How To Grow As A Physical Therapist – A New Grad’s Perspective

I’m writing this to evaluate myself as a therapist and to hopefully encourage/help new grads. A quick background on myself, my name is Wesley and I have been a physical therapist for about two and a half years. I previously worked at two different physician owned outpatient clinics and recently switched over to a cash-based sports rehab facility. I went into PT school knowing I wanted to work with athletes and while my previous jobs allowed me to occasionally work with athletes I knew I didn’t want to be there permanently. I would have never imagined I’d be where I am just two and a half years out of PT school. I struggled through most of PT school but knew this was the field I wanted to be in. I always tells my patients to “trusting the process” and “embrace the journey,” I believe both apply to my PT journey. None of this is my doing and I attribute where I am today 100% to God. God has opened doors for me to get to where I am today. I get to work with athletes every day and many of the high school athletes I work with aspire to sports in college. Here is a list of things I’ve done the past couple of years that has helped me grow as a therapist: Don’t stop learning

• This includes several ways but my own list includes, PT books, exercise/strengthening books, research articles and blogposts.
• Take courses that you believe will benefit your patients and help you grow. Once you’re out of school, there’s no set curriculum and you’re free to choose the classes you want.
• Additionally, I use instagram a lot for finding exercises. There are lot of smart professionals in the field who pass along great information.
• If something doesn’t make sense look it up and ask questions! It’s frustrating to me when therapists get complacent and have no desire to grow. People come to see us because they are looking for help and we shouldn’t be doing the bare minimum.
• COMPLACENCY SHOULD NOT BE AN OPTION.
• Figure out a nitch for yourself that you are passionate about, for me personally, it is sports and even more specific it is ACL rehab. It makes it easy to learn and even more so you WANT to learn to improve the outcomes of your patients.

Network

• I personally believe the PT community is unique because we want to help one another. I’ve built relationships with many PTs and enjoy learning from others.
• I reached out to my co-worker Teddy (@strengthcoachtherapy) to shadow him at his clinic in March last year. We ended up building a relationship which eventually led to me working there. Teddy mentioned that he appreciated the fact I showed initiative in reaching out and going to visit the facility.
• I’m fortunate to have slowly grow my social media following on Instagram and have been able to connect with so many people all over the world. This is not just in the PT world but other related health and fitness fields.
• Facebook is also another great way to get into like-minded communities where you can also seek help if needed.

Step outside your comfort zone

• This is more of a personal one for myself as I tend to enjoy comfort and being content.
• Earlier this year, I made a PT instagram to push myself outside my comfort zone. I personally never liked putting myself out there and was afraid of what people might think/say. I’ve been encouraged by several friends and classmates and am thankful I decided to do it. If you would like to follow me, you can find me @WesleyWang.DPT.
• Don’t get complacent in your PT journey, if you have a goal, work for it. Complacency is one of my biggest pet peeves regarding some people I’ve worked with in the past. You should always be forward thinking and always learning. If you’re in an environment where you aren’t learning, and your co-workers aren’t growing, think about finding a better work environment. In a way, complacency can be contagious much like hard-work and motivation can be as well. I am in an environment that promotes growth and learning. We all learn from one another and I have learned more these past 6 months at my new job than 2 years at my previous two jobs.

Come up with your own style of treatment

• In school you’re taught to think and treat a certain way based on the curriculum. I went into PT school thinking I would became a manual therapist and use my hands to fix everyone. Two years later, I minimally use manual treatments and use it more as a facilitation and supplement as opposed to my primary means of treatment.
• There are many schools of treatment out there including Mckenzie, Maitland, PRI, etc. Sometimes it scares me when I hear a therapist say one school of thought is the end all. In my opinion, if that were the case, that method would become the gold standard and be taught across schools.
• Develop your own school of thought, take pieces of different treatment styles and make it your own. Look at research, track your own patients progress and think about what works and what doesn’t.
• My style of treatment now is completely different than it was two years ago. My treatment foundations centers around patient education, exercise and movement. I strive to empower my patients so they recognize the work that needs to be put in to get back to their respective sports.