hospital in moving and handling while I renovated and standardised their Physiotherapy Department.

Once back from Dubai, I was invited to a TV show as a guest practitioner and that started my media journey which is still ongoing. I have been on more than 250 live TV shows both in English channels such as BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5, as well as well-known Iranian TV channels with millions of viewers in Iran and outside of Iran. Sharing advice on media became a strong passion for me, so I started to go active on social media platforms which are now holding around 300k active followers across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. My biggest page currently holds around 193k followers on Instagram where anyone can learn about MSK diseases, practice exercises and have healthy foods and remedies.

What are you doing now?

I work part time as a senior Occupational Health Physiotherapist for Connect Health while studying NLP and am planning my next move.

What was it about Northumbria that made you decide to study here?

I immigrated to the North East of England in 1998 and completed HEFC in Newcastle College straight away. Once finished the course I started to search for the best university in the North East and I was advised by my tutors at college and family members to apply to Northumbria University as one of my 3 choices. I applied to 3 universities including the Northumbria University and was accepted in all three. I am glad I chose the NU over my other options. I found the university members of staff, both academic and professionals, extremely passionate about helping students to get through their journeys successfully. As a foreign student with two young children and little knowledge of English language, it was extremely hard for me to study like others and pass all the exams. I was under financial pressure and had issues at home, while my children were going through the transition in culture and language. I nearly gave up at some point in year 2, but received enormous support from my lecturers and other professionals at the university. Their support kept me going.