June 26, 2025 • 23 mins
The APTA Nebraska membership committee shares their diverse backgrounds and motivation for joining the organization while highlighting the benefits of engagement for physical therapists at all career stages. Members discuss how building professional relationships across practice settings and geographical areas creates a stronger, more connected PT community in Nebraska.
• Committee members include Brad Dexter, Adam Meirose, Candice McCoy, and Nathan Halm.
• Professional networking provides valuable cross-pollination of ideas and solutions across different practice settings
• APTA membership offers tangible benefits including discounted specialty certification exams and access to continuing education
• The organization helps newer graduates find mentorship and study partners, particularly valuable when relocating to new areas
• APTA Engage platform makes it easy to get involved at state and national levels with opportunities matching different time commitments
• Virtual engagement options ensure even rural practitioners can participate and benefit from membership
• Despite being geographically dispersed, the PT community is interconnected with potential for significant collective impact
To get involved with APTA Nebraska, visit the APTA Engage platform through the link in our show notes or reach out directly via the APTA Nebraska email address.
Links:
- Nebraska Physical Therapy Association Home Page
- APTA Engage Link
- APTA Nebraska Email Address
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the APTA Nebraska podcast, where we dive
into the stories, challenges andinnovations shaping physical
therapy in our state.
We're here to advance, promoteand protect the practice of
physical therapy, optimizing thehealth and quality of life for
all Nebraskans.
Join us as we connect withexperts, share insights and
(00:22):
build communities throughout ourprofession.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Connect with experts, share insights and build
communities throughout ourprofession.
Welcome back to the APTANebraska podcast.
My name is Brad Dexter andtoday I'm joined by our APTA
Nebraska membership committee.
This is a relatively new groupof folks that have kind of
pulled together to try to servethe organization and I wanted to
take, you know, 15 to 20minutes to try to serve the
(00:46):
organization and I wanted totake 15 to 20 minutes to try to
highlight some of the ideas thathave come out from each of
these folks individually andthen from some of the time that
we've had together, andhopefully it spawns even more
ideas from those of you that arelistening and maybe even
potential engagement as well.
So we'll take a moment to justintroduce ourselves to start,
(01:08):
and so, adam, I might kick it toyou to begin.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, absolutely Thanks, brad.
So my name is Adam Myrose.
I'm a physical therapist basedout of Lincoln, nebraska.
I've been practicing for justover five years.
I spent the first five years ofmy career in the private
outpatient sector just doingprivate outpatient orthopedic
physical therapy and then abouta year or so ago I decided I
(01:35):
wanted to transition out of thatclinical role and into more of
an administrative role and so Icurrently am the outpatient
clinic manager with MadonnaOutpatient, and it's been a
challenge and a change for me,going from that day-to-day
physical therapy realm seeingpatients being in charge of 20
therapists at a time, reallyreally enjoy it.
(01:55):
And with that change I was likeyou know, what could I do to
help support my profession?
So I figured I'd go in to seewhat I could help out with the
state association.
So landed on the membershipcommittee and really enjoying
getting to know everyone hereand glad to hear and looking
forward to hear some goodstories.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Thanks, adam Candace.
How about you?
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yep, thanks.
I moved to Lincoln actually inJuly.
I graduated in 2020.
So I was part of the COVIDgroup.
So I've worked in just aboutevery setting of healthcare.
I'm a neurologic clinicalspecialist by certification, but
I work on the orthopedic team.
I'm actually at MadonnaOutpatient with Adam Although
(02:43):
when I signed up for themembership committee I didn't
know that he was on this already.
So I wanted to get involvedwith APTA Nebraska because I've
worked in a lot of differentstates and I'm really passionate
about students and gettingyoung professionals involved.
And probably the best partabout PT is for, as big as we
(03:03):
are rural and urban, it's reallya pretty small world.
So even just within ourcommittee, seeing faces that I
didn't know were on the samecommittee not having lived in
Lincoln very often as far asgetting to know people I'm
already seeing similar faces.
So I'm just trying to getinvolved and then promote
connecting our rural and oururban settings.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Love it, Nate.
How about you?
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Yeah, my name is Nathan Hall.
I've been in three differentstates working I have a career
of 16 years at this point onoutpatient physical therapy for
a handful of companies.
Currently I still work PRN forAthletico, filling in here and
there when my schedule allows,and primarily my day-to-day
operations.
I am an instructor at ClarksonCollege in the PTA program, so
(03:55):
that tends to keep me quite busy.
Looking to get involved withinthe physical therapy
professional realm.
Really, what kind of inspiredme was?
I helped teach in one of thelabs at Creighton, so I'm
familiar and actually work withNick Weber in that lab and just
seeing some of the knowledge,the interactions and all the
(04:16):
going on that he was involvedwith made me realize how much I
was not really aware of what'sgoing on here locally in
Nebraska and even thennationally.
So with my schedule being alittle bit more solidified from
the teaching realm, I had someextra time and I felt that it
was appropriate that I couldcontribute back to the
profession that I am investingmy career in.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And I think that that leaves it to me then.
So again, brad Dexter.
I have been a physicaltherapist for about 14 years now
and spent 13 of those years atQLI in Omaha, nebraska, before
transitioning into a facultyrole at UNMC, where I'm teaching
(05:01):
within a neuromuscular trackand a variety of other courses
there as well.
You know I had been involved inmore of a national organization
, so I worked with a lot ofcatastrophic injuries brain
injuries, spinal cord injuries,strokes and organization that
(05:26):
was centered around spinal cordinjury close to a decade ago and
that led into board roleswithin that organization.
And as my time was kind ofwinding down there, I was, you
know, similar thoughts to whatyou guys had.
I was kind of realizing Ihaven't been as engaged at a
(05:49):
state level as I would like toand I feel like I have things
that I could offer and couldgive there.
I would like to engage somehow,and so I reached out to Nick
and was just trying to figureout what some of the needs were
and where some of my interestsmight align as well, and so that
(06:10):
led me into the membershipcommittee for APT Nebraska, the
membership committee for APTNebraska, and led me to getting
to know all of you fine peopletoo, so it's kind of fun that
you know all.
At the same time we have a kindof a newer crew of folks that
(06:32):
are coming into some of theseroles and I think you guys have
maybe experienced this indifferent capacities too.
But one of the things I reallyenjoyed about being a part of
that national organization wasjust a lot of the relationships
that I developed with peoplefrom all over the country, the
(06:53):
ways that they started toinfluence my career.
I could use them as as mentors,as peers in different,
different settings, differentpractice settings.
You know they might be seeingpeople in more of an acute
setting or an outpatient setting.
I was in this post hospitalskilled type of setting, and so
it's just really fun to developthose relationships and that
(07:16):
network a little bit more andcall a lot of them really good
friends.
Um, to this day now, uh, butthat that took crossing over, uh
, or crossing paths once a yearat a conference and a lot of
zoom meetings, or one point intime it was telephone calls for
committee meetings or boardsthat we did, and you know I
(07:38):
would love to see that growwithin our state organization
too.
I think one of the things thatwe've talked about in regards to
this podcast is just how do webuild community like that, how
do we get to know other people'sstories and get to kind of
understand what practice is like, and get to kind of understand
what practice is like and sokind of along, or in that vein,
(08:03):
along that line, I think, ideaof ideas are just how do we
offer things that are engagingto our members throughout the
state.
And so, candice, I know I'mkind of putting you on the spot
a little bit, but we've had somereally great conversations from
experiences.
Of the four of us, you are thenewest grad, right, so you've
(08:28):
kind of been on this new grad,early career and getting
involved trajectory.
Would you mind just sharingsome of the things that you've
been thinking about in terms ofhelping to engage people within
our state organization?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Yeah.
So I graduated in 2020, whichwas when COVID was starting.
So finding jobs moved very muchonline and was built around who
you know and who's hiring.
So I got involved in the statesI was living in with the early
professionals, sig and I knowNebraska has one as well and the
(09:04):
resources they offer and justgetting connected with other
people who were graduating at mysame time.
So having some of thatcamaraderie of trying to find a
job and trying just to build offeach other but then also
getting connected with peoplewithin the APTA as mentors or
ideas of here's where I'm at andhere's where I want to go.
(09:28):
So for me, I did my NCS.
A lot of that mentorship camefrom people I met through APTA
in the different states I livedin, from people I met through
APTA and the different states Ilived in.
I first worked at a criticalaccess hospital in northern
North Dakota.
So if not for APTA and thosetypes of programs, it's really
hard to have anybody within acouple hours driving radius.
(09:50):
So those experiences have keptme involved and engaged and now
that I'm in Lincoln, it's reallyhelping to promote those pieces
, because APTA Nebraska hassimilar programs to everywhere
else in the country and justhelping people know that they
exist and then get connected tothem, whether you're urban or
rural, early professionalstraight out of school or even a
(10:14):
couple of years out.
Because if you want to go afterlike for me, my NCS, finding
mentors even just within yourhome state can make a huge
difference.
So APTA Nebraska for residentshelped connect me to other
people who are sitting the examat the same time.
So instead of having to studyon my own, I was able to get
(10:34):
connected with that piece.
So instead of having to studyon my own, I was able to get
connected with that piece.
So I think those are reallykind of positives of being
connected to the organization,even as a young person,
professional just starting out.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Adam Nate.
What thoughts do you guys havethat you've kind of been mulling
over.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
You know, one thing I was thinking about early on in
my career.
At my previous job I floatedaround many different clinics
and working with a lot ofdifferent professionals and you
really get that sense ofcommunity and that central goal
of helping out our patients.
And so when I really look atthat, from how that, how I
learned and developed as atherapist in my early years, I
(11:12):
can see how that can be reallybeneficial at a state level.
As a member of this committee,um is a big part of helping
support that.
And then, like going back towhat you were talking about,
brad, with meetings andconferences, you know, going to
the state meeting year afteryear, you start recognizing some
of those familiar faces and youknow, hey, it's nice to see you
.
How's the family?
Just that community discussiongetting to know each other
(11:35):
rather than oh, so-and-so worksfor one place in this setting.
But how can we really grow theprofession beyond what it's been
for many years to reach a wideraudience and a wider population
?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
I can tap onto a little bit more of that.
Something that really kind ofstruck me was I mean, we kind of
have an idea of how manytherapists there are, but we
don't also really comprehendthat.
So I went to CSM right beforeCOVID started it was in Denver
and just the sheer amount of PTsthat were even just PT PTAs,
that were just even at that oneconference, really made me
(12:10):
realize how impactful ourprofession can be.
And also in the midst of the20-some-odd thousand people I
was bumping into classmates thatI had lost contact with,
coworkers from differentcompanies, so truly to that
community standpoint, even statemeeting, all the way up to
something as big as CSM.
We are as big as we are.
(12:30):
We're also a small group, it'sa small world in PT and that
comes to our benefit.
And that's something that fromthe kind of the back to the why
to get involved piece, drivingsome more membership into that,
because I've seen otherorganizations or professions
that have a lot more involvementat times from their members and
(12:52):
I've seen what they've beenable to potentially do, whether
it's legislative or just as aglobal or a larger force going
in the same direction.
You know not to use the row theboat in the same direction.
Analogy, but that kind ofmomentum and force that can
create a change, I think is veryvital for us to look at.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, back to some of these same ideas of you know, I
I said one of the things that Ivalued I was a part of was
those relationships, but it was.
It was also the fact that, man,I know that we had a lot of
really great people and greatideas within the organization I
(13:29):
was in, but kind of crosspollinating and getting getting
ideas from people that areoutside of my organization was
always really helpful to me.
And even, you know, being atthe state conference a few weeks
ago that I was in, it was justfun to hear from people that
(13:50):
maybe I hadn't seen in a decadeor was just meeting, right, and
they're in a completelydifferent practice setting than
me.
But to kind of hear what someof the issues that they have are
and to balance ideas off of oneanother, like that kind of
ideation, is really fun to metoo, um, and I'm sure there can
(14:11):
be a lot more of that, right.
So I'm I'm sure that, uh,wherever we're at in our
practice setting, like,sometimes we get in our little
bubble and it can just be reallyhelpful to get outside of that
and to get ideas from, uh, othercolleagues as well.
It can feel a little bitintimidating at times, right,
like none of us want to be wrong, we all want to be promoting
(14:32):
the things that we're doing.
As you know, hey, I'mcontributing, I'm doing
something good here, right, butlike having the humility to and
the courage honestly to askquestions of other people and to
understand the problems thatthey're facing and to try to
become a part of the solution,that's how we are going to get
(14:56):
things done.
Nate, at this point, I thinkyou guys have all kind of said
this in a different capacity.
But strength in numbers, right,and hey, again, we're all
newbies to this committee, butwe're, we're going to come at it
from a perspective of, uh, we,we want to try to just engage
our membership and find thingsthat are valuable, um, to engage
(15:19):
our members and and hopefully,uh, that makes our organization
stronger five, ten years downthe line, all right.
Well, I've enjoyed theconversation so far, guys.
I think, as we start to windthings up, I would love to hear
(15:41):
from all of you, really, whatare some of the membership
benefits that you have foundmost beneficial as a member of
APT Nebraska.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
I can start.
Recently I did take my OCS exam, so there is a discounted rate
for the specialty examinationsthat does occur through the APTA
, so that obviously is afinancial benefit on the overall
.
I mean there are obviously theother benefits you know perks
here for shoes and hotels andthings of that nature but the
(16:10):
big one that just comes recentlyto my mind was the OCS discount
which, through even thestudying and acquisition of that
material, is going to only helpmy teaching for future students
as well as my clinical practiceas I continue to move forth in
my career.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
I can kind of talk to .
I took the NCS and appliedafter living in Nebraska for
less than a year, so I didn'thave a lot of local connections.
So I reached out to APTANebraska just to find mentors
and people who worked in some ofthe areas for neurologic care
that I didn't have experience in.
(16:45):
So just helping to connect mewith people in the state that I
could bounce questions off ofand then start to build that
network was really helpful.
And I even found a couple ofpeople to study with who, if I
hadn't had a way to getconnected with the state
membership piece, building anyof those connections on my own
(17:07):
would have been reallychallenging living in a new
state on my own without havinggone to school here.
Other connections already built, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And then for me it's transitioned, as my role in my
professional job is transitioned.
I am planning to take gothrough the American or the
Academy of Leadership andInnovation.
They have a board certificationfor therapy executive, so more
of that practice management role.
So that's.
I'm looking forward toutilizing, you know, all the
(17:37):
resources that come with being amember of not only the state
level but the national level tohelp develop myself from a
practice management standpoint,which is something that when I
went through school seems so farfetched and unattainable.
But now it's like, wow, thisreally meets my day-to-day goals
.
So I know there's so manydifferent areas that what we get
(17:57):
exposed to in school that thisis a really good opportunity to,
and the only way I franklyfound about it is through being
a member and the emails thatcome through on a regular basis.
You know Nate talked about someof the discounts that they have
and the offerings.
I think another important partis just all the different
(18:19):
continuing education offeringsthat the national level has.
And then, because you knowwhere, where I work now, I may
not offer that continuing ed umas accessible as it used to, and
so using those resources fromat the national level and their
learning center, as well as thejob board and connecting with
(18:39):
other people.
When it comes to you knowwhether it's a payer, um, an
issue with an insurance company,or saying up to date with some
of the practice management thatit's really been invaluable.
And staying up to date withsome of the practice management
that it's really been invaluable.
And you know, to be a member ofthe state level, you have to be
a member of that national level, so having that combination of
both is really, reallybeneficial for me.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Thanks guys.
I know we're just highlightinga few of the benefits and
there's plenty of opportunitiesfor growth and development and
benefits through ourorganization.
The number of people that areworking behind the scenes within
our state organization I don'tthink I realized the number of
(19:51):
people that were doing that andso I just have grown quickly to
appreciate that.
And you know, candice and Adam,I know you guys both got
plugged in to our organizationthrough APTA Engage.
Apta Engage is a platform thathelps you to get connected
within your state organizationor other ways within the APTA
(20:12):
organization through the APTAwebsite, and so if any of you
are listening and you would liketo get engaged in a new way
you've been thinking about itfor a while and you just haven't
quite been able to do it that'sprobably the easiest way to get
connected.
You can go on that website andyou can get connected to us that
(20:36):
way.
We'll have that in the shownotes, a link directly to it, so
that you're able to link tothat and reach out in that way.
We'll also put our organizationemail in there if you'd like to
get connected with us that wayand if any of you have any ideas
of creating more community orengagement opportunities within
(20:57):
our organization certainly reachout via the APTA Nebraska email
address as well.
Guys, any final thoughts forour listeners.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
You know you were talking about the APTA Engage,
and I think one of my favoritethings about that is you can get
a reoccurring notificationcenter email so you don't
necessarily have to be looking,they can send it to you, and I
found that being kind of helpfulto be like oh, that seems like
a really interesting opportunityto give my time, and the nice
thing is they lay it out by kindof what the responsibility
(21:29):
level Is it a small project, isit a full day, is it a quick
task, is it a few hours here, afew hours there, or is it a
large scale thing?
So that's a really goodopportunity and that's what
brought me into the nominatingcommittee and brought me here
tonight, and so it's just areally good opportunity to, you
know, put a little bit more intosupporting the state
(21:51):
association and getting a goodvalue back out of it.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Yeah, and I can echo some of that because I've used
the Engage platform for the lastfour or five years because even
when I lived in more ruralareas, it has virtual options as
much as in-person ways to getengaged in your state or the
national level.
So even if you're in ruralareas where you don't have as
(22:17):
many opportunities to be aroundlocal PT schools or other
in-person events, that stillgives you an access point to use
your membership but also stayengaged national or state, with
lots of different opportunities.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Guys, thank you for your time.
I hope this is helpful for ourlisteners as well.
And if you haven't had a chanceto listeners, we have a couple
other interviews with ourstudent representatives, the
student interest group forNebraska, nsig, as well as our
early professional specialinterest group podcasts that
(22:56):
have dropped as well.
So if you haven't listened tothose, make sure you get a when
you get a chance to go ahead andlisten to those as well.
But again, thanks guys for theconversation and we'll look
forward to the next one.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Thanks for tuning in to the APTA Nebraska podcast.
Stay connected with us for moreconversations that elevate our
profession and improve the livesof Nebraskans.
Don't forget to subscribe,share and join the discussion,
because together we're drivingthe future of physical therapy
forward.
Welcome to the APTA Nebraska podcast, where we dive
into the stories, challenges andinnovations shaping physical
therapy in our state.
We're here to advance, promoteand protect the practice of
physical therapy, optimizing thehealth and quality of life for
all Nebraskans.
Join us as we connect withexperts, share insights and
(00:22):
build communities throughout ourprofession.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Connect with experts, share insights and build
communities throughout ourprofession.
Welcome back to the APTANebraska podcast.
My name is Brad Dexter andtoday I'm joined by our APTA
Nebraska membership committee.
This is a relatively new groupof folks that have kind of
pulled together to try to servethe organization and I wanted to
take, you know, 15 to 20minutes to try to serve the
(00:46):
organization and I wanted totake 15 to 20 minutes to try to
highlight some of the ideas thathave come out from each of
these folks individually andthen from some of the time that
we've had together, andhopefully it spawns even more
ideas from those of you that arelistening and maybe even
potential engagement as well.
So we'll take a moment to justintroduce ourselves to start,
(01:08):
and so, adam, I might kick it toyou to begin.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Yeah, absolutely Thanks, brad.
So my name is Adam Myrose.
I'm a physical therapist basedout of Lincoln, nebraska.
I've been practicing for justover five years.
I spent the first five years ofmy career in the private
outpatient sector just doingprivate outpatient orthopedic
physical therapy and then abouta year or so ago I decided I
(01:35):
wanted to transition out of thatclinical role and into more of
an administrative role and so Icurrently am the outpatient
clinic manager with MadonnaOutpatient, and it's been a
challenge and a change for me,going from that day-to-day
physical therapy realm seeingpatients being in charge of 20
therapists at a time, reallyreally enjoy it.
(01:55):
And with that change I was likeyou know, what could I do to
help support my profession?
So I figured I'd go in to seewhat I could help out with the
state association.
So landed on the membershipcommittee and really enjoying
getting to know everyone hereand glad to hear and looking
forward to hear some goodstories.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Thanks, adam Candace.
How about you?
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yep, thanks.
I moved to Lincoln actually inJuly.
I graduated in 2020.
So I was part of the COVIDgroup.
So I've worked in just aboutevery setting of healthcare.
I'm a neurologic clinicalspecialist by certification, but
I work on the orthopedic team.
I'm actually at MadonnaOutpatient with Adam Although
(02:43):
when I signed up for themembership committee I didn't
know that he was on this already.
So I wanted to get involvedwith APTA Nebraska because I've
worked in a lot of differentstates and I'm really passionate
about students and gettingyoung professionals involved.
And probably the best partabout PT is for, as big as we
(03:03):
are rural and urban, it's reallya pretty small world.
So even just within ourcommittee, seeing faces that I
didn't know were on the samecommittee not having lived in
Lincoln very often as far asgetting to know people I'm
already seeing similar faces.
So I'm just trying to getinvolved and then promote
connecting our rural and oururban settings.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Love it, Nate.
How about you?
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Yeah, my name is Nathan Hall.
I've been in three differentstates working I have a career
of 16 years at this point onoutpatient physical therapy for
a handful of companies.
Currently I still work PRN forAthletico, filling in here and
there when my schedule allows,and primarily my day-to-day
operations.
I am an instructor at ClarksonCollege in the PTA program, so
(03:55):
that tends to keep me quite busy.
Looking to get involved withinthe physical therapy
professional realm.
Really, what kind of inspiredme was?
I helped teach in one of thelabs at Creighton, so I'm
familiar and actually work withNick Weber in that lab and just
seeing some of the knowledge,the interactions and all the
(04:16):
going on that he was involvedwith made me realize how much I
was not really aware of what'sgoing on here locally in
Nebraska and even thennationally.
So with my schedule being alittle bit more solidified from
the teaching realm, I had someextra time and I felt that it
was appropriate that I couldcontribute back to the
profession that I am investingmy career in.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
And I think that that leaves it to me then.
So again, brad Dexter.
I have been a physicaltherapist for about 14 years now
and spent 13 of those years atQLI in Omaha, nebraska, before
transitioning into a facultyrole at UNMC, where I'm teaching
(05:01):
within a neuromuscular trackand a variety of other courses
there as well.
You know I had been involved inmore of a national organization
, so I worked with a lot ofcatastrophic injuries brain
injuries, spinal cord injuries,strokes and organization that
(05:26):
was centered around spinal cordinjury close to a decade ago and
that led into board roleswithin that organization.
And as my time was kind ofwinding down there, I was, you
know, similar thoughts to whatyou guys had.
I was kind of realizing Ihaven't been as engaged at a
(05:49):
state level as I would like toand I feel like I have things
that I could offer and couldgive there.
I would like to engage somehow,and so I reached out to Nick
and was just trying to figureout what some of the needs were
and where some of my interestsmight align as well, and so that
(06:10):
led me into the membershipcommittee for APT Nebraska, the
membership committee for APTNebraska, and led me to getting
to know all of you fine peopletoo, so it's kind of fun that
you know all.
At the same time we have a kindof a newer crew of folks that
(06:32):
are coming into some of theseroles and I think you guys have
maybe experienced this indifferent capacities too.
But one of the things I reallyenjoyed about being a part of
that national organization wasjust a lot of the relationships
that I developed with peoplefrom all over the country, the
(06:53):
ways that they started toinfluence my career.
I could use them as as mentors,as peers in different,
different settings, differentpractice settings.
You know they might be seeingpeople in more of an acute
setting or an outpatient setting.
I was in this post hospitalskilled type of setting, and so
it's just really fun to developthose relationships and that
(07:16):
network a little bit more andcall a lot of them really good
friends.
Um, to this day now, uh, butthat that took crossing over, uh
, or crossing paths once a yearat a conference and a lot of
zoom meetings, or one point intime it was telephone calls for
committee meetings or boardsthat we did, and you know I
(07:38):
would love to see that growwithin our state organization
too.
I think one of the things thatwe've talked about in regards to
this podcast is just how do webuild community like that, how
do we get to know other people'sstories and get to kind of
understand what practice is like, and get to kind of understand
what practice is like and sokind of along, or in that vein,
(08:03):
along that line, I think, ideaof ideas are just how do we
offer things that are engagingto our members throughout the
state.
And so, candice, I know I'mkind of putting you on the spot
a little bit, but we've had somereally great conversations from
experiences.
Of the four of us, you are thenewest grad, right, so you've
(08:28):
kind of been on this new grad,early career and getting
involved trajectory.
Would you mind just sharingsome of the things that you've
been thinking about in terms ofhelping to engage people within
our state organization?
Speaker 4 (08:43):
Yeah.
So I graduated in 2020, whichwas when COVID was starting.
So finding jobs moved very muchonline and was built around who
you know and who's hiring.
So I got involved in the statesI was living in with the early
professionals, sig and I knowNebraska has one as well and the
(09:04):
resources they offer and justgetting connected with other
people who were graduating at mysame time.
So having some of thatcamaraderie of trying to find a
job and trying just to build offeach other but then also
getting connected with peoplewithin the APTA as mentors or
ideas of here's where I'm at andhere's where I want to go.
(09:28):
So for me, I did my NCS.
A lot of that mentorship camefrom people I met through APTA
in the different states I livedin, from people I met through
APTA and the different states Ilived in.
I first worked at a criticalaccess hospital in northern
North Dakota.
So if not for APTA and thosetypes of programs, it's really
hard to have anybody within acouple hours driving radius.
(09:50):
So those experiences have keptme involved and engaged and now
that I'm in Lincoln, it's reallyhelping to promote those pieces
, because APTA Nebraska hassimilar programs to everywhere
else in the country and justhelping people know that they
exist and then get connected tothem, whether you're urban or
rural, early professionalstraight out of school or even a
(10:14):
couple of years out.
Because if you want to go afterlike for me, my NCS, finding
mentors even just within yourhome state can make a huge
difference.
So APTA Nebraska for residentshelped connect me to other
people who are sitting the examat the same time.
So instead of having to studyon my own, I was able to get
(10:34):
connected with that piece.
So instead of having to studyon my own, I was able to get
connected with that piece.
So I think those are reallykind of positives of being
connected to the organization,even as a young person,
professional just starting out.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
Adam Nate.
What thoughts do you guys havethat you've kind of been mulling
over.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
You know, one thing I was thinking about early on in
my career.
At my previous job I floatedaround many different clinics
and working with a lot ofdifferent professionals and you
really get that sense ofcommunity and that central goal
of helping out our patients.
And so when I really look atthat, from how that, how I
learned and developed as atherapist in my early years, I
(11:12):
can see how that can be reallybeneficial at a state level.
As a member of this committee,um is a big part of helping
support that.
And then, like going back towhat you were talking about,
brad, with meetings andconferences, you know, going to
the state meeting year afteryear, you start recognizing some
of those familiar faces and youknow, hey, it's nice to see you
.
How's the family?
Just that community discussiongetting to know each other
(11:35):
rather than oh, so-and-so worksfor one place in this setting.
But how can we really grow theprofession beyond what it's been
for many years to reach a wideraudience and a wider population
?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
I can tap onto a little bit more of that.
Something that really kind ofstruck me was I mean, we kind of
have an idea of how manytherapists there are, but we
don't also really comprehendthat.
So I went to CSM right beforeCOVID started it was in Denver
and just the sheer amount of PTsthat were even just PT PTAs,
that were just even at that oneconference, really made me
(12:10):
realize how impactful ourprofession can be.
And also in the midst of the20-some-odd thousand people I
was bumping into classmates thatI had lost contact with,
coworkers from differentcompanies, so truly to that
community standpoint, even statemeeting, all the way up to
something as big as CSM.
We are as big as we are.
(12:30):
We're also a small group, it'sa small world in PT and that
comes to our benefit.
And that's something that fromthe kind of the back to the why
to get involved piece, drivingsome more membership into that,
because I've seen otherorganizations or professions
that have a lot more involvementat times from their members and
(12:52):
I've seen what they've beenable to potentially do, whether
it's legislative or just as aglobal or a larger force going
in the same direction.
You know not to use the row theboat in the same direction.
Analogy, but that kind ofmomentum and force that can
create a change, I think is veryvital for us to look at.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, back to some of these same ideas of you know, I
I said one of the things that Ivalued I was a part of was
those relationships, but it was.
It was also the fact that, man,I know that we had a lot of
really great people and greatideas within the organization I
(13:29):
was in, but kind of crosspollinating and getting getting
ideas from people that areoutside of my organization was
always really helpful to me.
And even, you know, being atthe state conference a few weeks
ago that I was in, it was justfun to hear from people that
(13:50):
maybe I hadn't seen in a decadeor was just meeting, right, and
they're in a completelydifferent practice setting than
me.
But to kind of hear what someof the issues that they have are
and to balance ideas off of oneanother, like that kind of
ideation, is really fun to metoo, um, and I'm sure there can
(14:11):
be a lot more of that, right.
So I'm I'm sure that, uh,wherever we're at in our
practice setting, like,sometimes we get in our little
bubble and it can just be reallyhelpful to get outside of that
and to get ideas from, uh, othercolleagues as well.
It can feel a little bitintimidating at times, right,
like none of us want to be wrong, we all want to be promoting
(14:32):
the things that we're doing.
As you know, hey, I'mcontributing, I'm doing
something good here, right, butlike having the humility to and
the courage honestly to askquestions of other people and to
understand the problems thatthey're facing and to try to
become a part of the solution,that's how we are going to get
(14:56):
things done.
Nate, at this point, I thinkyou guys have all kind of said
this in a different capacity.
But strength in numbers, right,and hey, again, we're all
newbies to this committee, butwe're, we're going to come at it
from a perspective of, uh, we,we want to try to just engage
our membership and find thingsthat are valuable, um, to engage
(15:19):
our members and and hopefully,uh, that makes our organization
stronger five, ten years downthe line, all right.
Well, I've enjoyed theconversation so far, guys.
I think, as we start to windthings up, I would love to hear
(15:41):
from all of you, really, whatare some of the membership
benefits that you have foundmost beneficial as a member of
APT Nebraska.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
I can start.
Recently I did take my OCS exam, so there is a discounted rate
for the specialty examinationsthat does occur through the APTA
, so that obviously is afinancial benefit on the overall
.
I mean there are obviously theother benefits you know perks
here for shoes and hotels andthings of that nature but the
(16:10):
big one that just comes recentlyto my mind was the OCS discount
which, through even thestudying and acquisition of that
material, is going to only helpmy teaching for future students
as well as my clinical practiceas I continue to move forth in
my career.
Speaker 4 (16:25):
I can kind of talk to .
I took the NCS and appliedafter living in Nebraska for
less than a year, so I didn'thave a lot of local connections.
So I reached out to APTANebraska just to find mentors
and people who worked in some ofthe areas for neurologic care
that I didn't have experience in.
(16:45):
So just helping to connect mewith people in the state that I
could bounce questions off ofand then start to build that
network was really helpful.
And I even found a couple ofpeople to study with who, if I
hadn't had a way to getconnected with the state
membership piece, building anyof those connections on my own
(17:07):
would have been reallychallenging living in a new
state on my own without havinggone to school here.
Other connections already built, yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
And then for me it's transitioned, as my role in my
professional job is transitioned.
I am planning to take gothrough the American or the
Academy of Leadership andInnovation.
They have a board certificationfor therapy executive, so more
of that practice management role.
So that's.
I'm looking forward toutilizing, you know, all the
(17:37):
resources that come with being amember of not only the state
level but the national level tohelp develop myself from a
practice management standpoint,which is something that when I
went through school seems so farfetched and unattainable.
But now it's like, wow, thisreally meets my day-to-day goals
.
So I know there's so manydifferent areas that what we get
(17:57):
exposed to in school that thisis a really good opportunity to,
and the only way I franklyfound about it is through being
a member and the emails thatcome through on a regular basis.
You know Nate talked about someof the discounts that they have
and the offerings.
I think another important partis just all the different
(18:19):
continuing education offeringsthat the national level has.
And then, because you knowwhere, where I work now, I may
not offer that continuing ed umas accessible as it used to, and
so using those resources fromat the national level and their
learning center, as well as thejob board and connecting with
(18:39):
other people.
When it comes to you knowwhether it's a payer, um, an
issue with an insurance company,or saying up to date with some
of the practice management thatit's really been invaluable.
And staying up to date withsome of the practice management
that it's really been invaluable.
And you know, to be a member ofthe state level, you have to be
a member of that national level, so having that combination of
both is really, reallybeneficial for me.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Thanks guys.
I know we're just highlightinga few of the benefits and
there's plenty of opportunitiesfor growth and development and
benefits through ourorganization.
The number of people that areworking behind the scenes within
our state organization I don'tthink I realized the number of
(19:51):
people that were doing that andso I just have grown quickly to
appreciate that.
And you know, candice and Adam,I know you guys both got
plugged in to our organizationthrough APTA Engage.
Apta Engage is a platform thathelps you to get connected
within your state organizationor other ways within the APTA
(20:12):
organization through the APTAwebsite, and so if any of you
are listening and you would liketo get engaged in a new way
you've been thinking about itfor a while and you just haven't
quite been able to do it that'sprobably the easiest way to get
connected.
You can go on that website andyou can get connected to us that
(20:36):
way.
We'll have that in the shownotes, a link directly to it, so
that you're able to link tothat and reach out in that way.
We'll also put our organizationemail in there if you'd like to
get connected with us that wayand if any of you have any ideas
of creating more community orengagement opportunities within
(20:57):
our organization certainly reachout via the APTA Nebraska email
address as well.
Guys, any final thoughts forour listeners.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
You know you were talking about the APTA Engage,
and I think one of my favoritethings about that is you can get
a reoccurring notificationcenter email so you don't
necessarily have to be looking,they can send it to you, and I
found that being kind of helpfulto be like oh, that seems like
a really interesting opportunityto give my time, and the nice
thing is they lay it out by kindof what the responsibility
(21:29):
level Is it a small project, isit a full day, is it a quick
task, is it a few hours here, afew hours there, or is it a
large scale thing?
So that's a really goodopportunity and that's what
brought me into the nominatingcommittee and brought me here
tonight, and so it's just areally good opportunity to, you
know, put a little bit more intosupporting the state
(21:51):
association and getting a goodvalue back out of it.
Speaker 4 (21:56):
Yeah, and I can echo some of that because I've used
the Engage platform for the lastfour or five years because even
when I lived in more ruralareas, it has virtual options as
much as in-person ways to getengaged in your state or the
national level.
So even if you're in ruralareas where you don't have as
(22:17):
many opportunities to be aroundlocal PT schools or other
in-person events, that stillgives you an access point to use
your membership but also stayengaged national or state, with
lots of different opportunities.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Guys, thank you for your time.
I hope this is helpful for ourlisteners as well.
And if you haven't had a chanceto listeners, we have a couple
other interviews with ourstudent representatives, the
student interest group forNebraska, nsig, as well as our
early professional specialinterest group podcasts that
(22:56):
have dropped as well.
So if you haven't listened tothose, make sure you get a when
you get a chance to go ahead andlisten to those as well.
But again, thanks guys for theconversation and we'll look
forward to the next one.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Thanks for tuning in to the APTA Nebraska podcast.
Stay connected with us for moreconversations that elevate our
profession and improve the livesof Nebraskans.
Don't forget to subscribe,share and join the discussion,
because together we're drivingthe future of physical therapy
forward.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.