I worked at two different physician owned outpatient clinics my first two years and recently switched over to a cash based sports rehab facility. I went into PT school knowing I wanted to work with athletes. My previous jobs at the physician owned clinics allowed me to occasionally work with athletes but I knew I didn't want to be there permanently.
I would have never imagined I'd be in this type of facility only two years out of PT school. None of this is my doing and I attribute where I am today 100% to God. God has opened up doors for me and allowed me to meet people to get to where I am today. I get to work with athletes everyday and many of the high school athletes I work with have aspirations of playing sports in college. Below is a picture of the facility I currently work at.
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 is the most important one on this list.
- This includes several things 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 whatever 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. My boss/coworker Dr.Teddy Willsey @strengthcoachtherapy has been a great influence to me and I've learned a lot from his videos.
- 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 Teddy to shadow him at his clinic in March of this year and ended up building a relationship with him which led to me working there. Teddy mentioned that he appreciated the fact I showed initiative in reaching out and going to visit the facility.
- Step outside your comfort zone
- This is more of a personal one for myself as I tend to like to be comfortable.
- 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.PT.
- Challenge yourself to learn and grow as a therapist.
- Come up with your own style of treatment
- In school you're taught to think/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.
If you have any questions or would just like to start a discussion, feel free to e-mail me at WesleyWang.DPT@gmail.com.
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