From Clinic to Content

 How I translate patient encounters to physical therapy lessons

Photo by Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash

Depending on the patient demographics, clinic location and patient load, a physical therapists manage multiple cases and conditions every working day. And it is really a challenge to switch mindset based on the patient’s status and progress.

Ever since I started my private practice, I have always been observant on all the nuances and happenings around me every patient visit. Because it’s like a new adventure every hour and though there were times that it is physically tiring and emotionally draining, I can help but wonder what else could happen in the next minute.

I have grown more interest in exploring other aspects of PT practice that I could tap into in this new found journey. And through this, I have come to realize that even though the cases that we handle in the clinics seem “common” and repetitive on a PT point-of-view, the patient that we encounter were actually a beginner on their particular situation.

Which means, every new patient meeting is a great opportunity to educate and advocate. And therefore, in some sense, there is also a great potential to inform more people about our practice.

The Inspiration

In Austin Kleon’s Book: Show Your Work, he mentioned about “letting go of our egos and sharing our process, to allow the possibility of people having an ongoing connection with our work which in turn help moves our product- on in my case, the physical therapy services that I offer” And that’s how I was more inspired to document what I do and share the process I go through.

Because I would always remember the feeling of being asked “can you give me a massage?” and having to take courage and swallow my pride to say “I am not a masseuse, and but I could also help manage your situation by doing more”.

Talking to myself and saying “give them benefit of the doubt, because PT is not a familiar profession” but also fighting the urge to say more and explain more.

Moving Forward

There is no better time to do it, but now. Because more people are actually engaged to technology and there is a great opportunity to provide information to guide other people, just like how we do it in the clinics.

Whenever there is a new patient that comes in and ask questions, I always try my best to answer and help. But at the same time, I also try to remember their pain points and frustrations so as to share it with more people.

And it actually feels good knowing, that almost 10 years ago, I was also in the same shoes as this people not knowing anything about physical therapy and started it out as a complete beginner. But now, having to gain knowledge and experience, wanting to share the lessons I have learned and pass it on.