September 2, 2025 • 19 mins
Physical Therapist
Seven years of school to become a physical therapist? Yep—you heard that right! Trisha Groff, Director at AccessPT in Woodstock, NY, spills the beans with her career insight on what it really takes to break into (and thrive in) the demanding yet rewarding PT job.
From helping weekend warriors bounce back, to witnessing jaw-dropping recoveries—like the 70+ man who learned to walk on two prosthetic legs. Trish’s stories will have you rethinking what’s possible.
Warning: this episode might just make you want to book a PT appointment… or start a whole new career.
AccessPT website - https://accessphysicaltherapywellness.com/
To start your career at AccessPT - https://accessphysicaltherapywellness.com/careers/
Want us to cover a specific job? Shoot us an email!
Music credit: Kate Pierson & Monica Nation
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
So there's a lot of tendonitis like forearm elbow
area.
We get a lot of that Achillestendonitis, acl, from skiing and
snowboarding.
Rotator cuff tear is verycommon too, I would say.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome back to how Much Can I Make the podcast
about jobs and earnings.
I'm your host, merav Ozeri.
Today we're talking with TrishGroff, the director and a
physical therapist at AccessPT,about her job, about her career
and what it takes to succeed inthis field and the realities of
running a really busy clinic.
(00:36):
Funny thing, or the sad thing,I should say that after we
finished recording, trishmentioned something that I must
share here, and that is physicaltherapy can actually treat
vertigo.
I was so surprised I had tocall friends of mine that I know
are suffering from vertigo,suffered in the past many times,
and I asked them did you knowabout it?
(00:58):
And nobody knew about it.
So there's a lot to be saidabout physical therapy, but
let's hear it directly fromTrish all about physical therapy
and what it takes.
Thanks, trisha, for doing it.
I really, really appreciate it.
Physical therapy is animportant thing.
(01:18):
Yeah, I want to start by whatdrew you to that field.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I've always been really interested in the human
connection and how the brainworks.
So I actually first went toschool for psychology and then
I'm so like empathetic towardsothers that I realized being a
psychotherapist might not be thebest idea for me.
I think I would take it homewith me, you know.
So I was like what else can Iuse in this way?
Or like what's in thehealthcare field?
(01:43):
And I was really into fitnessat the time and it just came
together.
I started to learn whatphysical therapy was and I
worked in a physical therapyclinic as an aid.
So I was grabbing their hotpacks and cold packs and stuff
and I was like in theenvironment and I realized that
that was what I wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So you said something interesting you were interested
in the brain is physicaltherapy connected?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Oh yeah, a lot of it comes from the brain, absolutely
in many different ways.
What do you give me an example?
Yeah, like patients think theycan never get back to something
that they love ever again, likethey think they're doomed or
something you know.
So physical therapy gives themthat hope of being able to
return to the things that theylove and it improves their
quality of life.
But then there's alsoneurological conditions that
(02:26):
someone can suffer from right,like a stroke or something.
That's all the brain, that'sall how the brain works.
So how?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
many years did you have to study?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Seven.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Seven.
Yeah, what I didn't thinkphysical therapy is going
through.
I thought I know doctors gothrough.
You have to get your doctorate.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
What yeah?
So it's your undergrad, so itcan actually be six or seven,
depending on the program you'rein.
Yeah, but you have to get yourbachelor's degree in something,
usually biology or psychology orthe combination or whatever,
and then you go into thedoctorate program.
Oh, wow, yeah, they call it DPTdoctorate of physical therapy.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Oh, my God, I had no idea.
Good to know you started asactually treating people?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
right, I started as an aide.
You can't treat people.
Is that what you mean?
When I was the aide in theclinic?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
No, but after that, after you did the aide, then you
started with actually treating,because I know now you are the
director of the facility.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh, yes, so I still treat full time.
Oh you, the admin is on top ofit, oh my God.
So it's sprinkled throughoutthe day and there's more things
I have to do than the others.
But, yeah, I still treat fulltime.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Why did you take the extra?
Is it extra pay also?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
It is a little extra pay because it comes with more
responsibility, but, like I'mjust someone that always wants
more, like what's my next move,what's my next step?
And so that was the next stepfor me.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So what are your responsibilities as a director?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So I manage the staff and the clinic right, making
sure everyone has what they need, making sure everything's
flowing right.
How is the schedule lookingbudget?
Making sure it has what itneeds in the clinic, like
machines and equipment wise andall that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I saw that you have a lot of rooms.
Yeah, so you can treat how manypeople at the same time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So we do have rooms here.
Not every clinic does.
It's typically like an open gymwith tables.
Sometimes they have curtainsyou can pull.
We work out of an old house.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So our clinic's a little different than most.
But this area loves that, likethey love that it's not a
commercial building the peoplein this neighborhood.
They love that it's a house.
So we do have rooms and we takeadvantage of the rooms when
it's the patient's first day.
So we bring the patient in fortheir evaluation, we close the
door, talk about what they'regoing through, how long it's
(04:41):
been, take measurements ofeverything, look at how they're
moving, and then usually all thefollow-up treatments are out in
the open, unless for somereason the patient's
uncomfortable with it, or maybewe have to, or maybe we have a
therapist that does pelvic floor.
She's obviously always in aroom with the door shut because
she's doing an internal exam, sowe're not always in the
individual rooms.
A lot of times we're out in theopen because there's multiple
(05:03):
people working at a time.
But we do have thatavailability here, which is nice
.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
What are the most common cases that come to you?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I would say it depends where you are, but
overall I see the most back pain, whether it's acute or chronic.
Yeah, I would say back andnecks.
You know people suffering withback or neck pain like a lot
during the day.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Is it injury or things over time deteriorating?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
There's both, and acute injury is a little quicker
to treat, typically because youknow something just happened
and you can name it and theyknow what they did or whatever.
But chronic can take a littlebit longer.
Maybe they waited forever tocome in, maybe their posture is
really awful, so but both aretreatable and usually they are
referred by a doctor to you, orpeople just decide.
(05:48):
Yeah, a lot of the time they'rereferred by their doctor.
Like they go for their primarycheckup visit and they're
complaining about discomfortsomewhere and the doctor writes
them a script.
But a lot of patients come inand they're like, hey, I went to
my doctor and I asked them fora PT script because they didn't
even bring it up and so patientshave to advocate for themselves
.
I think once, like a familymember starts PT and spreads the
word, or friends start PT andspread the word, more and more
(06:10):
people understand what it is andit's honestly good for
everybody.
Like I feel like everyone hassomething that they could work
on, so, but most people waituntil they're in pain and then
they show up.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I take it that there are more than one treatment.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
It's few treatments right, you're seen like twice a
week, typically twice a week,yeah, however many weeks like
six, eight, what do you think isthe average to solve a back
problem?
Is it acute or chronic, chronicChronic it depends on the
patient, their personality andif they do their stuff at home.
So if it's someone that sitsall day long and they're only
(06:42):
moving when they come here forPT, they could take seriously
forever.
I mean it's like a fightbetween the two and I always
have the conversation like thisis team effort and if you're not
doing your end, I mean you knowthis is pointless.
I would say that eight weeks ispretty good eight to 10 weeks
and they're on a good exerciseregimen if they're walking and
doing their stuff.
For chronic.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So the main culprit for back pain is sitting too
long and sitting too much I'dsay that's the most common.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Really, yeah, whether patients are elderly and
they're just kind of sittingaround, they don't have much to
do, or it's people that sit at adesk all day.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So do you get also sports injury?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
What's the most common?
Is it like a weekend warrior oris it like actual athlete?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
We don't get a lot of like avid athletes, but you
know people play pickleball,tennis, golf around here.
We get skiers and snowboardersbecause we live by the mountain
so you have like sprains,strains, tendinitis, you know,
repetitive we also.
We live in an area here, or wework in an area, where there's a
lot of artists, whether theypaint or draw or they play an
(07:48):
instrument, so there's a lot oftendinitis like forearm elbow
area.
We get.
They play an instrument, sothere's a lot of tendonitis like
forearm elbow area.
We get a lot of that.
Achilles tendonitis, acl fromskiing and snowboarding, rotator
cuff tears very common too.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I would say so.
I'm a tennis player and apickleball player, so I'm very
curious to ask you about that.
Yeah, first of all, can youtreat tennis elbow Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Really, absolutely.
Yeah, that's a repetitivestrain.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Oh my God, I had it and I didn't know that's
physical Really.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
What's the most common injury you see from
pickleball?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I would say back pain from the rotation.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, oh, my God, who knew.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, and it became this fad recently.
Like people that didn't playany sports or didn't exercise at
all, they just like startedpickleball.
They don't know how to warm upor cool down or anything, so we
got a good amount of pickleballpeople in the past year.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
When you say cool down, you mean like stretches
and stuff.
Is that really important?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Oh, I have to start doing it, I can give you some
points.
Yes, I would definitely wouldlike to.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
So I have.
It's almost a personal question, but somebody can sneeze and
get a back pain.
Yeah, how long a treatment forsomething like this will take.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
That's a disc issue.
Pts are pretty good at treatingthat.
Oh really, yeah, that can bequick.
Oh really.
Yeah, depending on how intenseit is and if it's off to the
side or straight back, but yeah,what would you say is the
difference between a PT and achiropractor, for example?
So I can't really speak forchiropractors, but from what I
know from chiropractors, theymore do.
(09:24):
They are doing it to thepatient, so it is a quick
manipulation of movement thatthey're doing to the spine.
We have the patient work withus, so we do some things,
passively stretching, movingthem this way or that way, but
they're actually exerting theeffort most of the time to make
a change, whether it's throughstrengthening exercises or
(09:44):
muscle energy technique orsomething like that oh
interesting.
And PT you you do it more oftenlike a chiro you kind of check
in with, but PT it's like allright, let's be twice a week for
six weeks.
Let's get these muscles strong.
You'll probably meet your goals.
If you need us in the future,come back.
But you set them up with awhole regimen and I don't know.
I think some greatchiropractors do that.
They'll give a couple exercisesand stretches, but not all do.
(10:06):
They'll just do their mobilemanipulations and I would assume
I may be wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, that it's a very physical job.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It is yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Explain yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
I mean, it's even in the name, right.
So, like I said before, I'm allover the place, I'm grabbing
equipment for this one or I'mdoing joint mobilizations on
this patient.
So it's manual in a sense where, or physical in a sense where
we're working on the patient,we're stretching their leg or
their arm or doing jointmobilizations to improve a
(10:37):
certain motion, or we're justrunning them through their
exercises and we're back andforth between the other patients
.
So I would say a combination ofpacing the clinic, actually
having your hands on the patient.
There's also things that we dowhere, like the patient resists
us, so like we'll have thepatient work with us physically,
so they're pressing up into ourhand, we're pressing down with
(10:58):
our hand to kind of like movethings into different positions.
So, resistance exercises.
Resistance can be manualtherapy to reposition a part of
their body like the actual bones, or it can be resistance where
they're doing an exercise andyou have like a band or a weight
on them.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
You said you know you press on the, on the patient.
You do exercise and all of that.
How do you build the trust witha and as a woman, when you work
on a man, is there a problem?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I mean building trust is huge.
I do that from day one.
So when I take that patient inthe room on that first day and I
shut the door, I kind of senselike what their attitude is,
what they're going through, howthey're feeling and like you
just know personal professionaljudgment, how to speak to that
patient.
What does that patient need inparticular?
Sometimes they need theirhandheld and all in the
(11:44):
beginning.
And then you're like all right,we're getting independent now
you know whatever, butdefinitely getting their trust
is step one.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Before you said if people don't do their work at
home, do you follow up on that?
How do you know if they do itor don't do it?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Oh, we know, we know, and sometimes they tell us that
they do it and they don't do it.
Oh, really For sure.
And how do you know?
Absolutely Well, first of all Iasked them to do what they do
at home.
They'll say oh well, first ofall I ask them to do what they
do at home, they'll say, oh well, usually I have the paper by me
, or what was it again, orsomething.
(12:17):
You know, that's like a simpleone.
But also, you just know, by howtheir body's looking, you know
if you gave them the rightthings to do and they're still
not looking very well, eitheryou didn't give them the right
exercise as a PT or they're notdoing their stuff at home.
So, and then others aretruthful.
They're like listen, I'm super,I know it's important, I'm very
sorry I haven't done it.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Tell me some a story that comes to mind of a success
story with a patient.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I would say one of my biggest successes.
And he actually passed awayrecently, which is sad, but my
one patient.
He had suffered from diabetesmost of his life and then for 10
plus years he had controlledhis diet.
He was doing so well, butbecause he had that sugar issue
for so long he had controlledhis diet he was doing so well,
but because he had that sugarissue for so long he did end up
losing one of his legs.
And he was such a hard worker,he was so motivated, it was
(13:01):
unbelievable.
I mean, the effort that he putin the clinic and at home was
like you would cry watching him.
It was just unbelievable.
We got him back to driving andstairs and doing all these
things he was doing so well.
Couple months go by and hecalls me up and he says I can't
believe I'm telling you this,but now I have to lose my other
leg, so we had to start all overagain.
(13:24):
So now he had two prostheticsyes, they were both um below
knee and we got him back todriving and stairs and walking
and curves.
Yeah, it was unbelievable.
He did it all over again.
So and how old was the patient?
Oh, man, I want to say he wasin his 70s.
I really don't remember forsure.
(13:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Wow, when you got him back.
Yeah, that is a success story.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
It really was For sure.
Yeah no-transcript and I thinkshe just wants to try something
(14:16):
else.
When you lose somebody and youdo have such a wait list and
such a caseload, it's toughbecause you know All these
patients need their care andsometimes you have to tell them
like I'm sorry, you're only oncenext week instead of twice or I
can't get you in.
Luckily we're big company.
So even though we have thisclinic in this town, we do have
neighboring towns with clinicsin them, so we can be like are
you comfortable going over tothis town for your visit just
(14:37):
for next week, so you're seeingtwice and then come back.
I think that's the moststressful thing for me right now
is hoping that everyone getsthe sessions that they need.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And your job is from eight to four, nine to five.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Everyone has a different schedule.
Here I am 7.30 to 4.30, mondaythrough Thursday, and Fridays
I'm 7.30 to 1.
I have two therapists that dothe evening shift, so I start at
7.30 for those that can comebefore work and they work later
in the evening for those thathave to come after work.
Okay, so we try to be open forthe public for when they need it
.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
When you said paperwork, is it for insurance?
Do you accept?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
insurance.
It's the worst part of our job.
Any PT would tell you that thedocumentation it's tedious and
it takes time, and if you don'tfinish it during your day,
you're doing it at home.
A lot of PTs end up burnt out,and it's not just from the
patient care, it's from havingto do this documentation.
Oh my, it really takes time.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah, what is a beginner's pay in PT.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So when I first started, I think I started at
like how long ago was that 2017.
I think I started at like 60,something mid 60s, and now
people that have just graduated,they're making 85 to 95 in
outpatient.
In the outpatient world it'sdifferent if you're in a
hospital or a rehab setting andI don't know what the I've only
(15:53):
been outpatient.
They started 85?
.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, you started at 60?
Even though you have a PhD?
Tell me about it.
Oh my God.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, this is my fourth job yeah, I went from 60
to 73 to, like you know.
Oh my God it's definitelyhigher now, but could be higher.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
When you hire somebody as a physical therapist
, what are you looking for?
What are the credentials you'relooking for?
What do you want?
How do you make your decisionhigher or not higher?
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I want them motivated .
I love when they're eager tolearn and just give the patients
the best care that they can,and you can tell their
personality, you know you can it?
Matters.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
But you also look where they studied.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Honestly, I don't mind what college they went to.
They have to get theirdoctorate in PT or they have to
be a physical therapy assistantand whatever school you go to,
you get your degree andcertificate.
So I don't really mind whatschool they went to.
I'm interested.
I'll ask like where, whereyou've been living, whatever.
But I more care if they want tocontinue learning, because
things change over time and Iwant them to want to learn
(16:55):
throughout the whole time.
They're a PT, continuing ed anddifferent techniques and not
use the same thing on everypatient.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
It's terrible when people when you say things
change all the time.
Yeah, totally leads me totechnology.
Do you use technology intreating people?
Do you see it coming?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean, we're on our laptops all day typing, but as
far as like some fancier clinics, we don't really have the
equipment.
But some other clinics they'lllike attach things to patients
and that's how they know howstrong they are and stuff, and
they have things they can standon and test their vestibular
system and they have all thistechnology like that.
We don't really have any ofthat in this clinic.
The only technology I seeincreasing in our clinic that's
(17:34):
to come is like dictation, soprobably helping us with our
notes, being able to just talkinto something and it types
something up.
Oh really, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
What advice would you give somebody that want to get
into PT?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
I think, test it out like I did.
Go be an aide somewhere andsubmerge yourself in the
environment and if you feel likeyou love it and you're truly
passionate about it, go for it.
But if you're not sure I meanthe schooling is a lot, it's
super expensive.
So if you don't think you'regoing to like it, don't do it.
But if you feel reallypassionate about it, it is so
rewarding.
Can somebody start byinternship somewhere?
(18:08):
Yeah, they can shadow thingslike that.
And then if you do end up goinginto the doctoral program, you
have months at a time where youdo like a clinical rotation.
So a PT is your teacher andyour hands on.
But that's part of thecurriculum once you're in it.
Yes, you can observe prior tothat.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I can see in your eyes that you love this job.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I do love it.
Yeah, what's the thing?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
that makes you love it the most.
I love this job.
I do love it, yeah.
What's the thing that makes youlove it the most?
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I think, just like giving patients hope and then
seeing them achieve their goalsthat they set, especially when
they don't think they can,that's like that's a game
changer.
It's just as rewarding for thetherapist as it is for the
patient, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Totally All right.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Thank you, this was fun.
I hope I will never needphysical therapy, but it sounds.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
I'm glad to know that I have such a good place in my
town.
We're here for you, excellent,Thank you.
Thank you, okay.
That's a wrap for today.
If you have a comment orquestion or would like us to
cover a certain job, please letus know.
Visit our website athowmuchcanimakeinfo.
(19:14):
We would love to hear from you.
And, on your way out, don'tforget to subscribe and share
this episode with anyone who iscurious about their next job.
See you next time.
You.
So there's a lot of tendonitis like forearm elbow
area.
We get a lot of that Achillestendonitis, acl, from skiing and
snowboarding.
Rotator cuff tear is verycommon too, I would say.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome back to how Much Can I Make the podcast
about jobs and earnings.
I'm your host, merav Ozeri.
Today we're talking with TrishGroff, the director and a
physical therapist at AccessPT,about her job, about her career
and what it takes to succeed inthis field and the realities of
running a really busy clinic.
(00:36):
Funny thing, or the sad thing,I should say that after we
finished recording, trishmentioned something that I must
share here, and that is physicaltherapy can actually treat
vertigo.
I was so surprised I had tocall friends of mine that I know
are suffering from vertigo,suffered in the past many times,
and I asked them did you knowabout it?
(00:58):
And nobody knew about it.
So there's a lot to be saidabout physical therapy, but
let's hear it directly fromTrish all about physical therapy
and what it takes.
Thanks, trisha, for doing it.
I really, really appreciate it.
Physical therapy is animportant thing.
(01:18):
Yeah, I want to start by whatdrew you to that field.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I've always been really interested in the human
connection and how the brainworks.
So I actually first went toschool for psychology and then
I'm so like empathetic towardsothers that I realized being a
psychotherapist might not be thebest idea for me.
I think I would take it homewith me, you know.
So I was like what else can Iuse in this way?
Or like what's in thehealthcare field?
(01:43):
And I was really into fitnessat the time and it just came
together.
I started to learn whatphysical therapy was and I
worked in a physical therapyclinic as an aid.
So I was grabbing their hotpacks and cold packs and stuff
and I was like in theenvironment and I realized that
that was what I wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
So you said something interesting you were interested
in the brain is physicaltherapy connected?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Oh yeah, a lot of it comes from the brain, absolutely
in many different ways.
What do you give me an example?
Yeah, like patients think theycan never get back to something
that they love ever again, likethey think they're doomed or
something you know.
So physical therapy gives themthat hope of being able to
return to the things that theylove and it improves their
quality of life.
But then there's alsoneurological conditions that
(02:26):
someone can suffer from right,like a stroke or something.
That's all the brain, that'sall how the brain works.
So how?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
many years did you have to study?
Speaker 1 (02:34):
Seven.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Seven.
Yeah, what I didn't thinkphysical therapy is going
through.
I thought I know doctors gothrough.
You have to get your doctorate.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
What yeah?
So it's your undergrad, so itcan actually be six or seven,
depending on the program you'rein.
Yeah, but you have to get yourbachelor's degree in something,
usually biology or psychology orthe combination or whatever,
and then you go into thedoctorate program.
Oh, wow, yeah, they call it DPTdoctorate of physical therapy.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Oh, my God, I had no idea.
Good to know you started asactually treating people?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
right, I started as an aide.
You can't treat people.
Is that what you mean?
When I was the aide in theclinic?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
No, but after that, after you did the aide, then you
started with actually treating,because I know now you are the
director of the facility.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Oh, yes, so I still treat full time.
Oh you, the admin is on top ofit, oh my God.
So it's sprinkled throughoutthe day and there's more things
I have to do than the others.
But, yeah, I still treat fulltime.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Why did you take the extra?
Is it extra pay also?
Speaker 1 (03:40):
It is a little extra pay because it comes with more
responsibility, but, like I'mjust someone that always wants
more, like what's my next move,what's my next step?
And so that was the next stepfor me.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
So what are your responsibilities as a director?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
So I manage the staff and the clinic right, making
sure everyone has what they need, making sure everything's
flowing right.
How is the schedule lookingbudget?
Making sure it has what itneeds in the clinic, like
machines and equipment wise andall that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I saw that you have a lot of rooms.
Yeah, so you can treat how manypeople at the same time.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
So we do have rooms here.
Not every clinic does.
It's typically like an open gymwith tables.
Sometimes they have curtainsyou can pull.
We work out of an old house.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
So our clinic's a little different than most.
But this area loves that, likethey love that it's not a
commercial building the peoplein this neighborhood.
They love that it's a house.
So we do have rooms and we takeadvantage of the rooms when
it's the patient's first day.
So we bring the patient in fortheir evaluation, we close the
door, talk about what they'regoing through, how long it's
(04:41):
been, take measurements ofeverything, look at how they're
moving, and then usually all thefollow-up treatments are out in
the open, unless for somereason the patient's
uncomfortable with it, or maybewe have to, or maybe we have a
therapist that does pelvic floor.
She's obviously always in aroom with the door shut because
she's doing an internal exam, sowe're not always in the
individual rooms.
A lot of times we're out in theopen because there's multiple
(05:03):
people working at a time.
But we do have thatavailability here, which is nice
.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
What are the most common cases that come to you?
Speaker 1 (05:10):
I would say it depends where you are, but
overall I see the most back pain, whether it's acute or chronic.
Yeah, I would say back andnecks.
You know people suffering withback or neck pain like a lot
during the day.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Is it injury or things over time deteriorating?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
There's both, and acute injury is a little quicker
to treat, typically because youknow something just happened
and you can name it and theyknow what they did or whatever.
But chronic can take a littlebit longer.
Maybe they waited forever tocome in, maybe their posture is
really awful, so but both aretreatable and usually they are
referred by a doctor to you, orpeople just decide.
(05:48):
Yeah, a lot of the time they'rereferred by their doctor.
Like they go for their primarycheckup visit and they're
complaining about discomfortsomewhere and the doctor writes
them a script.
But a lot of patients come inand they're like, hey, I went to
my doctor and I asked them fora PT script because they didn't
even bring it up and so patientshave to advocate for themselves
.
I think once, like a familymember starts PT and spreads the
word, or friends start PT andspread the word, more and more
(06:10):
people understand what it is andit's honestly good for
everybody.
Like I feel like everyone hassomething that they could work
on, so, but most people waituntil they're in pain and then
they show up.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
I take it that there are more than one treatment.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
It's few treatments right, you're seen like twice a
week, typically twice a week,yeah, however many weeks like
six, eight, what do you think isthe average to solve a back
problem?
Is it acute or chronic, chronicChronic it depends on the
patient, their personality andif they do their stuff at home.
So if it's someone that sitsall day long and they're only
(06:42):
moving when they come here forPT, they could take seriously
forever.
I mean it's like a fightbetween the two and I always
have the conversation like thisis team effort and if you're not
doing your end, I mean you knowthis is pointless.
I would say that eight weeks ispretty good eight to 10 weeks
and they're on a good exerciseregimen if they're walking and
doing their stuff.
For chronic.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
So the main culprit for back pain is sitting too
long and sitting too much I'dsay that's the most common.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Really, yeah, whether patients are elderly and
they're just kind of sittingaround, they don't have much to
do, or it's people that sit at adesk all day.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
So do you get also sports injury?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
What's the most common?
Is it like a weekend warrior oris it like actual athlete?
Speaker 1 (07:28):
We don't get a lot of like avid athletes, but you
know people play pickleball,tennis, golf around here.
We get skiers and snowboardersbecause we live by the mountain
so you have like sprains,strains, tendinitis, you know,
repetitive we also.
We live in an area here, or wework in an area, where there's a
lot of artists, whether theypaint or draw or they play an
(07:48):
instrument, so there's a lot oftendinitis like forearm elbow
area.
We get.
They play an instrument, sothere's a lot of tendonitis like
forearm elbow area.
We get a lot of that.
Achilles tendonitis, acl fromskiing and snowboarding, rotator
cuff tears very common too.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I would say so.
I'm a tennis player and apickleball player, so I'm very
curious to ask you about that.
Yeah, first of all, can youtreat tennis elbow Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Really, absolutely.
Yeah, that's a repetitivestrain.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Oh my God, I had it and I didn't know that's
physical Really.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
What's the most common injury you see from
pickleball?
Speaker 1 (08:23):
I would say back pain from the rotation.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, oh, my God, who knew.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, and it became this fad recently.
Like people that didn't playany sports or didn't exercise at
all, they just like startedpickleball.
They don't know how to warm upor cool down or anything, so we
got a good amount of pickleballpeople in the past year.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
When you say cool down, you mean like stretches
and stuff.
Is that really important?
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Oh, I have to start doing it, I can give you some
points.
Yes, I would definitely wouldlike to.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
So I have.
It's almost a personal question, but somebody can sneeze and
get a back pain.
Yeah, how long a treatment forsomething like this will take.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
That's a disc issue.
Pts are pretty good at treatingthat.
Oh really, yeah, that can bequick.
Oh really.
Yeah, depending on how intenseit is and if it's off to the
side or straight back, but yeah,what would you say is the
difference between a PT and achiropractor, for example?
So I can't really speak forchiropractors, but from what I
know from chiropractors, theymore do.
(09:24):
They are doing it to thepatient, so it is a quick
manipulation of movement thatthey're doing to the spine.
We have the patient work withus, so we do some things,
passively stretching, movingthem this way or that way, but
they're actually exerting theeffort most of the time to make
a change, whether it's throughstrengthening exercises or
(09:44):
muscle energy technique orsomething like that oh
interesting.
And PT you you do it more oftenlike a chiro you kind of check
in with, but PT it's like allright, let's be twice a week for
six weeks.
Let's get these muscles strong.
You'll probably meet your goals.
If you need us in the future,come back.
But you set them up with awhole regimen and I don't know.
I think some greatchiropractors do that.
They'll give a couple exercisesand stretches, but not all do.
(10:06):
They'll just do their mobilemanipulations and I would assume
I may be wrong.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Yeah, that it's a very physical job.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
It is yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Explain yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
I mean, it's even in the name, right.
So, like I said before, I'm allover the place, I'm grabbing
equipment for this one or I'mdoing joint mobilizations on
this patient.
So it's manual in a sense where, or physical in a sense where
we're working on the patient,we're stretching their leg or
their arm or doing jointmobilizations to improve a
(10:37):
certain motion, or we're justrunning them through their
exercises and we're back andforth between the other patients
.
So I would say a combination ofpacing the clinic, actually
having your hands on the patient.
There's also things that we dowhere, like the patient resists
us, so like we'll have thepatient work with us physically,
so they're pressing up into ourhand, we're pressing down with
(10:58):
our hand to kind of like movethings into different positions.
So, resistance exercises.
Resistance can be manualtherapy to reposition a part of
their body like the actual bones, or it can be resistance where
they're doing an exercise andyou have like a band or a weight
on them.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
You said you know you press on the, on the patient.
You do exercise and all of that.
How do you build the trust witha and as a woman, when you work
on a man, is there a problem?
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I mean building trust is huge.
I do that from day one.
So when I take that patient inthe room on that first day and I
shut the door, I kind of senselike what their attitude is,
what they're going through, howthey're feeling and like you
just know personal professionaljudgment, how to speak to that
patient.
What does that patient need inparticular?
Sometimes they need theirhandheld and all in the
(11:44):
beginning.
And then you're like all right,we're getting independent now
you know whatever, butdefinitely getting their trust
is step one.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Before you said if people don't do their work at
home, do you follow up on that?
How do you know if they do itor don't do it?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Oh, we know, we know, and sometimes they tell us that
they do it and they don't do it.
Oh, really For sure.
And how do you know?
Absolutely Well, first of all Iasked them to do what they do
at home.
They'll say oh well, first ofall I ask them to do what they
do at home, they'll say, oh well, usually I have the paper by me
, or what was it again, orsomething.
(12:17):
You know, that's like a simpleone.
But also, you just know, by howtheir body's looking, you know
if you gave them the rightthings to do and they're still
not looking very well, eitheryou didn't give them the right
exercise as a PT or they're notdoing their stuff at home.
So, and then others aretruthful.
They're like listen, I'm super,I know it's important, I'm very
sorry I haven't done it.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Tell me some a story that comes to mind of a success
story with a patient.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
I would say one of my biggest successes.
And he actually passed awayrecently, which is sad, but my
one patient.
He had suffered from diabetesmost of his life and then for 10
plus years he had controlledhis diet.
He was doing so well, butbecause he had that sugar issue
for so long he had controlledhis diet he was doing so well,
but because he had that sugarissue for so long he did end up
losing one of his legs.
And he was such a hard worker,he was so motivated, it was
(13:01):
unbelievable.
I mean, the effort that he putin the clinic and at home was
like you would cry watching him.
It was just unbelievable.
We got him back to driving andstairs and doing all these
things he was doing so well.
Couple months go by and hecalls me up and he says I can't
believe I'm telling you this,but now I have to lose my other
leg, so we had to start all overagain.
(13:24):
So now he had two prostheticsyes, they were both um below
knee and we got him back todriving and stairs and walking
and curves.
Yeah, it was unbelievable.
He did it all over again.
So and how old was the patient?
Oh, man, I want to say he wasin his 70s.
I really don't remember forsure.
(13:44):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Wow, when you got him back.
Yeah, that is a success story.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
It really was For sure.
Yeah no-transcript and I thinkshe just wants to try something
(14:16):
else.
When you lose somebody and youdo have such a wait list and
such a caseload, it's toughbecause you know All these
patients need their care andsometimes you have to tell them
like I'm sorry, you're only oncenext week instead of twice or I
can't get you in.
Luckily we're big company.
So even though we have thisclinic in this town, we do have
neighboring towns with clinicsin them, so we can be like are
you comfortable going over tothis town for your visit just
(14:37):
for next week, so you're seeingtwice and then come back.
I think that's the moststressful thing for me right now
is hoping that everyone getsthe sessions that they need.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And your job is from eight to four, nine to five.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Everyone has a different schedule.
Here I am 7.30 to 4.30, mondaythrough Thursday, and Fridays
I'm 7.30 to 1.
I have two therapists that dothe evening shift, so I start at
7.30 for those that can comebefore work and they work later
in the evening for those thathave to come after work.
Okay, so we try to be open forthe public for when they need it
.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
When you said paperwork, is it for insurance?
Do you accept?
Speaker 1 (15:11):
insurance.
It's the worst part of our job.
Any PT would tell you that thedocumentation it's tedious and
it takes time, and if you don'tfinish it during your day,
you're doing it at home.
A lot of PTs end up burnt out,and it's not just from the
patient care, it's from havingto do this documentation.
Oh my, it really takes time.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Yeah, what is a beginner's pay in PT.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
So when I first started, I think I started at
like how long ago was that 2017.
I think I started at like 60,something mid 60s, and now
people that have just graduated,they're making 85 to 95 in
outpatient.
In the outpatient world it'sdifferent if you're in a
hospital or a rehab setting andI don't know what the I've only
(15:53):
been outpatient.
They started 85?
.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, you started at 60?
Even though you have a PhD?
Tell me about it.
Oh my God.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, this is my fourth job yeah, I went from 60
to 73 to, like you know.
Oh my God it's definitelyhigher now, but could be higher.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
When you hire somebody as a physical therapist
, what are you looking for?
What are the credentials you'relooking for?
What do you want?
How do you make your decisionhigher or not higher?
Speaker 1 (16:23):
I want them motivated .
I love when they're eager tolearn and just give the patients
the best care that they can,and you can tell their
personality, you know you can it?
Matters.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
But you also look where they studied.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Honestly, I don't mind what college they went to.
They have to get theirdoctorate in PT or they have to
be a physical therapy assistantand whatever school you go to,
you get your degree andcertificate.
So I don't really mind whatschool they went to.
I'm interested.
I'll ask like where, whereyou've been living, whatever.
But I more care if they want tocontinue learning, because
things change over time and Iwant them to want to learn
(16:55):
throughout the whole time.
They're a PT, continuing ed anddifferent techniques and not
use the same thing on everypatient.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
It's terrible when people when you say things
change all the time.
Yeah, totally leads me totechnology.
Do you use technology intreating people?
Do you see it coming?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean, we're on our laptops all day typing, but as
far as like some fancier clinics, we don't really have the
equipment.
But some other clinics they'lllike attach things to patients
and that's how they know howstrong they are and stuff, and
they have things they can standon and test their vestibular
system and they have all thistechnology like that.
We don't really have any ofthat in this clinic.
The only technology I seeincreasing in our clinic that's
(17:34):
to come is like dictation, soprobably helping us with our
notes, being able to just talkinto something and it types
something up.
Oh really, yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
What advice would you give somebody that want to get
into PT?
Speaker 1 (17:46):
I think, test it out like I did.
Go be an aide somewhere andsubmerge yourself in the
environment and if you feel likeyou love it and you're truly
passionate about it, go for it.
But if you're not sure I meanthe schooling is a lot, it's
super expensive.
So if you don't think you'regoing to like it, don't do it.
But if you feel reallypassionate about it, it is so
rewarding.
Can somebody start byinternship somewhere?
(18:08):
Yeah, they can shadow thingslike that.
And then if you do end up goinginto the doctoral program, you
have months at a time where youdo like a clinical rotation.
So a PT is your teacher andyour hands on.
But that's part of thecurriculum once you're in it.
Yes, you can observe prior tothat.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
I can see in your eyes that you love this job.
Speaker 1 (18:27):
I do love it.
Yeah, what's the thing?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
that makes you love it the most.
I love this job.
I do love it, yeah.
What's the thing that makes youlove it the most?
Speaker 1 (18:32):
I think, just like giving patients hope and then
seeing them achieve their goalsthat they set, especially when
they don't think they can,that's like that's a game
changer.
It's just as rewarding for thetherapist as it is for the
patient, for sure.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Totally All right.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Thank you, this was fun.
I hope I will never needphysical therapy, but it sounds.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
I'm glad to know that I have such a good place in my
town.
We're here for you, excellent,Thank you.
Thank you, okay.
That's a wrap for today.
If you have a comment orquestion or would like us to
cover a certain job, please letus know.
Visit our website athowmuchcanimakeinfo.
(19:14):
We would love to hear from you.
And, on your way out, don'tforget to subscribe and share
this episode with anyone who iscurious about their next job.
See you next time.
You.
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