August 1, 2024 • 42 mins
#060 Are you a physical therapist (PT) contemplating a career shift? Or perhaps you're just curious about the versatility of your therapy skills? Danae successfully transitioned from a physical therapist to a general manager at KARE, a tech-driven senior living support company. KARE connects communities with providers and providers with communities, offering increased flexibility and financial independence for therapists. This platform is ideal for working moms, those looking for supplemental income, or anyone wanting to work when and where they want.
Therapists possess invaluable skills that can be transferred to various industries, including management and sales roles. In this episode, we debunk the myth that therapists can’t excel in non-clinical positions, explain the invaluable skills that therapists bring to any industry, highlight the importance of networking, building relationships and working with a team that aligns with your values, and offer practical advice on how to leverage your therapist background to excel in new roles.
Are you contemplating a career shift but unsure if your investment in PT school is worth it? We tackle this crucial question and through self-assessment tips and reflections on past career steps, we emphasize the importance of understanding your strengths, preferences, and goals before making a career shift. Tune in if you're looking to leverage your therapy skills in a new role or seeking guidance on how to navigate a career transition.
For links and show notes, head to: https://rehabrebels.org/060
Start your Rehab Rebel Journey! Receive access to FREE monthly progress updates, interview schedule, and a BONUS Top 25 Alternative Careers List for Rehab Professionals when you Start your Rebel Career and be part of the Rehab Rebels Tribe!
Join us on Instagram and Facebook or your favorite social media @rehabrebels!
Subscribe through Apple Podcast or Spotify!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:01):
Welcome to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
Are you a rehab professionalready to transition to an
alternative career?
Hear inspiring stories fromothers just like you and learn
the best ways to bridge yourcareer gap.
This podcast has you covered.
Now here's your host, doctor ofphysical therapy and podcaster,
Tanner Welsh.
Tanner Welsch (00:21):
Hi.
Rehab Rebels Public serviceannouncement.
We have been posting a varietyof career transition interviews
this season.
However, we have received somepositive feedback about the
business career transitioninterviews, so you will be
seeing more of these interviewsbeing posted.
Let us know what you want tohear more of by sending me a DM
(00:42):
on Instagram atRehabRebelsPodcast, or email me
directly at Tanner atRehabRebelsorg.
Take care, welcome back toanother Rehab Rebels episode,
this episode.
There's two things that arediscussed in today's episode,
and that is an alternativecareer path, and another second
(01:06):
thing that is discussed is aalternative income source for
rehab professionals, and we'lldive into both of those.
Today's guest is Denae, andwe'll give a little brief bio
about her and then we'll bringher in and start the interview.
Denae grew up in Chicago,chicago land area.
I'm going to have to ask youDenae grew up in Chicago,
chicago land area.
(01:26):
I'm going to have to ask you,denae, what you mean by Chicago
land area.
She attended the University ofMissouri for her undergrad
degree in health science andcontinued at the University of
Missouri for her doctorate ofphysical therapy, and she is
currently a general manager atCARE, which is the leading
solution to solve the laborshortage and senior care
facilities.
So, danae, welcome to thepodcast.
Danae Mierau (01:49):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Tanner Welsch (01:51):
Let's start with the bio.
I see that it says Chicagolandarea.
Can you tell us a little bitabout what that means?
Danae Mierau (01:57):
Yeah, you know, I'm a suburban girl, grew up
about an hour outside of thecity.
Many people don't know whereBatavia, illinois is, but
everyone knows where Chicago is,so I tend to go with the
Chicagoland area able to connectwith more people that are from
around that area.
Tanner Welsch (02:13):
Makes sense.
I imagine it can get kind ofcomplicated in some of those big
huge metropolitan areas about.
Chicago covers a lot of littlesuburb areas.
So yeah, for sure let's dive inhere and just kind of get into
the nitty gritty with if youcould give us just a real short,
brief background of after yougraduated PT school, what were
some of the positions that youheld, and then we'll get on to
(02:34):
one of the first major questions, which is you know what was the
first sense of awareness thatthings weren't quite right in
the traditional rehab careermodel treating patients.
Right in the traditional rehabcareer model treating patients.
Danae Mierau (02:44):
So right out of school I started in acute care
in Salt Lake City, workingprimarily in the ICU, really
really enjoyed my time there,working obviously with
critically ill patients.
And then my husband and Idecided to move to Colorado and
there is where I really kind ofdecided where in PT I wanted to
(03:07):
practice, which was with seniors, and so I became a rehab
director at a senior livingcommunity.
It was all memory care, sostandalone memory care, 76 bed
community and that population Ijust fell in love with.
It's a challenge, right,because they're not remembering
necessarily you know they're notgoing to do the home exercise
(03:29):
program because they don'tremember but just seeing the
impact that I and the rehab teamcould make, not only with that
resident but teaching thecaregivers how to transfer
residents and patients the bestand the safest decreasing falls,
I just fell in love not onlywith that population but senior
living as a whole.
(03:50):
And I think you know therewasn't necessarily a single
moment where I realized being apracticing clinician wasn't for
me.
It was more that I fell in lovewith senior living as a whole
and wanted to make a biggerimpact on that community
specifically, but also theindustry.
(04:11):
And so looking kind of around.
I didn't see necessarily aleadership path with therapy
that I was inclined to go after.
But I started watching thebehavior and the daily tasks and
the challenges that theadministrator of the community
went through every day and Ithought to myself and I told her
(04:34):
that day is I appreciate thatyou're here doing your job, but
I want your job someday I?
That was the career path thatin that moment I had decided I
was going to go after.
Tanner Welsch (04:45):
Was there a decisive moment that you had the
?
Ok, I'm going to transition tothis over here and I believe the
next role jump for you, thenext career jump, was with care
as a manager.
How did all that transpire?
How did you go from this rehabdirector role into you know,
this manager role for care?
Danae Mierau (05:05):
When I was the rehab director, the community
had, quite honestly, beenthrough a rough patch kind of
turnover of leadershipcaregivers census was lower, but
we had the opportunity to buildthat and when I was the rehab
director we definitely turnedthe community around.
So revenue was improving, wehad more patients and residents
(05:26):
on caseload and while it wasn'tthe rehab company's fault, like
after a year, I was expecting alarger raise or increased
leadership opportunity, and Ithink we all see that with the
continued challenges withreimbursement decreasing Again,
not only did I want morefinancial freedom and
(05:47):
opportunity, but I also wantedincreased leadership opportunity
and so the opportunity tobecome the admin and manage a
team of 50 individuals that,quite frankly, are very
different, right, like, managinga caregiver is a lot different
than managing a dining director,which is a lot different than
managing your sales manager, andI wanted to take that leap and
(06:09):
that challenge of managing adynamic group of people.
So I took the leap and becamethe administrator for 15 months
and I'm very proud of everysingle one of those months.
For anyone that has been anadmin or interacted with an
admin, it is a 24-7 job.
You know if someone calls off,you're the caregiver working
night shift.
(06:29):
You're working the double onChristmas day.
And, while I loved that and ittaught me so much in that 15
months, my husband and I startedto talk about wanting to start
a family and he, quite frankly,was well, I'm not going to be a
single parent.
And I was like that is very fair, that's a legit concern.
And so I actually reached outto my previous boss at the rehab
(06:53):
company that I had worked forand said, hey, this has been a
great experience, but is thereanything at the rehab company, a
leadership position?
I'm looking and she goes well.
I'm no longer at the rehabcompany.
I'm happy.
I'm looking and she goes well.
I'm no longer at the rehabcompany.
I'm happy to connect you withthe CEO, but I'm at this amazing
company called CARE.
Really, it went back to mynetwork and reaching out to her
(07:14):
name is Laura for increasedopportunity, and that is what
got me to CARE, and I know we'lldive into CARE in a little bit,
but that was how I got where Iwas, how I took the leap of
faith and then again going backto your network of who you know
in the industry when somethingisn't working for your life or
for your career.
Tanner Welsch (07:34):
For sure.
I think you're super fortunateto have that happen, that your
previous supervisor had madethis jump, was able to talk to
you about her transition, herexperience, and then there's
doors opened up for you to jumpon board too, so I think that's
great.
Yeah, never underestimate yournetwork.
I'm actually going to finish upthe miniseries.
(07:54):
There's a transition journeyminiseries that I started and
the last episode is actuallyabout networking and groups and
subgroups and all that.
So we're going to deep diveinto that and that episode.
Be sure to check it out.
But now's an appropriate timeto dive into CARE.
Tell us in a nutshell what isCARE, what services do they
offer and who may be a good fitworking with CARE?
Danae Mierau (08:16):
Yeah.
So CARE is a labor marketplaceand our goal is two sides to it
One place and our goal is twosides to it.
One that labor marketplace isspecifically for senior living.
So when we talk senior living,I'm talking assisted living,
memory care and skilled nursingfacilities, and our goal is to
connect communities withproviders and providers with
(08:40):
communities.
We've been around for aboutfour years now, primarily
working in the nursing world, soproviding CNA, lpn, rn, med
tech positions for thoseproviders, and it's really
exciting.
In the last few months we havelaunched into the therapy space.
So care right now is in 38states.
(09:03):
We've launched therapy in threestates, and so virtually what
it is is communities post openshifts on the care platform and
then we have our care heroes.
That's all of the providersnurses, therapists, med techs
and they're able to apply towork shifts when and where they
would like.
For the providers, fortherapists, this is perfect for
(09:27):
maybe working moms or maybesomeone that's just looking to
make some supplemental income.
We know, with therapists, right, there's not many salaried
positions out there anymore, soif census drops, you don't have
patients to treat, your incomegoes down, and so this is a
great way to to treat yourincome goes down, and so this is
(09:47):
a great way to one offerincreased flexibility.
Two work when and where youwant.
There's a certain patientpopulation or certain area you
want to work.
But three offer that financialindependence and more control
over what you're bringing in foryourself, your family, whatever
your financial goals are.
Tanner Welsch (10:02):
For sure.
It sounds like a real win-winfor everybody involved.
Definitely a way to havesupplemental income, additional
income streams, and you guyshave an app you can get on and
look the shifts locations.
So if you're going to use theplatform and take on a shift,
the therapist is not employeddirectly through care.
(10:24):
Is that right?
Danae Mierau (10:25):
Correct.
So that provider is a 1099contractor.
When you say that, people askdo I have liability insurance
malpractice?
And the answer is yes, caredoes cover that for any provider
using the care platform to pickup those shifts.
So it's not an increased coston the therapist or burden or
stress, but yes, that individualis a 1099 contractor.
(10:47):
We often see that right aroundthe holidays people tend to work
more shifts, pick up moreshifts because there's increased
financial needs.
Also, we see, you know ifyou're a parent, people don't
work a whole lot in the summer,but then when their kids go back
to school they pick up moreshifts and so, again, it really
is what you want to make it andalso it's increased visibility
(11:09):
of future or potential employers.
The beauty of care is there'sno fee for these communities to
hire any of our providersfull-time, part-time, prn.
So if you're also looking for anew full-time position in the
rehab space and in senior living, it's a great way to go.
Try three, five, 10 communitiesand see where you fit with that
(11:32):
leadership team, the residentpopulation, to make the best
decision for yourself.
Tanner Welsch (11:38):
I love that.
A trial run to see if you're agood fit yeah, I didn't really
think about that before.
Also, the pay isn't itinstantaneous or something like
that?
You get paid really quickly persession.
Danae Mierau (12:06):
So it's similar to a home health model.
As far as payment goes, thecommunity actually sets that per
session rate, so we don't setthe rates because a Denver
Colorado looks a lot differentfrom an Atlanta Georgia.
We coach them on what we'reseeing as being competitive
session rates, but again they'repaid per session, not per hour,
and then, similar to Uber,after a therapist shift is
(12:29):
completed, the community ratesthem on a one to five star
rating and as long as thattherapist gets a four or five
star rating, as soon as thatcommunity clicks verify on that
shift, they are paid in realtime.
Now, on the flip side, if theydon't perform as well or there
were some concerns, thattherapist obviously is still
(12:49):
going to get paid for their timeand their work, they just have
to wait seven to 10 businessdays.
But it's a way that we ensurequality care to our communities
but also incentivize thatquality care by paying
therapists, nurses, cnas in realtime.
Tanner Welsch (13:04):
I love that.
It sounds a lot like Luna,except Luna covers more of the
home health sector, but there'sa lot of similarities here.
They have a platform you get on, you get to pick up shifts in
the area.
It's really great forsupplemental income or however
you want to use it within yourcircumstances and what you got
going on in your life.
So I think this is awesomebecause it just adds another
(13:25):
opportunity for rehabprofessionals to explore if they
want to explore it, and I thinkit's great.
Danae Mierau (13:31):
Our senior vice president met with one of the
leaders at Luna because we aredoing some similar things just
in different spaces and so theymet to see.
You know how we can make eachother better and strategies that
we're using to benefit therehab profession as a whole and
also make those therapists feelmore whole as well.
Tanner Welsch (13:57):
Absolutely.
I think that's great buttingheads, feeling like we're
competing directly with eachother.
What would you say are somepractical, maybe not obvious,
skills that made you a great fitfor the role that you're in now
?
Danae Mierau (14:09):
Number one I would say is the ability to manage
people.
I think as therapists sometimeswe get tunnel vision on
treating impairments and, yes,we see that person, but you
forget how many people you'reactually managing when you're a
therapist.
So, as a PT or an OT or PTA,whatever type of therapist, you
(14:34):
are right.
You're managing doctor's orders.
You're managing, especially insenior living, the case manager
Are they contemplating hospicecare?
You're teaching the caregiversso that all the work that you
did in your hour session iscarried through their entire
plan of care.
So you're interacting.
And then the families, ofcourse, especially in senior
living, right, a lot of thoseolder adults have five to seven
(14:56):
children with completelydifferent expectations of
therapy or their care, and soyou're managing a bigger team
than I think often we realize.
And the ability to manage andmotivate people is so extremely
powerful and can be applied toreally any job or any industry.
So that's, I would say, numberone.
(15:17):
And then number two I would saytherapists are disciplined,
right, and we're learners.
Sometimes I hear therapiststhat are maybe contemplating
this career change of like.
Well, I don't know thatindustry or I don't know that
role.
I'm like, are you disciplinedand are you willing to learn,
are you willing to put the workin?
And if you made it through PTschool or OT school or SLP
(15:40):
school, you are disciplined andyou had to learn a lot.
And so, again, don'tunderestimate your ability to
learn something new, becauseit's probably going to be
actually easier than you thinkwhen you realize how many skills
and your knowledge that you canapply to that new position.
Tanner Welsch (15:51):
For sure, and something else within the
industry is, we're often reallyadaptable and flexible because
we have to be in work with whatwe have and sometimes, more
often than not, we get intosituations where things aren't
going to go as planned, becausesomething comes up, or the
patient's sick or whatever thecase is, and you got to adapt
your plan right there, on thespot, and roll with it.
Danae Mierau (16:12):
And you know, a lot of therapists say too I hear
this often and I even say thisabout myself sometimes well, I'm
not a sales person, I can'tsell.
I'm like, well, you have tosell yourself and sell what
you're doing for that patient inorder for them to come back.
Three times a week, I probablywork with people that have a
stronger background in businessdevelopment and sales, but
naturally, you're selling yourprofession and you're selling
(16:34):
what you can do for that personeach and every day in order to
get them to come back.
Not that I'm looking for afully sales role or anything
like that, but there are a lotof therapists that end up being
really, really strong at that.
Tanner Welsch (16:46):
That's very true.
Let's dive into what's yourtypical day, maybe three top
bullet points about yourresponsibilities for the manager
role that you're in.
Danae Mierau (16:56):
So I manage our West slash, midwest region, and
so I oversee operations in sevenof our states, and I have a
wonderful team of four leaders,the regional account managers,
and so I oversee theirperformance.
What are they struggling with?
Did a state pass a new piece ofcompliance that we need to work
(17:18):
through?
And so, again, overseeingbusiness development.
So how many communities areusing us?
How many providers are weonboarding each month?
How many of them are active andhave had the opportunity to
work a shift on the careplatform?
Also, managing the compliancepiece we know that senior living
(17:38):
you'll see it in the news a lotright, the compliance world is
ever changing.
One state makes a change andthen the next state next to them
wants to make a similar change,and then we have the federal
regulations and I mean it's alot to keep track of and make
sure that again, we'reprotecting our communities and
our heroes and ensuringeverybody's compliant.
(17:59):
We also travel quite a bit, andso we are at almost every state
health care association show,leading age, national shows, and
so managing the travel of notonly myself but my team force of
(18:19):
.
Where are we going to beginrecruiting therapists next?
What communities already use usand could use the therapy
support in teaching them how touse it, because it is structured
.
It's the same platform but itis structured a little bit
different.
In training those rehabdirectors on how to successfully
use the platform, we are stillin startup mode.
(18:40):
We're about four years old, sono day is ever the same, which I
really appreciate and love thechallenge because there's always
something new to learn andtackle.
Tanner Welsch (18:49):
That's awesome.
Would you call it a med techcompany, like a startup health
company?
Or how would you categorizecare?
Danae Mierau (18:57):
Yes, we are a tech company, but if you ask any of
my family and friends me sayingI work for a tech company, they
would just laugh.
And so, because I'm not techieat all, honestly, we have a lot
of clinicians, previous directorof nursing rec therapists on
our team and so we really arebuilt by the industry, for the
(19:21):
industry.
Our CEO, charles Turner.
He still owns senior livingcommunities.
He's a recovering operator, ashe would call himself.
I would say, yes, we are a techcompany, but we are a
people-driven tech companyBecause, again, it's not your
traditional tech company,because you're managing two
different groups of people yourcommunities and the 50,000
(19:43):
providers that we have on ourplatform.
Tanner Welsch (19:46):
For sure.
I believe you said there wasthree states that the therapy
services were in.
What are those three states?
Danae Mierau (19:52):
So right now we are in Colorado, the greater
Denver area.
We have multiple markets herethat help with nursing, but
again want to start where wehave the most providers.
So the greater Denver area isnumber one.
Two, we are in Texas, currentlyin Houston and Austin, but stay
tuned because in the next weekor two we'll be expanding to a
(20:15):
few additional markets.
And then, third, we're inAtlanta, Georgia.
Tanner Welsch (20:19):
Nice, what is obvious to you now that maybe
you struggle to see in themoment?
Comparing your role where youare now, what you've learned,
and then comparing that to backwhen you were treating and or in
your rehab director role.
Danae Mierau (20:33):
I would say if I would just give people the sense
of encouragement to trysomething new if you're not
happy.
I think there's a stigma or thefear of judgment.
If and when you go to schoolfor seven years for something
and then someone asks, oh, whatare you doing?
I'm like, well, I'm a physicaltherapist because I still am
right, I can still treatpatients, my license is still
(20:55):
active, but I'm not currentlypracticing and I'm doing this.
A lot of people's eyes and jawsdrop, but there are so many
roles out there that I still ama therapist every day.
I still use that therapistskill set every single day, and
especially with care.
I mean I'm very blessed to bewith the team that I am with in
(21:16):
the ability to continue being atherapist and helping other
therapists through my careerpath and through my career
journey and through my careerjourney.
So just because you're notpracticing doesn't mean, I think
, that you're not a physicaltherapist, you're not an OT or
whatever it may be, and that youare going to use those skills
every single day, even if it'sjust in a non-traditional role.
Tanner Welsch (21:38):
For sure.
Yeah, I want to jump back tothe transition and the time
frame when you know you'releaving.
I think it was.
You said it was like anadministrator role and jumping
to care.
Was it as simple as just youhad a connection on the inside
of your previous supervisor andyou just applied and then boom,
you got this general managerposition.
(21:58):
Or was there several otherhoops to jump through, or some
additional training or education?
I'm sure there were some painpoints along the way.
That's what I'm trying to getat.
Danae Mierau (22:08):
So when I had made the decision that the admin
role just wasn't sustainable forme in my lifestyle some people
it is, and that's phenomenal,like I said, I reached out to
Laura.
But I also applied to multiplepositions in different areas and
went through some differentinterview processes and at that
time care wasn't in the therapyspace but Laura had been hired
(22:31):
gosh, I think, probably likethree months before me, with the
plan of hey, we don't know whenthis therapy thing is going to
happen, but we're going to makeit happen.
And that's a big reason whyLaura did make the change over
to care in.
What intrigued me again,because I don't want to lose my
roots as a therapist, but whentransitioning, especially from a
(22:54):
community in person you're inthe community every day to a
remote job, primarily, you knowwe're on the road 30, 40% of the
time, depending on your role atcare.
That was a transition in itself, right.
Again, going back to thatself-discipline of when do I
start work, when do I end work.
Well, work never really endsbecause it's a startup and
(23:16):
communities are open 24-7.
So when a nurse doesn't show upor when a community has a last
minute shift on Christmas Eveand they're not on the platform,
are you going to be the one tostep up and help them?
And so, while that was, itseemed like a challenge.
I thought to myself I've got tohelp this administrator because
I know exactly how he or shefeels, because if I don't help
(23:39):
them, they're going to go workthe night shift tonight and miss
Christmas Eve with their family, or whatever it may be.
When I was hired at Tara, I wasa regional account manager, so I
only oversaw our operations inColorado and I would say the
biggest challenge but also whatI appreciated is every market
that we're in is so completelydifferent.
(24:01):
So, yes, there were some SOPsthat I could follow to learn,
but it was really up to me tolearn our current customers, to
learn the market, to learn thelegislation that would affect
how we run our business, because, again, what we do here versus
Oklahoma is drasticallydifferent.
(24:22):
And so the challenge of notreally having a structured game
plan of here's how you buildyour market, here's how you make
your customers happy, thechallenge of really having to
teach yourself and just go getit was a challenge, but I really
enjoyed that, so I found it fun.
And then again, about sixmonths in, is when I
(24:42):
transitioned to the generalmanager role to oversee a team
in multiple states.
Tanner Welsch (24:47):
Cool, like looking at the past.
You know five, maybe even 10years.
What would you have donedifferently, knowing what you
know now, if you could go backfive or 10 years?
Is there anything that youwould have changed?
Danae Mierau (24:59):
You know I don't think I would change much of
anything.
I really am happy with the paththat I've taken and the
confidence to take those steps.
I'm not saying I never doubtedmyself.
I would say the moment that Idoubted myself probably the most
in all of this transition andlooking back, was making that
(25:23):
initial jump from rehab directorclinician to the admin role.
I remember the first familywhen they announced that I was
going to be the next admin.
This family member walked up tome and she's you are so young,
can you do this job?
And I thought to myself, whatdid I do?
Right, like that's internallywhat I'm thinking.
(25:44):
What did I do?
And I said yep, because I'vegot the courage and the energy
to get the job done.
And I just walked away.
I mean I didn't know what elseto say to this woman.
So again, like I don't regretor I wouldn't change anything.
But that doesn't mean that everytransition was just perfect.
And I never doubted myselfbecause there were days and
(26:05):
nights that I did.
I mean running a senior livingcommunity and laying down at
night and thinking there are 60people whose lives depend on me.
Running this communitysuccessfully can get to you
mentally and emotionally.
And then, to be quite frank,the jump from admin to care was
pretty easy because I was soexcited to be with a company
(26:26):
that was going to help fix thenumber one problem of why I
couldn't and why a lot of adminsor DONs or communities
struggled daily, and theopportunity to be with a company
that impacts that daily, itjust clicked.
It just yeah, this is ano-brainer.
Tanner Welsch (26:43):
It's a perfect fit for you.
I mean, yeah, I don't thinkthey could have picked anybody
better to really see what theother side you know like being
from an administrator role ormaybe a DON, what that's like
because you were in theadministrator role, you know
what it's like.
This is something I thinkthat's a topic that is
interesting, and I'm curiouswhat your thoughts are.
Do you feel that you would bewhere you are today without your
(27:07):
PT experience?
Or do you think you reallyneeded your PT background to
land the role and be where youare now?
And the reason why I ask thisis there's some students that
have reached out that have been.
Is this worth it, this poorreturn on investment and the
amount of debt we got to go inand to the overall rehab field
in general with the schooling isit worth it?
And so Martin thanks for thisquestion.
(27:29):
He asked if I already know I'mgoing to go non-clinical, do I
need to basically become aphysical therapist, a rehab
professional, to do that?
And so that's where this reallystems from is.
Do you feel like you would bewhere you are now if you didn't
have the PT education and the PTexperience?
Danae Mierau (27:45):
Fabulous question and this question is super easy
to answer.
I truly believe I would not bewhere I'm at today without the
clinical education and alsopracticing for four and a half,
five years.
You lose track of time, butabout that amount of time?
Because no matter where you endup from a career and
(28:09):
professional standpoint, youhave to work with people and so
I think, seeing as a therapist,right, you see people in pain,
you see people when they'revulnerable, when they're not at
their best, and that passion andcompassion behind the therapist
mentality is huge in whateverrole you end up taking.
Again, as an admin of acommunity, I had the passion and
(28:31):
compassion for the residentsand the patients and the staff.
Yes, I treat this patient orresident for one hour.
They have eight to 12 hourswith this individual that has
dementia and behaviors.
I mean that is a lot right.
So that exposure to workingwith people when they're not
(28:53):
feeling their best is huge.
And again, this is nothingagainst your traditional
business, sales, educated,individual but I think sometimes
they miss that piece or notmiss.
But therapists have a strongersense of that and so, again, no
matter where you're at, you'regoing to be working with people
going through really demandingeducation in school and getting
(29:17):
through that allows you to havethat in future when you're, when
you're trying to learnsomething else.
And so, yeah, I really I don'tthink I would be where, where
I'm at today, without being atherapist first and still.
Tanner Welsch (29:30):
Perfect.
Thanks for sharing that insight.
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
Danae Mierau (29:34):
Oh, there's so much I love.
I think with therapy everypatient or resident was
different.
It does get a little bitrepetitive and there's a lot of
jobs out there that getrepetitive and some people like
that routine.
I am naturally a routine personbut I love, with care, that
there's always a new challenge,there's always a new battle,
(29:55):
there's always a new avenue thatwe're trying to grow.
That keeps me mentally,emotionally driven and engaged
in the company and theorganization, and then I just
really love the mission behindwhat we're doing.
I will always work for a companyor do something.
I have to be driven by themission.
I'm not someone that can workfor a company that you just go
(30:18):
in, do your job and leave.
That's just not me.
Care is mission driven for ourproviders, for the therapists,
but for the communities too, andso getting to be a part of that
is fun.
And I also just have the bestteam of four lovely women Not
that men aren't great at all,that's not what I'm saying but
we just have an energy andspirit about ourselves that we
(30:42):
will do whatever it takes toimpact our customers and our
providers the best that we can.
We just work so well togetherand it's fun to work with my
team every day.
Tanner Welsch (30:52):
I love that.
You found a really great match.
Sounds like your values andethics and core personality, who
you are, that resonates withthe business that you're working
for, with Care and, on top ofthe team.
Huge difference I mean whenyou're working with a group of
people that you really vibe withand you guys are like in sync
and synergy is going versus nothuge difference day to day and
(31:13):
it'll wear on you.
If it's not so I totallyunderstand and can relate.
What would you share with rehabprofessionals who may be
struggling or feel stuck intraditional clinical rehab
career and they're looking to dosomething different?
What kind of advice or tips orinsights would you share with
them?
Danae Mierau (31:32):
I'm a list maker and I am a very visual person.
I like writing things injournals or on notepads versus
the computer.
You know computers like you canopen another tab, you can get
distracted, and so if a rehabprofessional is thinking that
they potentially want to dosomething different, I would
tell them get a notepad out andget a pen out, play some of your
(31:53):
favorite music and start with alist of two things or you know
two different lists.
One is what are my strengthsthat are not related to direct
resident care oh, I followprotocols really well or I'm a
very adaptable and then make alist of what you genuinely like
to do.
Do you like to be an individualcontributor or do you like
(32:15):
working on a team and leadingteams?
Do you think you maybe want totry working remote, or are you
someone that needs to get up,get dressed in X and go interact
with your team in person everysingle day?
So I would start with those twolists.
I think that's very insightfuland can guide people into the
role type that they may beinterested in or good at.
(32:38):
If you start by just likelooking at jobs, I think you can
get stuck.
It's a big process and it's alot to think through, but I
think, if you go back to thosetwo lists and this is an
activity I did again when I haddecided I want to be an admin,
and then I did the same thingwhen the admin thing wasn't
working out Okay, I really lovemy job, but what about?
(32:58):
It needs to change to make me ahappier person and not just
achieve my career goals, becauseI was achieving my career goals
, but I wasn't achieving mypersonal goals of wanting to be
a mom, and so what needed tochange?
And so those two lists bothtime I did a transition really
helped guide my decision making.
Tanner Welsch (33:18):
I love that I had my input here too with the
skills list.
Great idea For me personallyand I feel in general sometimes
it's hard to figure out whatyour powers are, your strengths,
your superpowers, what do youwant to call them skills?
And so a great way to getinsight around that is asking
really close friends, familymembers, what are the skills
that I have?
And they usually know rightaway and they may have never
(33:41):
said this to you, but they oftenwill be able to pick it out and
tell you.
Another angle to look at it maybe what do people come to you
for?
If they have an issue orproblem and they're coming to
you to solve it, what does thatseem to be over time?
Also, something I've heardabout is taking some personality
assessments and figuring outwhat roles fit best with that
(34:02):
particular personality type.
And I agree with you with doyou like working with people or
not?
I'm working in the home healthspace.
If you never worked in the homehealth space, you probably
don't know this, but it actuallyis pretty lonely.
I used to work in skillednursing facilities in the
hospital, and so you havecommunities, cnas, nurses, all
these people you work with, andthat's great.
I love that, but when you'reout in the home health field
it's just you and the patientand then the rest is phone calls
(34:25):
to the home health agencies,the nurses, the patients.
I mean, there really is noone-on-one with your team.
And I think would be definitelya big shift if you were going
to go to a team environment tomaybe just all virtual Follow
question on that for you.
I assume you guys have groupmeetings and things like that or
you collaborate online,possibly virtually.
Do you feel that thatsubstitutes for the in-person
(34:50):
team interaction or not really?
Danae Mierau (34:53):
I would say not really.
I think I would struggle if wedidn't have our travel seasons
where we get to interact in.
Those days are extremely,extremely long and beneficial
and very fun, but exhausting,right, you're up early and then
there's the after conferenceevents, but that interaction is
what fuels you for when you'reremote.
(35:14):
A lot of times our team you'retraveling five to seven weeks,
or five out of seven weeks, oreight out of 10 weeks, but then
you have this break where you'renot, and so, personally, I use
that travel season to fuel myneed for being with my team in
person.
But I will be honest, there'sone of my team members that I
actually have never met inperson and we get along great
(35:37):
right, like I know a lot abouther and about her life, but I
look forward to the next timethat we'll get to travel
together so I get to meet her inperson.
Tanner Welsch (35:45):
Absolutely.
There's something about that.
You know the in-personinteractions that the virtual
can't really substitute for.
So yeah, I was curious whatyour experience was with that.
Danae Mierau (35:55):
Yeah, and I'm blessed we have four total team
members in Colorado.
They all decide to live upnorth, so I'm the straggler down
south, but we do occasionallyget to meet up and also, like I,
go to quite a few networkinggroups.
So while it's not in personwith my team, that is how I fuel
my need for that in personhuman interaction.
(36:17):
And I go visit our communitiestoo.
When we have providers workingat a community, like bringing
them Coke, zero and Crumble oryou know, and the admins, like
dropping off Starbucks, becausethat will make anyone's day when
you're an admin and you'vealready been there for a million
hours, and so, again, there'sways to definitely, at least in
(36:37):
my role, get that humaninteraction and not just be
behind a screen all day.
Tanner Welsch (36:42):
Absolutely, and taking those opportunities to
build those relationships andcultivate and foster them for
sure, 100%.
Danae, thank you so much forcoming on, sharing your career
journey and educating us aboutcare and the opportunities care
has for the rehab profession.
So thank you so much.
Danae Mierau (36:59):
No, thank you for having me.
It's been a pleasure and I hopeit helps people out there take
the leap of faith.
If that's what they're lookingfor, or maybe they're looking
for that non-traditional therapyroute.
If we're not in a state thatyou're currently living in, just
give us a little time and carewill be there, I promise.
Again happy to chat about carewith anyone that is looking to
(37:19):
again continue to maintain thatclinical role, but they're
looking for that financialfreedom or flexibility or
whatever their life currentlyneeds.
Tanner Welsch (37:29):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much, denae, takecare.
So I want to take a moment hereand inject some more value into
this episode around one of thetopics that we touched on.
They stem from a couple ofquestions that were asked
directly to me from a PT student, martin.
Thank you, martin, for takingthe time to send me these
questions, and the two questionsare is staying in PT school
(37:53):
worth it if you may gonon-clinical anyway?
And a follow-up question iswhat advice do you have for
students considering going intoPT school or current PT students
?
Is it worth the time and moneyfor somewhat weak returns on
that investment?
I think these are really twogreat questions and I want to
share my experience andknowledge and what I've gained
(38:13):
from interviewing guests as well.
Let's talk about the firstquestion is, you know, pt school
worth it or is rehab schoolworth it if you may go
non-clinical anyway?
The answer is it really depends.
I've had guests that I'veinterviewed.
Say, for example, wen Hung.
She is a formal OT and she'sturned to recruiter.
(38:34):
She flat out says that shewished she never went to grad
school and went into recruitingright after high school, because
it can be pretty lucrative andshe's good at it.
You know she wished she wouldhave just done that from the
get-go.
I've had other therapists thatI've interviewed say that they
wouldn't be in the roles orpositions that they are now,
that they love and they like andenjoy, without having the
(38:57):
background of being a rehabprofessional.
So there is no clean cut answerand I think it helps to
understand you, your personalitytype Do you like working in
groups of people, do you likeworking by yourself?
You know what are your skillsets, what are your superpowers,
and really trying to figure outwhat role best fits you as a
(39:18):
person to be able to answer thatyou know.
Another example that comes intomind is, you know, is talking
with those that were in therehab field that have
transitioned to real estate.
A lot of them really like it alot and I think it's fair to say
that they didn't have to go toPT or rehab school to transition
into those roles.
(39:38):
And I've heard this before aswell.
There's other lucrative, morelucrative careers out there than
the rehab field.
So you know, if all you'relooking for is a really big fat
paycheck, the rehab field isprobably not the best field to
go into.
Also, the health field ingeneral, especially the rehab
professions.
It's just in general it'sburnout so high because of the
(39:59):
bottom line where it's see asmany patients as you possibly
can to generate the most incomefor the company you're working
for or for corporate healthcarein general.
That's just how the healthindustry is, unfortunately.
Again, healthcare may seem likea real stable career path and
generally it pays well, andthose are true but the burnout
rate is super high and the debtto get into these programs is
(40:20):
high as well.
Which leads into the secondquestion, which is you know,
what advice do you have forstudents considering going into
PT school or current PT students?
Is it worth the time and moneyfor somewhat weak returns on
that investment?
You know that depends.
There's a lot of variables thatgo into both of these questions
that we'd have to talk todeeper, more one-on-one, to help
get more to the core and figureout more about you and your
(40:41):
personal situation,circumstances and where you are.
But again, in general I thinkthere are definitely other
career paths out there that aremore lucrative.
I think it stems back to you,your personality, what roles you
see yourself matching well with, with your personality type and
the job duties andresponsibilities.
And if you're not sure.
Talk to people, network, shadowa lot of people that I've
(41:05):
talked to that have landednon-clinical and also
non-traditional roles.
You know these alternativeroles have cold emailed people
within the business or industrythat they want to work in and
just talk to them about theirroles, their interest and just
getting more details and thesenetworks and connections have
landed them actually jobs thatthey wouldn't have otherwise had
(41:25):
.
It can be intimidating to dosome of this deep finding and
this deep search and deep divinginto you and the companies that
you want to work for, but inthe long run it's worth it.
Do you want to invest threeyears of your life and $100,000
in debt to realize, oh man, thisactually isn't a good fit for
me.
These are things that we shouldprobably know beforehand but,
(41:45):
like many of us, it's somethingthat goes with just life.
There's a quote from DenzelWashington that says life's
never a straight path andsometimes we have to go through
some things to understand somethings about ourselves and where
we wanna go.
But really good questions,martin, thank you for reaching
out and the contact tab andasking me.
I really appreciate it.
Intro (42:05):
Thank you for listening to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
If this podcast was useful,make sure to hit that subscribe
button and leave a review.
For more information abouttransitioning to alternative
careers, head to rehabrebelsorgor follow us on Instagram at
Rehab Rebels podcast.
We'll see you next time.
Welcome to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
Are you a rehab professionalready to transition to an
alternative career?
Hear inspiring stories fromothers just like you and learn
the best ways to bridge yourcareer gap.
This podcast has you covered.
Now here's your host, doctor ofphysical therapy and podcaster,
Tanner Welsh.
Tanner Welsch (00:21):
Hi.
Rehab Rebels Public serviceannouncement.
We have been posting a varietyof career transition interviews
this season.
However, we have received somepositive feedback about the
business career transitioninterviews, so you will be
seeing more of these interviewsbeing posted.
Let us know what you want tohear more of by sending me a DM
(00:42):
on Instagram atRehabRebelsPodcast, or email me
directly at Tanner atRehabRebelsorg.
Take care, welcome back toanother Rehab Rebels episode,
this episode.
There's two things that arediscussed in today's episode,
and that is an alternativecareer path, and another second
(01:06):
thing that is discussed is aalternative income source for
rehab professionals, and we'lldive into both of those.
Today's guest is Denae, andwe'll give a little brief bio
about her and then we'll bringher in and start the interview.
Denae grew up in Chicago,chicago land area.
I'm going to have to ask youDenae grew up in Chicago,
chicago land area.
(01:26):
I'm going to have to ask you,denae, what you mean by Chicago
land area.
She attended the University ofMissouri for her undergrad
degree in health science andcontinued at the University of
Missouri for her doctorate ofphysical therapy, and she is
currently a general manager atCARE, which is the leading
solution to solve the laborshortage and senior care
facilities.
So, danae, welcome to thepodcast.
Danae Mierau (01:49):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Tanner Welsch (01:51):
Let's start with the bio.
I see that it says Chicagolandarea.
Can you tell us a little bitabout what that means?
Danae Mierau (01:57):
Yeah, you know, I'm a suburban girl, grew up
about an hour outside of thecity.
Many people don't know whereBatavia, illinois is, but
everyone knows where Chicago is,so I tend to go with the
Chicagoland area able to connectwith more people that are from
around that area.
Tanner Welsch (02:13):
Makes sense.
I imagine it can get kind ofcomplicated in some of those big
huge metropolitan areas about.
Chicago covers a lot of littlesuburb areas.
So yeah, for sure let's dive inhere and just kind of get into
the nitty gritty with if youcould give us just a real short,
brief background of after yougraduated PT school, what were
some of the positions that youheld, and then we'll get on to
(02:34):
one of the first major questions, which is you know what was the
first sense of awareness thatthings weren't quite right in
the traditional rehab careermodel treating patients.
Right in the traditional rehabcareer model treating patients.
Danae Mierau (02:44):
So right out of school I started in acute care
in Salt Lake City, workingprimarily in the ICU, really
really enjoyed my time there,working obviously with
critically ill patients.
And then my husband and Idecided to move to Colorado and
there is where I really kind ofdecided where in PT I wanted to
(03:07):
practice, which was with seniors, and so I became a rehab
director at a senior livingcommunity.
It was all memory care, sostandalone memory care, 76 bed
community and that population Ijust fell in love with.
It's a challenge, right,because they're not remembering
necessarily you know they're notgoing to do the home exercise
(03:29):
program because they don'tremember but just seeing the
impact that I and the rehab teamcould make, not only with that
resident but teaching thecaregivers how to transfer
residents and patients the bestand the safest decreasing falls,
I just fell in love not onlywith that population but senior
living as a whole.
(03:50):
And I think you know therewasn't necessarily a single
moment where I realized being apracticing clinician wasn't for
me.
It was more that I fell in lovewith senior living as a whole
and wanted to make a biggerimpact on that community
specifically, but also theindustry.
(04:11):
And so looking kind of around.
I didn't see necessarily aleadership path with therapy
that I was inclined to go after.
But I started watching thebehavior and the daily tasks and
the challenges that theadministrator of the community
went through every day and Ithought to myself and I told her
(04:34):
that day is I appreciate thatyou're here doing your job, but
I want your job someday I?
That was the career path thatin that moment I had decided I
was going to go after.
Tanner Welsch (04:45):
Was there a decisive moment that you had the
?
Ok, I'm going to transition tothis over here and I believe the
next role jump for you, thenext career jump, was with care
as a manager.
How did all that transpire?
How did you go from this rehabdirector role into you know,
this manager role for care?
Danae Mierau (05:05):
When I was the rehab director, the community
had, quite honestly, beenthrough a rough patch kind of
turnover of leadershipcaregivers census was lower, but
we had the opportunity to buildthat and when I was the rehab
director we definitely turnedthe community around.
So revenue was improving, wehad more patients and residents
(05:26):
on caseload and while it wasn'tthe rehab company's fault, like
after a year, I was expecting alarger raise or increased
leadership opportunity, and Ithink we all see that with the
continued challenges withreimbursement decreasing Again,
not only did I want morefinancial freedom and
(05:47):
opportunity, but I also wantedincreased leadership opportunity
and so the opportunity tobecome the admin and manage a
team of 50 individuals that,quite frankly, are very
different, right, like, managinga caregiver is a lot different
than managing a dining director,which is a lot different than
managing your sales manager, andI wanted to take that leap and
(06:09):
that challenge of managing adynamic group of people.
So I took the leap and becamethe administrator for 15 months
and I'm very proud of everysingle one of those months.
For anyone that has been anadmin or interacted with an
admin, it is a 24-7 job.
You know if someone calls off,you're the caregiver working
night shift.
(06:29):
You're working the double onChristmas day.
And, while I loved that and ittaught me so much in that 15
months, my husband and I startedto talk about wanting to start
a family and he, quite frankly,was well, I'm not going to be a
single parent.
And I was like that is very fair, that's a legit concern.
And so I actually reached outto my previous boss at the rehab
(06:53):
company that I had worked forand said, hey, this has been a
great experience, but is thereanything at the rehab company, a
leadership position?
I'm looking and she goes well.
I'm no longer at the rehabcompany.
I'm happy.
I'm looking and she goes well.
I'm no longer at the rehabcompany.
I'm happy to connect you withthe CEO, but I'm at this amazing
company called CARE.
Really, it went back to mynetwork and reaching out to her
(07:14):
name is Laura for increasedopportunity, and that is what
got me to CARE, and I know we'lldive into CARE in a little bit,
but that was how I got where Iwas, how I took the leap of
faith and then again going backto your network of who you know
in the industry when somethingisn't working for your life or
for your career.
Tanner Welsch (07:34):
For sure.
I think you're super fortunateto have that happen, that your
previous supervisor had madethis jump, was able to talk to
you about her transition, herexperience, and then there's
doors opened up for you to jumpon board too, so I think that's
great.
Yeah, never underestimate yournetwork.
I'm actually going to finish upthe miniseries.
(07:54):
There's a transition journeyminiseries that I started and
the last episode is actuallyabout networking and groups and
subgroups and all that.
So we're going to deep diveinto that and that episode.
Be sure to check it out.
But now's an appropriate timeto dive into CARE.
Tell us in a nutshell what isCARE, what services do they
offer and who may be a good fitworking with CARE?
Danae Mierau (08:16):
Yeah.
So CARE is a labor marketplaceand our goal is two sides to it
One place and our goal is twosides to it.
One that labor marketplace isspecifically for senior living.
So when we talk senior living,I'm talking assisted living,
memory care and skilled nursingfacilities, and our goal is to
connect communities withproviders and providers with
(08:40):
communities.
We've been around for aboutfour years now, primarily
working in the nursing world, soproviding CNA, lpn, rn, med
tech positions for thoseproviders, and it's really
exciting.
In the last few months we havelaunched into the therapy space.
So care right now is in 38states.
(09:03):
We've launched therapy in threestates, and so virtually what
it is is communities post openshifts on the care platform and
then we have our care heroes.
That's all of the providersnurses, therapists, med techs
and they're able to apply towork shifts when and where they
would like.
For the providers, fortherapists, this is perfect for
(09:27):
maybe working moms or maybesomeone that's just looking to
make some supplemental income.
We know, with therapists, right, there's not many salaried
positions out there anymore, soif census drops, you don't have
patients to treat, your incomegoes down, and so this is a
great way to to treat yourincome goes down, and so this is
(09:47):
a great way to one offerincreased flexibility.
Two work when and where youwant.
There's a certain patientpopulation or certain area you
want to work.
But three offer that financialindependence and more control
over what you're bringing in foryourself, your family, whatever
your financial goals are.
Tanner Welsch (10:02):
For sure.
It sounds like a real win-winfor everybody involved.
Definitely a way to havesupplemental income, additional
income streams, and you guyshave an app you can get on and
look the shifts locations.
So if you're going to use theplatform and take on a shift,
the therapist is not employeddirectly through care.
(10:24):
Is that right?
Danae Mierau (10:25):
Correct.
So that provider is a 1099contractor.
When you say that, people askdo I have liability insurance
malpractice?
And the answer is yes, caredoes cover that for any provider
using the care platform to pickup those shifts.
So it's not an increased coston the therapist or burden or
stress, but yes, that individualis a 1099 contractor.
(10:47):
We often see that right aroundthe holidays people tend to work
more shifts, pick up moreshifts because there's increased
financial needs.
Also, we see, you know ifyou're a parent, people don't
work a whole lot in the summer,but then when their kids go back
to school they pick up moreshifts and so, again, it really
is what you want to make it andalso it's increased visibility
(11:09):
of future or potential employers.
The beauty of care is there'sno fee for these communities to
hire any of our providersfull-time, part-time, prn.
So if you're also looking for anew full-time position in the
rehab space and in senior living, it's a great way to go.
Try three, five, 10 communitiesand see where you fit with that
(11:32):
leadership team, the residentpopulation, to make the best
decision for yourself.
Tanner Welsch (11:38):
I love that.
A trial run to see if you're agood fit yeah, I didn't really
think about that before.
Also, the pay isn't itinstantaneous or something like
that?
You get paid really quickly persession.
Danae Mierau (12:06):
So it's similar to a home health model.
As far as payment goes, thecommunity actually sets that per
session rate, so we don't setthe rates because a Denver
Colorado looks a lot differentfrom an Atlanta Georgia.
We coach them on what we'reseeing as being competitive
session rates, but again they'repaid per session, not per hour,
and then, similar to Uber,after a therapist shift is
(12:29):
completed, the community ratesthem on a one to five star
rating and as long as thattherapist gets a four or five
star rating, as soon as thatcommunity clicks verify on that
shift, they are paid in realtime.
Now, on the flip side, if theydon't perform as well or there
were some concerns, thattherapist obviously is still
(12:49):
going to get paid for their timeand their work, they just have
to wait seven to 10 businessdays.
But it's a way that we ensurequality care to our communities
but also incentivize thatquality care by paying
therapists, nurses, cnas in realtime.
Tanner Welsch (13:04):
I love that.
It sounds a lot like Luna,except Luna covers more of the
home health sector, but there'sa lot of similarities here.
They have a platform you get on, you get to pick up shifts in
the area.
It's really great forsupplemental income or however
you want to use it within yourcircumstances and what you got
going on in your life.
So I think this is awesomebecause it just adds another
(13:25):
opportunity for rehabprofessionals to explore if they
want to explore it, and I thinkit's great.
Danae Mierau (13:31):
Our senior vice president met with one of the
leaders at Luna because we aredoing some similar things just
in different spaces and so theymet to see.
You know how we can make eachother better and strategies that
we're using to benefit therehab profession as a whole and
also make those therapists feelmore whole as well.
Tanner Welsch (13:57):
Absolutely.
I think that's great buttingheads, feeling like we're
competing directly with eachother.
What would you say are somepractical, maybe not obvious,
skills that made you a great fitfor the role that you're in now
?
Danae Mierau (14:09):
Number one I would say is the ability to manage
people.
I think as therapists sometimeswe get tunnel vision on
treating impairments and, yes,we see that person, but you
forget how many people you'reactually managing when you're a
therapist.
So, as a PT or an OT or PTA,whatever type of therapist, you
(14:34):
are right.
You're managing doctor's orders.
You're managing, especially insenior living, the case manager
Are they contemplating hospicecare?
You're teaching the caregiversso that all the work that you
did in your hour session iscarried through their entire
plan of care.
So you're interacting.
And then the families, ofcourse, especially in senior
living, right, a lot of thoseolder adults have five to seven
(14:56):
children with completelydifferent expectations of
therapy or their care, and soyou're managing a bigger team
than I think often we realize.
And the ability to manage andmotivate people is so extremely
powerful and can be applied toreally any job or any industry.
So that's, I would say, numberone.
(15:17):
And then number two I would saytherapists are disciplined,
right, and we're learners.
Sometimes I hear therapiststhat are maybe contemplating
this career change of like.
Well, I don't know thatindustry or I don't know that
role.
I'm like, are you disciplinedand are you willing to learn,
are you willing to put the workin?
And if you made it through PTschool or OT school or SLP
(15:40):
school, you are disciplined andyou had to learn a lot.
And so, again, don'tunderestimate your ability to
learn something new, becauseit's probably going to be
actually easier than you thinkwhen you realize how many skills
and your knowledge that you canapply to that new position.
Tanner Welsch (15:51):
For sure, and something else within the
industry is, we're often reallyadaptable and flexible because
we have to be in work with whatwe have and sometimes, more
often than not, we get intosituations where things aren't
going to go as planned, becausesomething comes up, or the
patient's sick or whatever thecase is, and you got to adapt
your plan right there, on thespot, and roll with it.
Danae Mierau (16:12):
And you know, a lot of therapists say too I hear
this often and I even say thisabout myself sometimes well, I'm
not a sales person, I can'tsell.
I'm like, well, you have tosell yourself and sell what
you're doing for that patient inorder for them to come back.
Three times a week, I probablywork with people that have a
stronger background in businessdevelopment and sales, but
naturally, you're selling yourprofession and you're selling
(16:34):
what you can do for that personeach and every day in order to
get them to come back.
Not that I'm looking for afully sales role or anything
like that, but there are a lotof therapists that end up being
really, really strong at that.
Tanner Welsch (16:46):
That's very true.
Let's dive into what's yourtypical day, maybe three top
bullet points about yourresponsibilities for the manager
role that you're in.
Danae Mierau (16:56):
So I manage our West slash, midwest region, and
so I oversee operations in sevenof our states, and I have a
wonderful team of four leaders,the regional account managers,
and so I oversee theirperformance.
What are they struggling with?
Did a state pass a new piece ofcompliance that we need to work
(17:18):
through?
And so, again, overseeingbusiness development.
So how many communities areusing us?
How many providers are weonboarding each month?
How many of them are active andhave had the opportunity to
work a shift on the careplatform?
Also, managing the compliancepiece we know that senior living
(17:38):
you'll see it in the news a lotright, the compliance world is
ever changing.
One state makes a change andthen the next state next to them
wants to make a similar change,and then we have the federal
regulations and I mean it's alot to keep track of and make
sure that again, we'reprotecting our communities and
our heroes and ensuringeverybody's compliant.
(17:59):
We also travel quite a bit, andso we are at almost every state
health care association show,leading age, national shows, and
so managing the travel of notonly myself but my team force of
(18:19):
.
Where are we going to beginrecruiting therapists next?
What communities already use usand could use the therapy
support in teaching them how touse it, because it is structured
.
It's the same platform but itis structured a little bit
different.
In training those rehabdirectors on how to successfully
use the platform, we are stillin startup mode.
(18:40):
We're about four years old, sono day is ever the same, which I
really appreciate and love thechallenge because there's always
something new to learn andtackle.
Tanner Welsch (18:49):
That's awesome.
Would you call it a med techcompany, like a startup health
company?
Or how would you categorizecare?
Danae Mierau (18:57):
Yes, we are a tech company, but if you ask any of
my family and friends me sayingI work for a tech company, they
would just laugh.
And so, because I'm not techieat all, honestly, we have a lot
of clinicians, previous directorof nursing rec therapists on
our team and so we really arebuilt by the industry, for the
(19:21):
industry.
Our CEO, charles Turner.
He still owns senior livingcommunities.
He's a recovering operator, ashe would call himself.
I would say, yes, we are a techcompany, but we are a
people-driven tech companyBecause, again, it's not your
traditional tech company,because you're managing two
different groups of people yourcommunities and the 50,000
(19:43):
providers that we have on ourplatform.
Tanner Welsch (19:46):
For sure.
I believe you said there wasthree states that the therapy
services were in.
What are those three states?
Danae Mierau (19:52):
So right now we are in Colorado, the greater
Denver area.
We have multiple markets herethat help with nursing, but
again want to start where wehave the most providers.
So the greater Denver area isnumber one.
Two, we are in Texas, currentlyin Houston and Austin, but stay
tuned because in the next weekor two we'll be expanding to a
(20:15):
few additional markets.
And then, third, we're inAtlanta, Georgia.
Tanner Welsch (20:19):
Nice, what is obvious to you now that maybe
you struggle to see in themoment?
Comparing your role where youare now, what you've learned,
and then comparing that to backwhen you were treating and or in
your rehab director role.
Danae Mierau (20:33):
I would say if I would just give people the sense
of encouragement to trysomething new if you're not
happy.
I think there's a stigma or thefear of judgment.
If and when you go to schoolfor seven years for something
and then someone asks, oh, whatare you doing?
I'm like, well, I'm a physicaltherapist because I still am
right, I can still treatpatients, my license is still
(20:55):
active, but I'm not currentlypracticing and I'm doing this.
A lot of people's eyes and jawsdrop, but there are so many
roles out there that I still ama therapist every day.
I still use that therapistskill set every single day, and
especially with care.
I mean I'm very blessed to bewith the team that I am with in
(21:16):
the ability to continue being atherapist and helping other
therapists through my careerpath and through my career
journey and through my careerjourney.
So just because you're notpracticing doesn't mean, I think
, that you're not a physicaltherapist, you're not an OT or
whatever it may be, and that youare going to use those skills
every single day, even if it'sjust in a non-traditional role.
Tanner Welsch (21:38):
For sure.
Yeah, I want to jump back tothe transition and the time
frame when you know you'releaving.
I think it was.
You said it was like anadministrator role and jumping
to care.
Was it as simple as just youhad a connection on the inside
of your previous supervisor andyou just applied and then boom,
you got this general managerposition.
(21:58):
Or was there several otherhoops to jump through, or some
additional training or education?
I'm sure there were some painpoints along the way.
That's what I'm trying to getat.
Danae Mierau (22:08):
So when I had made the decision that the admin
role just wasn't sustainable forme in my lifestyle some people
it is, and that's phenomenal,like I said, I reached out to
Laura.
But I also applied to multiplepositions in different areas and
went through some differentinterview processes and at that
time care wasn't in the therapyspace but Laura had been hired
(22:31):
gosh, I think, probably likethree months before me, with the
plan of hey, we don't know whenthis therapy thing is going to
happen, but we're going to makeit happen.
And that's a big reason whyLaura did make the change over
to care in.
What intrigued me again,because I don't want to lose my
roots as a therapist, but whentransitioning, especially from a
(22:54):
community in person you're inthe community every day to a
remote job, primarily, you knowwe're on the road 30, 40% of the
time, depending on your role atcare.
That was a transition in itself, right.
Again, going back to thatself-discipline of when do I
start work, when do I end work.
Well, work never really endsbecause it's a startup and
(23:16):
communities are open 24-7.
So when a nurse doesn't show upor when a community has a last
minute shift on Christmas Eveand they're not on the platform,
are you going to be the one tostep up and help them?
And so, while that was, itseemed like a challenge.
I thought to myself I've got tohelp this administrator because
I know exactly how he or shefeels, because if I don't help
(23:39):
them, they're going to go workthe night shift tonight and miss
Christmas Eve with their family, or whatever it may be.
When I was hired at Tara, I wasa regional account manager, so I
only oversaw our operations inColorado and I would say the
biggest challenge but also whatI appreciated is every market
that we're in is so completelydifferent.
(24:01):
So, yes, there were some SOPsthat I could follow to learn,
but it was really up to me tolearn our current customers, to
learn the market, to learn thelegislation that would affect
how we run our business, because, again, what we do here versus
Oklahoma is drasticallydifferent.
(24:22):
And so the challenge of notreally having a structured game
plan of here's how you buildyour market, here's how you make
your customers happy, thechallenge of really having to
teach yourself and just go getit was a challenge, but I really
enjoyed that, so I found it fun.
And then again, about sixmonths in, is when I
(24:42):
transitioned to the generalmanager role to oversee a team
in multiple states.
Tanner Welsch (24:47):
Cool, like looking at the past.
You know five, maybe even 10years.
What would you have donedifferently, knowing what you
know now, if you could go backfive or 10 years?
Is there anything that youwould have changed?
Danae Mierau (24:59):
You know I don't think I would change much of
anything.
I really am happy with the paththat I've taken and the
confidence to take those steps.
I'm not saying I never doubtedmyself.
I would say the moment that Idoubted myself probably the most
in all of this transition andlooking back, was making that
(25:23):
initial jump from rehab directorclinician to the admin role.
I remember the first familywhen they announced that I was
going to be the next admin.
This family member walked up tome and she's you are so young,
can you do this job?
And I thought to myself, whatdid I do?
Right, like that's internallywhat I'm thinking.
(25:44):
What did I do?
And I said yep, because I'vegot the courage and the energy
to get the job done.
And I just walked away.
I mean I didn't know what elseto say to this woman.
So again, like I don't regretor I wouldn't change anything.
But that doesn't mean that everytransition was just perfect.
And I never doubted myselfbecause there were days and
(26:05):
nights that I did.
I mean running a senior livingcommunity and laying down at
night and thinking there are 60people whose lives depend on me.
Running this communitysuccessfully can get to you
mentally and emotionally.
And then, to be quite frank,the jump from admin to care was
pretty easy because I was soexcited to be with a company
(26:26):
that was going to help fix thenumber one problem of why I
couldn't and why a lot of adminsor DONs or communities
struggled daily, and theopportunity to be with a company
that impacts that daily, itjust clicked.
It just yeah, this is ano-brainer.
Tanner Welsch (26:43):
It's a perfect fit for you.
I mean, yeah, I don't thinkthey could have picked anybody
better to really see what theother side you know like being
from an administrator role ormaybe a DON, what that's like
because you were in theadministrator role, you know
what it's like.
This is something I thinkthat's a topic that is
interesting, and I'm curiouswhat your thoughts are.
Do you feel that you would bewhere you are today without your
(27:07):
PT experience?
Or do you think you reallyneeded your PT background to
land the role and be where youare now?
And the reason why I ask thisis there's some students that
have reached out that have been.
Is this worth it, this poorreturn on investment and the
amount of debt we got to go inand to the overall rehab field
in general with the schooling isit worth it?
And so Martin thanks for thisquestion.
(27:29):
He asked if I already know I'mgoing to go non-clinical, do I
need to basically become aphysical therapist, a rehab
professional, to do that?
And so that's where this reallystems from is.
Do you feel like you would bewhere you are now if you didn't
have the PT education and the PTexperience?
Danae Mierau (27:45):
Fabulous question and this question is super easy
to answer.
I truly believe I would not bewhere I'm at today without the
clinical education and alsopracticing for four and a half,
five years.
You lose track of time, butabout that amount of time?
Because no matter where you endup from a career and
(28:09):
professional standpoint, youhave to work with people and so
I think, seeing as a therapist,right, you see people in pain,
you see people when they'revulnerable, when they're not at
their best, and that passion andcompassion behind the therapist
mentality is huge in whateverrole you end up taking.
Again, as an admin of acommunity, I had the passion and
(28:31):
compassion for the residentsand the patients and the staff.
Yes, I treat this patient orresident for one hour.
They have eight to 12 hourswith this individual that has
dementia and behaviors.
I mean that is a lot right.
So that exposure to workingwith people when they're not
(28:53):
feeling their best is huge.
And again, this is nothingagainst your traditional
business, sales, educated,individual but I think sometimes
they miss that piece or notmiss.
But therapists have a strongersense of that and so, again, no
matter where you're at, you'regoing to be working with people
going through really demandingeducation in school and getting
(29:17):
through that allows you to havethat in future when you're, when
you're trying to learnsomething else.
And so, yeah, I really I don'tthink I would be where, where
I'm at today, without being atherapist first and still.
Tanner Welsch (29:30):
Perfect.
Thanks for sharing that insight.
What do you love most aboutyour new reality?
Danae Mierau (29:34):
Oh, there's so much I love.
I think with therapy everypatient or resident was
different.
It does get a little bitrepetitive and there's a lot of
jobs out there that getrepetitive and some people like
that routine.
I am naturally a routine personbut I love, with care, that
there's always a new challenge,there's always a new battle,
(29:55):
there's always a new avenue thatwe're trying to grow.
That keeps me mentally,emotionally driven and engaged
in the company and theorganization, and then I just
really love the mission behindwhat we're doing.
I will always work for a companyor do something.
I have to be driven by themission.
I'm not someone that can workfor a company that you just go
(30:18):
in, do your job and leave.
That's just not me.
Care is mission driven for ourproviders, for the therapists,
but for the communities too, andso getting to be a part of that
is fun.
And I also just have the bestteam of four lovely women Not
that men aren't great at all,that's not what I'm saying but
we just have an energy andspirit about ourselves that we
(30:42):
will do whatever it takes toimpact our customers and our
providers the best that we can.
We just work so well togetherand it's fun to work with my
team every day.
Tanner Welsch (30:52):
I love that.
You found a really great match.
Sounds like your values andethics and core personality, who
you are, that resonates withthe business that you're working
for, with Care and, on top ofthe team.
Huge difference I mean whenyou're working with a group of
people that you really vibe withand you guys are like in sync
and synergy is going versus nothuge difference day to day and
(31:13):
it'll wear on you.
If it's not so I totallyunderstand and can relate.
What would you share with rehabprofessionals who may be
struggling or feel stuck intraditional clinical rehab
career and they're looking to dosomething different?
What kind of advice or tips orinsights would you share with
them?
Danae Mierau (31:32):
I'm a list maker and I am a very visual person.
I like writing things injournals or on notepads versus
the computer.
You know computers like you canopen another tab, you can get
distracted, and so if a rehabprofessional is thinking that
they potentially want to dosomething different, I would
tell them get a notepad out andget a pen out, play some of your
(31:53):
favorite music and start with alist of two things or you know
two different lists.
One is what are my strengthsthat are not related to direct
resident care oh, I followprotocols really well or I'm a
very adaptable and then make alist of what you genuinely like
to do.
Do you like to be an individualcontributor or do you like
(32:15):
working on a team and leadingteams?
Do you think you maybe want totry working remote, or are you
someone that needs to get up,get dressed in X and go interact
with your team in person everysingle day?
So I would start with those twolists.
I think that's very insightfuland can guide people into the
role type that they may beinterested in or good at.
(32:38):
If you start by just likelooking at jobs, I think you can
get stuck.
It's a big process and it's alot to think through, but I
think, if you go back to thosetwo lists and this is an
activity I did again when I haddecided I want to be an admin,
and then I did the same thingwhen the admin thing wasn't
working out Okay, I really lovemy job, but what about?
(32:58):
It needs to change to make me ahappier person and not just
achieve my career goals, becauseI was achieving my career goals
, but I wasn't achieving mypersonal goals of wanting to be
a mom, and so what needed tochange?
And so those two lists bothtime I did a transition really
helped guide my decision making.
Tanner Welsch (33:18):
I love that I had my input here too with the
skills list.
Great idea For me personallyand I feel in general sometimes
it's hard to figure out whatyour powers are, your strengths,
your superpowers, what do youwant to call them skills?
And so a great way to getinsight around that is asking
really close friends, familymembers, what are the skills
that I have?
And they usually know rightaway and they may have never
(33:41):
said this to you, but they oftenwill be able to pick it out and
tell you.
Another angle to look at it maybe what do people come to you
for?
If they have an issue orproblem and they're coming to
you to solve it, what does thatseem to be over time?
Also, something I've heardabout is taking some personality
assessments and figuring outwhat roles fit best with that
(34:02):
particular personality type.
And I agree with you with doyou like working with people or
not?
I'm working in the home healthspace.
If you never worked in the homehealth space, you probably
don't know this, but it actuallyis pretty lonely.
I used to work in skillednursing facilities in the
hospital, and so you havecommunities, cnas, nurses, all
these people you work with, andthat's great.
I love that, but when you'reout in the home health field
it's just you and the patientand then the rest is phone calls
(34:25):
to the home health agencies,the nurses, the patients.
I mean, there really is noone-on-one with your team.
And I think would be definitelya big shift if you were going
to go to a team environment tomaybe just all virtual Follow
question on that for you.
I assume you guys have groupmeetings and things like that or
you collaborate online,possibly virtually.
Do you feel that thatsubstitutes for the in-person
(34:50):
team interaction or not really?
Danae Mierau (34:53):
I would say not really.
I think I would struggle if wedidn't have our travel seasons
where we get to interact in.
Those days are extremely,extremely long and beneficial
and very fun, but exhausting,right, you're up early and then
there's the after conferenceevents, but that interaction is
what fuels you for when you'reremote.
(35:14):
A lot of times our team you'retraveling five to seven weeks,
or five out of seven weeks, oreight out of 10 weeks, but then
you have this break where you'renot, and so, personally, I use
that travel season to fuel myneed for being with my team in
person.
But I will be honest, there'sone of my team members that I
actually have never met inperson and we get along great
(35:37):
right, like I know a lot abouther and about her life, but I
look forward to the next timethat we'll get to travel
together so I get to meet her inperson.
Tanner Welsch (35:45):
Absolutely.
There's something about that.
You know the in-personinteractions that the virtual
can't really substitute for.
So yeah, I was curious whatyour experience was with that.
Danae Mierau (35:55):
Yeah, and I'm blessed we have four total team
members in Colorado.
They all decide to live upnorth, so I'm the straggler down
south, but we do occasionallyget to meet up and also, like I,
go to quite a few networkinggroups.
So while it's not in personwith my team, that is how I fuel
my need for that in personhuman interaction.
(36:17):
And I go visit our communitiestoo.
When we have providers workingat a community, like bringing
them Coke, zero and Crumble oryou know, and the admins, like
dropping off Starbucks, becausethat will make anyone's day when
you're an admin and you'vealready been there for a million
hours, and so, again, there'sways to definitely, at least in
(36:37):
my role, get that humaninteraction and not just be
behind a screen all day.
Tanner Welsch (36:42):
Absolutely, and taking those opportunities to
build those relationships andcultivate and foster them for
sure, 100%.
Danae, thank you so much forcoming on, sharing your career
journey and educating us aboutcare and the opportunities care
has for the rehab profession.
So thank you so much.
Danae Mierau (36:59):
No, thank you for having me.
It's been a pleasure and I hopeit helps people out there take
the leap of faith.
If that's what they're lookingfor, or maybe they're looking
for that non-traditional therapyroute.
If we're not in a state thatyou're currently living in, just
give us a little time and carewill be there, I promise.
Again happy to chat about carewith anyone that is looking to
(37:19):
again continue to maintain thatclinical role, but they're
looking for that financialfreedom or flexibility or
whatever their life currentlyneeds.
Tanner Welsch (37:29):
Absolutely.
Thank you so much, denae, takecare.
So I want to take a moment hereand inject some more value into
this episode around one of thetopics that we touched on.
They stem from a couple ofquestions that were asked
directly to me from a PT student, martin.
Thank you, martin, for takingthe time to send me these
questions, and the two questionsare is staying in PT school
(37:53):
worth it if you may gonon-clinical anyway?
And a follow-up question iswhat advice do you have for
students considering going intoPT school or current PT students
?
Is it worth the time and moneyfor somewhat weak returns on
that investment?
I think these are really twogreat questions and I want to
share my experience andknowledge and what I've gained
(38:13):
from interviewing guests as well.
Let's talk about the firstquestion is, you know, pt school
worth it or is rehab schoolworth it if you may go
non-clinical anyway?
The answer is it really depends.
I've had guests that I'veinterviewed.
Say, for example, wen Hung.
She is a formal OT and she'sturned to recruiter.
(38:34):
She flat out says that shewished she never went to grad
school and went into recruitingright after high school, because
it can be pretty lucrative andshe's good at it.
You know she wished she wouldhave just done that from the
get-go.
I've had other therapists thatI've interviewed say that they
wouldn't be in the roles orpositions that they are now,
that they love and they like andenjoy, without having the
(38:57):
background of being a rehabprofessional.
So there is no clean cut answerand I think it helps to
understand you, your personalitytype Do you like working in
groups of people, do you likeworking by yourself?
You know what are your skillsets, what are your superpowers,
and really trying to figure outwhat role best fits you as a
(39:18):
person to be able to answer thatyou know.
Another example that comes intomind is, you know, is talking
with those that were in therehab field that have
transitioned to real estate.
A lot of them really like it alot and I think it's fair to say
that they didn't have to go toPT or rehab school to transition
into those roles.
(39:38):
And I've heard this before aswell.
There's other lucrative, morelucrative careers out there than
the rehab field.
So you know, if all you'relooking for is a really big fat
paycheck, the rehab field isprobably not the best field to
go into.
Also, the health field ingeneral, especially the rehab
professions.
It's just in general it'sburnout so high because of the
(39:59):
bottom line where it's see asmany patients as you possibly
can to generate the most incomefor the company you're working
for or for corporate healthcarein general.
That's just how the healthindustry is, unfortunately.
Again, healthcare may seem likea real stable career path and
generally it pays well, andthose are true but the burnout
rate is super high and the debtto get into these programs is
(40:20):
high as well.
Which leads into the secondquestion, which is you know,
what advice do you have forstudents considering going into
PT school or current PT students?
Is it worth the time and moneyfor somewhat weak returns on
that investment?
You know that depends.
There's a lot of variables thatgo into both of these questions
that we'd have to talk todeeper, more one-on-one, to help
get more to the core and figureout more about you and your
(40:41):
personal situation,circumstances and where you are.
But again, in general I thinkthere are definitely other
career paths out there that aremore lucrative.
I think it stems back to you,your personality, what roles you
see yourself matching well with, with your personality type and
the job duties andresponsibilities.
And if you're not sure.
Talk to people, network, shadowa lot of people that I've
(41:05):
talked to that have landednon-clinical and also
non-traditional roles.
You know these alternativeroles have cold emailed people
within the business or industrythat they want to work in and
just talk to them about theirroles, their interest and just
getting more details and thesenetworks and connections have
landed them actually jobs thatthey wouldn't have otherwise had
(41:25):
.
It can be intimidating to dosome of this deep finding and
this deep search and deep divinginto you and the companies that
you want to work for, but inthe long run it's worth it.
Do you want to invest threeyears of your life and $100,000
in debt to realize, oh man, thisactually isn't a good fit for
me.
These are things that we shouldprobably know beforehand but,
(41:45):
like many of us, it's somethingthat goes with just life.
There's a quote from DenzelWashington that says life's
never a straight path andsometimes we have to go through
some things to understand somethings about ourselves and where
we wanna go.
But really good questions,martin, thank you for reaching
out and the contact tab andasking me.
I really appreciate it.
Intro (42:05):
Thank you for listening to the Rehab Rebels podcast.
If this podcast was useful,make sure to hit that subscribe
button and leave a review.
For more information abouttransitioning to alternative
careers, head to rehabrebelsorgor follow us on Instagram at
Rehab Rebels podcast.
We'll see you next time.
Popular Podcasts
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!