| Hi Friend,
Let me tell you a story. It's an important lesson about why it's critical to deeply consider which healthcare provider is best for your specific needs (even if it's not with us!).
The story may initially sound like it's about me, but if you stick with it, you'll see how to avoid the traps of choosing a healthcare provider who may not be the best for your specific goals (PT or otherwise).
To set the stage, we must go back nearly a decade (Oh no! where did the time go?).
When I first started practicing as a Physical Therapist (PT), I thought: "I'm going to help everyone that walks through this door." After all, it's why any self-respecting clinician goes into healthcare, right?
At the time, I worked at a corporate, big-box Physical Therapy clinic. The company bedazzled patients with the fanciest machines, décor, and a massive facility. They valued stuffing as many patients as possible into a building at once, almost like cattle.
It was congested and chaotic. Each therapist would often treat 3-4 patients at once, frantically running around from one patient to the next. We had no choice but to split our attention between all these patients. We were literally juggling them all at once. Even worse, most patients would rarely see the same therapist. In my opinion, this meant care for the patients suffered.
I quickly learned, I can't help everyone, especially in this environment. But more importantly: many patients did not achieve the optimal outcomes that I wished for them.
They often dropped out of therapy or stopped communicating all together. It's an understandable response, if you feel like "just another number," "a cog in a machine," or "just another back pain patient."
It was my first exposure to a new lesson: "Time is becoming a rare commodity in healthcare."
If you value having someone listen to you and treat the whole person, read on. If you'd like to know how to best find quality 1-on-1 care, you're going to need to do some homework and ask the right questions.
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