Introduction Given the significant societal and personal investment involved, understanding individuals’ motivations for studying physiotherapy, their effective preparation and retention is important. Central here is how they engage with and identify as physiotherapists: i.e., their subjectivity. Importantly, the support they receive from family, friends and educators throughout this time will guide their decision-making process in choosing to engage with the profession.

Methods Retrospective interviews with 9 physiotherapists and 15 physiotherapy students subjected to narrative analysis

Aim: To identify how the support received influences individual engagement in physiotherapy tertiary study.

Results When deciding to enter physiotherapy study, individuals relied heavily on parental support. Parental support was mostly described as a “standby approach” where parents were used as a sounding board during their decision-making process. However, once physiotherapy study had commenced, the source of support shifted from their parents towards their peers, with their physiotherapy student colleagues providing the most support. Their peers provided three distinct levels of advice and support: empathy, content support and social support. Although parents, friends, lecturers, and clinical educators also provided valuable support throughout their study, the level of that support varied considerably between individuals.

Discussion Individuals relied on their parents to assist in their decision-making from high school to tertiary education because parents were perceived to clearly understand the decision-making process. The transition toward peer support may be attributed to the shared challenges experienced by students, wherein physical and social proximity foster cohesion and collegiality. The perception that parents may not understand the capacities required to succeed could also inform that transition. The variation in support provided by lecturers and clinical educators may be due to the individual’s perceived ability to openly discuss issues with those groups without fear of judgement.