PT Pintcast - Physical Therapy

Nick Housley is a physical therapist with a PhD in neuroscience and is the director of clinical research at Motus Nova working with new rehab technologies. You can check out Motus rehab here: https://motusnova.com/

Nick tells his story of being a nationally ranked cyclist and had an accident during this time. His experience with his physical therapist inspired him to pursue PT more specifically with robotics and assisted technology. He hopes that robotics will be that step to advance care and rehab for patients with neurological injuries.

He brings us to the Motus Nova walkthrough where he illustrates the types of exoskeletons he works with and how they are beneficial for our patients. He also discusses even the disadvantages because assisted technology needs to be able to fit with each individual patient.

The next step of robotics in PT is helping people adopt tele-rehab delivery methods. Robotics can be a new tool to adjust and modify PT practices.

PARTING SHOT

“I want people to be empowered to use technology in rehab.” – NICK

Zach Gabor runs The Level up Initiative an online educational company focusing on freemium mentorship focusing on critical thinking and communication skills.

Zak Gabor is a practicing PT for Boston PT and Wellness, and is also the founder of The Level Up Initiative, an online educational platform that focuses on improving student and new graduates critical thinking and communication skills. Their premier product is a "Freemium" mentorship that runs twice a year, and has around 400 enrollees per cohort! Visit thelevelupinitiative.com for more details.

* - Using a free mentorship platform as a trojan horse for academic reform* - The importance of critical thinking and intellectual humility as core values of the healthcare industry* - How strong critical thinking and communication skills translate into truly effective clinical practice

Jamey Schrier is a physical therapist and the founder and CEO of Practice Freedom U where he teaches business owners how to maintain freedom by balancing life and work as a business owner. Check out Practice Freedom U: https://practicefreedomu.thinkific.com/

Jamey tells his story of an event he experienced early in his career that changed the way he wanted to help in the PT world. He shifted from being the business owner of a clinic to helping others build their own.

He paints us a picture of his ideal patient for his clinic and building relationships and connections to this patient population helped him define his target audience. Identifying the target audience will eventually transform the business operation.

Bringing back to the basics, Jamey breaks down the difference between benefits and features of treating patients and owning a business.

Here are Jamey’s three types of relationship strategies to find that ideal client:

·        Referral partners

·        Connecting with the customer directly

·        Have something to offer the target audience

 QUOTES

“The more you niche, the better your business will be.” – JAMEY

“I believe in alignment. Alignment in your business and alignment in your life.” – JAMEY

“People don’t do things when you’re ready. People do things when they’re ready.” – JAMEY

“Communicate the transformation.” – JIMMY

“The best customer you have is the past patient who has already been there.” – JAMEY

“You are your own worst enemy when it comes to competition.” – JAMEY

PARTING SHOT

“You can do this. You can create the kind of business that you want. You can create the kind of life that you want.” – JAMEY

Drew Contreras is a retired Lieutenant colonel US Army physical therapist, former White House PT to the 44th POTUS, and VP of the Federal Section of the APTA.

Drews tells his story on deciding physical therapy as a career and becoming a federal/Army PT. He served for 21 years in the US Army as a physical therapist.

He gives the comparison of his experience as a US Army PT compared to civilian PTs. He refers to himself as a “physician extender” with increased autonomy in the Army.

During the Obama presidency, increased physical therapy services were needed. With Drew’s experience in the Army and conveniently located working in the Pentagon, he was called to perform for the White House. Drew was the in-house PT for the Obama administration for 7 years.

Drew dives into federal physical therapy and how PTs can make a difference on the federal level. If interested in federal physical therapy, check out the Federal Section of the ATPA here: https://federalpt.org/

Drew discusses the increased need for physical therapy in the military and he sees the future of PTs traveling with their assigned units.

QUOTES 

“I always try to treat all my military patients the same regardless of rank.” – DREW

“Nothing is a problem until it is a problem.” – DREW

"To have them (the government) say we want a physical therapist with every functional unit. That is pretty validating for our profession.” – JIMMY

“People expect a certain level of performance out of you or a certain level of capability. You should be able to deliver that.” – DREW

PARTING SHOT

“You can do whatever you want on your last day.” – DREW

The Great Reset

Craig Phifer, PT and Sean Bagbey, PTA are co-owners of Rehabilitation & Performance Institute which puts the person first. They created the Private Practice Rebellion where they teach other business owners their model. Check those out here:

·        Rehabilitation & Performance Institute https://rehabilitationperformance.com/

·        Private Practice Rebellion https://www.privatepracticerebellion.com/

Craig follows Dave Chase’s idea of what healthcare should look like and recommends the book “The CEO’s Guide to Restoring the American Dream.” In this book, Dave Chase discusses this period we are in today is “The Great Reset.”

Craig gave us his equation on what the “great reset” is in patient care. Craig emphasizes not all parts of this equation are weighted the same in each patient interaction.

·        Value = patient experience + emotional experience + physical outcome / effort putting in + price their paying + risk taking.

Sean shares a personal story about himself and his treating physical therapist. From his experience, he feels PTs are needed now more than ever as our skills are essential.

Craig explains the patient perspective in physical therapy and if patients do value us to pay for our services. He describes this value is developed in the first 3-4 visits with the patient.  

Craig and Sean demonstrate that PTs need to have an existing relationship to build trust. How to build a relationship with your patient is different now compared to pre-COVID.

QUOTES

“If this is a reset, what is going to change and how are we going to adapt with it?” – CRAIG

“Physical therapy needs to have a better place in our society.” – SEAN

“We need to show our worth and this is our chance to start doing that.” – SEAN

“It just reinforces to me what we can do in this profession.” – SEAN

“If you want to seem interesting, be interested.” – JIMMY

“That monster becomes bigger when you think it is under the bed.” – JIMMY

“We are not the star of the show when we are treating someone.” – SEAN

PARTING SHOT

“The profession of physical therapy can be much better then what we currently live in.” – SEAN

“We gotta get away from talking and we need to get to doing.” – SEAN

 “Make healthcare work really well for us.” – CRAIG 

It has been suggested by Dave Chase that this period of time may be defined "The Great Reset." I believe we're about to see much faster changes in opinion, lifestyle, and behavior then we normally would. What does that mean for the profession of physical therapy?

We're doing so much right as a profession, but our service is generally not valued (5th choice for chronic MSK pain by primary care physicians, 6th-ranked choice for people who have LBP). Right now, we have a tremendous opportunity to change that.

* Understanding that while clinically, we're doing so much well, that doesn't mean that people value the service we provide on a macro level.* People significantly changed where and how they spent their money in the Great Recession,

She's know as "The Arm Whisperer" the "Explainer in Chief" and " Vitamin L." Down to earth style and humor combined with decades of clinical cancer rehab experience have made the world better for tens of thousands of cancer patients and survivors in the US and across the globe.

www.WaltkeAcademy.com

Michale Cromartie comes back on the show. The last time he was SPT Mike Cromartie, and now he's Dr. Michael Cromartie.

He currently practices in Miami, FL at the Bruce Carter Miami VA Medical Center as an orthopedic outpatient physical therapist where he is able to serve our country’s veterans. A strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the PT profession, he has shared his personal experiences in his blog post “Code Switching” that was published in the PT in Motion magazine, which highlights his experience as the only African American male in his cohort.

What can you learn from a Radio DJ Physical Therapist?

Stephanie Williams, DPT, Mercia Bakouetila, DPT, Andrea Pantoja, DPT, and Amy Marie Lucero, DPT are four class of 2020 graduates and physical therapists from Texas State University to discuss their qualitative study on black students in PT education.

Stephanie begins the chat by giving us the statistics of black physical therapists and students in our profession compared to the population.

Amy paints a picture of the difficulties black PT students face enrolling into school and the lack of mentorship towards these groups of students. Mercia mentions from the study there was a wide spectrum of both micro and macroaggressions from stereotypes, prejudice, and even racism.

Andrea defines social isolation and assumed universality for this population which includes under representation, lack of support from faculty, feelings of loneliness within PT education and similarities among this population.

Mercia illustrates what code-switching means through example stories and that black students need to “code switch” even in a physical therapy program.  

This group found that black students in PT programs did seek organizations that included diversity to feel comfortable and have a sense of community but also had allyship from their peers and faculty to help establish a more diverse PT experience.

 QUOTES

49:16 “If you don’t know anyone that looks like you in this position, you might not even find out that physical therapy is a thing.” – MERCIA

46:12 “It doesn’t matter what I’ve done. It does matter that I have a 4.0 in undergrad. For some people, all they’re going to see is the color of my skin.” – MERCIA

41:57 “Man I wish one of my white friends would have spoken up.” – STEPHANIE

38:35 “I have to put a bigger effort in getting to know people compared to them trying to get to know me.” – ANDREA

34:13 “You have experiences as a white person. I have experiences as a black person. You can’t relate to what I say but you need to try to understand.” – MERCIA

30:24 “I am going to be unapologetically black in everything that I do even if that means being isolated.” – MERCIA

17:28 “Race might be uncomfortable to talk about, but you got to become uncomfortable, you got to learn.” – ANDREA

14:22 “We’ve come a long way but we still have so much work to do.” – STEPHANIE

What does success look like about this topic 5 years from now? – start at 12:00  

“In 5 years, seeing diversity within the actual physical therapy world” – AMY

“I would love to see more support groups within PT programs.” – ANDREA

“Success looks like better patient outcomes.” – MERCIA

“From an institutional level, look to not being afraid to have these conversations.” – STEPHANIE

PARTING SHOT – start at 4:30

“Change begins with ourselves.” – AMY

“We need to become comfortable with the uncomfortable conversations of race.” ANDREA

“When people talk about their experiences, you need to listen.” – STEPHANIE

“Challenge people to look at who’s around them… Have some diversity around you.” – MERCIA

Mike Morrison is a former web designer turned PhD student in Work Psychology using design and psychology backgrounds to share knowledge.

Mike defines the user experience (UX) in common web designs today and how UX makes consuming information faster and more efficient in websites or presentations.

With his background in web design, Mike created Twister Poster and Better Poster to improve the way information is presented. Check them out here:

·        Twitter poster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQDL8r3r_d4

·        Better poster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RwJbhkCA58&t=3s

He describes what is included in the Better Poster and how it compares to other posters usually seen at conferences. He talks about the importance of catching attention and emotion with your poster design.

He explains how to create a Twitter Poster and found this design to be more eye catching to the consumer versus a link or graphic.

Mike breaks down what information foraging theory is and why it is important to engage your audience with little effort.

Mike believes there is not a better time then to start and apply UX than during COVID. With the rise in virtual events and increase in technology use, it is time to improve the presentation of your information and make presenting easier.

QUOTES

41:12 “If something is hard to use, people don’t use it very much” – MIKE

30:10 “Everything that gets in someone’s brain before they ask you a question about your research will make them ask deeper and better questions.” – MIKE

23:14 “If you cared about the learning experience, you would use color to stimulate emotion that is relevant to your study.” – MIKE  

16:12 “To make something engaging, you have to make it more interesting than it is effort.” – MIKE

12:48 “The strongest information that you can present is getting right to the point” – MIKE

PARTING SHOT

1:38 “You have to stop being frustrated with people for being lazy and start loving people for being lazy” – MIKE