Gizem Gürzoğlu, Physiotherapist

Gizem Gürzoğlu is a physiotherapist working in pediatric rehabilitation, with more than nine years of experience in the field. She sees children who need rehabilitation care at Acibadem Altunizade Hospital in İstanbul, Türkiye, where she works within the Pediatrics unit. Her practice is built around assessing each child’s needs and preparing an individualised rehabilitation plan, with the family involved as part of the care process.

Gizem Gürzoğlu completed her training at Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University Faculty of Health Sciences, where she studied from 2017 to 2021. She joined Acıbadem Healthcare Services in 2021 and has continued her clinical work there since. She speaks Turkish and English.

Clinical focus

Gizem Gürzoğlu’s listed areas of expertise are pediatric rehabilitation, pediatric physiotherapy, rehabilitation assessment, individualised rehabilitation planning and family-centred rehabilitation care. In practice, this means that a child’s rehabilitation typically begins with an assessment of current abilities and difficulties. The findings of that assessment are used to set goals and to prepare a plan that is adjusted to the individual child rather than following a fixed program. Because children’s needs change as they grow and as therapy progresses, the plan is reviewed and adapted over time.

Family-centred rehabilitation care is a central part of her approach. Parents and caregivers are involved in understanding the goals of therapy and in the exercises or routines that may be continued at home between sessions. This allows the work done in the clinic to be supported in the child’s daily environment. Where other specialists are involved in a child’s care, the rehabilitation plan is coordinated with the wider team within the Pediatrics unit.

How Gizem Gürzoğlu works with international patients

Gizem Gürzoğlu speaks Turkish and English, and interpreters can be arranged for families who speak other languages. For international patients, the hospital’s international patient team coordinates the collection of prior reports and imaging, such as MRI, CT, X-ray or ultrasound reports, laboratory and pathology results, operative notes and discharge summaries, and arranges appointments and the hospital visit. A first consultation typically covers the child’s history and current difficulties, a review of existing imaging and previous treatments, a clinical examination and a discussion of the possible rehabilitation options. Video consultation is available for international patients, so a family abroad can speak with Gizem Gürzoğlu in Turkish or English before deciding whether to travel. Any plan discussed at a distance is reviewed again once the child has been assessed in person, since the details of rehabilitation depend on the findings of a direct examination.