The state of the PT profession is in rough shape:
There is discussion of what is a mill PT happening in FB groups with large numbers of PTs. These posts get a large number of comments. A common denominator that I see in the threads is a loss of autonomy. This means that Physical Therapists perceive that they have lost the power to treat patients accordingly.
For a long time, at least for my past 12 years it has always been “right patient, right treatment, right time”. Many PTs comment about being reprimanded for discharging patients too early, GETTING PATIENTS BETTER TOO QUICKLY 🙄, not billing enough money per session, not seeing enough patients in a day.
Essentially the treatment of the patient is being dictated by the bean counters that manage the profit margin and not the PT that is supposed to manage the patient.
Don’t get me wrong, the PTs are complicit in this scenario. They are making a choice to go along with the demands of corporate, the big boss. Unfortunately, if they don’t, there will always be someone in line for that job that will be compliant to the company’s demands.
As I say goodbye to my current patients, stories are coming out that I had never heard before and it makes me sad.
The odds of these patients going back to PT elsewhere is low. They’ve tried it in the past and it was a waste of time and money.
They say tht seeing me is “different”. I care 🤔
We are in a profession that works with patients in a vulnerable state.
We have to earn their trust.
We have to make the connections with the patient, which takes time and effort.
We have to determine if the patient is appropriate for treatment
Then
We have to figure out the best treatment for the specific patient in front of us.
All of this while still keeping our sanity, not exhausting our ability to care and feeling that we are doing the best for our patient.
I have a “dad test”.
If at any point I would feel ashamed to tell my dad about how I interact with patients ts, it would be time to leave that job.
There was only one position in my career that I stayed less than 2 months and that was because I was losing a part of myself during the workday.
Our profession is at a tipping point.
Many companies are owned by corporations or stock holders.
Patients have many locations to choose from, but few options.
Our profession is represented by the mega corporations and these corporations define our perception to patients.
What are you doing to change that as a PT and how can we as PTs earn your trust back if you are a patient that had 💩 care?