July 4, 2024 • 31 mins
#058 If you're feeling burned out and disillusioned, our guest, Valerie Levesque, a physical therapist, faced a common problem in her career: a mountain of debt, and a clear-cut income ceiling. The traditional rehab model in competitive environments like Seattle left her nowhere else to turn except to contemplate alternative paths outside the traditional rehab model.
In this episode, Valerie shares her process of transitioning to a cash-based model for her physical therapy practice, how she is strategically growing her business, and maintaining intentional small-scale operations while prioritizing her role as a mom. From the undeniable value of networking groups to the compelling allure of a well-crafted brand story, this episode provides actionable insights to achieve this.
The realization that patients with insurance plans facing limitations or high deductibles are willing to pay out of pocket for this personalized and high-quality care, really underscores the validity of this alternative approach. Valerie's transition to a concierge model serves as an example for those wanting a more sustainable and satisfying approach to their careers in physical therapy.
For links and show notes, head to: https://rehabrebels.org/058
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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):
Hello Rehab Rebels, welcome back to another
episode.
Hello Rehab Rebels, welcomeback to another episode.
A preview for this episode isif you're feeling burned out and
disillusioned.
Our guest, a physical therapist, faced a common problem in her
career a mountain of debt and aclear-cut income ceiling.
The traditional rehab model incompetitive environments like
Seattle left her nowhere else toturn except contemplating
(00:42):
alternative paths outside thetraditional rehab model.
She's in the process oftransitioning to a cash-based
model for her physical therapypractice, emphasizing the value
her services provide herpatients.
She is strategically growingher business, maintaining
intentional small-scaleoperations while prioritizing
her role as a mom.
(01:03):
Welcome to the show, valerie.
Valerie Levesque (01:05):
Thank you, I'm really excited to be here,
tanner.
Tanner Welsch (01:12):
Yeah, I'm so glad we got to connect and bring you
on.
You're in the middle of thetransition and learning a lot,
and that's great.
That's why I wanted to get youon the show to talk more about
your journey and some of thepain points and struggles that
you're having and or have gonethrough and overcome.
So what is your story behindthe first sense of awareness
that you know things weren'tquite right within your
traditional rehab career andexperience?
Valerie Levesque (01:32):
Yeah, I think it became very real to me when I
was trying to plan my return tothe clinic after having our
second child.
I had to leave it open-endedand then I kept pushing it back
and pushing it back, and pushingit back and it became very
clear that for several factors,but specifically the economic
(01:54):
factors at play, it just didn'tmake sense for me to commit to
returning to the clinic, evenpart-time, because the costs of
child care are really high in anurban setting like Seattle.
And so putting both of my kidsin daycare full-time and then
working maybe part-time, it justdidn't pencil out and I kept
(02:19):
racking my brain where's thein-between?
You know the difference betweenidentifying as a practicing
physical therapist and thenbeing solely stay-at-home mom,
which are both amazing.
But I wanted to find a way forme to maintain my license,
maintain my practice, but alsobe there for my family when you
(02:40):
know they need it.
So being able to see patientsin their home on a flexible
basis lined up and made sense tome.
Tanner Welsch (02:48):
Yeah, like a alternative path that made sense
to fit where you are in yourlife and the lifestyle that
you're wanting to have.
Right, was there like aspecific moment that you had or
that you remember that was OK?
Yeah, this traditional way isnot going to work and this other
starting my own practice iswhat I'm going to do because of
this particular moment or eventthat happened.
Valerie Levesque (03:09):
It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment, but
even as I was working part timeand pregnant with my second,
there was just this loomingsense of dread.
Oh my God, what in the worldare we going to do when this
baby shows up?
How are we going to get throughthis little period of time,
this stretch of time wherethey're not in public school and
(03:30):
you have to pay for privatedaycare?
I knew it was there, but Itried to push it off and I'll
deal with it later.
We'll figure it out and, ofcourse, it doesn't just figure
itself out.
You have to be intentional.
As my second kid got older andolder, I couldn't make a
commitment, it just didn't makesense.
Yeah, so I don't know thatthere was an exact moment, but
there is certainly a build likea crescendo, just drawing a line
(03:54):
in the sand.
I cannot do that.
Tanner Welsch (03:57):
For sure, and it sounds like there's two things
at play here the financialaspect of the care for your
children and also the aspect ofpossibly the time and not being
able to spend as much time withthem because they're in care too
right.
So how do you solve both ofthose things in one go?
And that's where you ended upwith the concierge PT practice.
Valerie Levesque (04:18):
And it's not perfect, right?
Even this week my kids therewere snow days.
Right.
Even this week, my kids therewere snow days.
There were sick days.
I had to shuffle people around.
It's not an absolute perfectmodel, but it works and I feel
confident now that I'm notdigging my family into a deeper
and deeper hole, because that'sa really heavy thing to carry
(04:40):
around.
Oh, it's because of me and mycareer choices that we're not
able to make it right now.
I think that it's also justhaving that self-confidence that
I'm still contributing to myprofession, I'm still
contributing to the growth of myfamily and, yes, it's going to
be a little touch and go whilekids are getting cold and
whatever, but it's going to beokay.
Tanner Welsch (05:03):
And so we everybody's on the same page and
we understand where you're atright now You're taking care of
the kids at home and then on theside, you're building out your
concierge PT practice, correct.
Valerie Levesque (05:14):
Yeah, and as I'm seeing patients, they do go
to a daycare Now that I am verygrateful, for.
We ended up moving from Seattleto Boise, Idaho, and the child
care costs are half they're halfas much as they were in Seattle
and so we feel we have theability to put them in daycare
(05:36):
for a little bit and so that Ican pursue initial vows getting
more patient and very slowlywork my way up with my case load
.
Tanner Welsch (05:44):
Absolutely.
Let's talk about that Onaverage per week.
How many patients would you saythat you see, and how many days
a week are you seeing patients?
Valerie Levesque (05:54):
I think that I open it up to five days a week
right off the bat just becauseI'm trying to gather new
patients.
After a couple of weeks of thatbecause I'm driving right to
house to house I had to be like,okay, that was a crazy week, I
need to concentrate it.
And so Mondays, right now, aremy day, where I'm not going out
and seeing patients.
(06:15):
I'm doing other types of tasks.
I would say that right now I'mseeing about five patient hours
a week and I'm spending probablytwice as much networking.
I'm spending a lot of my hourswhen the kids are at daycare,
that I'm just coffee meetings,group meetings, going to all
(06:36):
these different types ofbusiness related networking
events, and it takes a lot oftime.
My short-term goal right now is16 hours a week.
If I could treat 16 patients aweek, my income would roughly be
the same as working full-timein a clinic.
Tanner Welsch (06:54):
No kidding.
Valerie Levesque (06:55):
When you look at the math in those terms, it's
a pretty easy decision.
Tanner Welsch (07:00):
Absolutely, and that was one of my follow-up
questions was where do you findmost of your success with
referrals and getting these newpatients coming in and what's
been some things that havereally had a good return on
investment of your time to getthose patients coming to you?
Valerie Levesque (07:26):
working with family friends.
You know people that I alreadyhad within my network who needed
services and so treated myhusband's, cousin's husband for
a back injury and working my wayout from there.
The group that I've spent themost time with and I feel has so
far been of the most value, isa networking group called BNI,
business Network International,and I know that there's chapters
(07:48):
all over the place.
It was a little bit of alearning curve for me to get the
hang of it, just becausebusiness networking is not
something that I have an expertin.
You're put on the spot and theysay, ok, tell us who you are,
what you do and what a goodreferral would be for you.
In 40 seconds you have to standup in the crowd and give a
commercial, and so I just threwmyself into it and I've already
(08:12):
paid off my annual dues fromreferrals that I've gotten and I
really anticipate to grow fromthere.
I feel the closer that I becomewith the health and wellness
subgroup within the chapter thatI'm going to, the more
referrals and the more back andforth we'll be able to take care
of people.
Tanner Welsch (08:30):
That's awesome.
I've heard that also fromanother individual that was
starting their own concierge orlike private rehab practice and
they really liked it the BNI.
Valerie Levesque (08:41):
It's a great entry point for me because I'm
new to town, I don't know anyone.
The people I interact with on adaily basis are daycare people
that watch my kid, and so tobroaden my community network,
this has been great.
Oh, now I know somebody whodoes X, y and Z, all the trades,
all the professional services.
(09:03):
We had somebody help us with awill.
You're just making so manyprofessional connections that
you would never be served to youon a platter in any other
setting.
Tanner Welsch (09:12):
Absolutely.
For those that are wanting todo something similar to what
you're doing, you know, starttheir own rehab practice.
What would you say are somefundamental things that you
learned that need to be in placebefore you really start going
out and actually getting thepatients rolling in.
Valerie Levesque (09:29):
A good place to see this play out is my
website.
When I was first putting theseideas to pen to paper, if you
will I grew all of the things Iwas thinking about on my website
.
This is who I am.
This is what I've done.
I have a dog, and it was allthese personal details.
(09:49):
But the more that I'm learningand I'm working through the
story, branding right and howyou tell your story of your
brand is so important, and sobeing really narrow and specific
with your story is how you cancapture audiences, and so I've
(10:10):
been tightening up my messaging,narrowing my messaging, getting
rid of some of the extraneousthings.
Nobody cares that I have a12-year-old rescue dog and being
more specific about here's theproblem you have.
I know all about your problemand this is how I'm going to
solve it for you.
I have the skills to solve yourproblem.
Tanner Welsch (10:30):
I was looking in my book, stack back here for
story branding the book.
Yeah, I got it around heresomewhere.
Valerie Levesque (10:37):
I had a family friend be like you need to read
this and it was huge.
You can spend tons of money ona marketing professional that
does exactly what they tell you,step by step, to do in this
book.
Tanner Welsch (10:51):
Yeah, I completely agree.
It's super useful.
We talked about the marketingaspect.
I imagine there's another EMRsystem or billing, or maybe
that's all in one thing.
What have you found has beenmost you know, the easiest for
you to use and what's worked?
Valerie Levesque (11:05):
So because I have such a small scale at the
moment, I've not been asconcerned about the EMR side of
things just because it's fee forservice, but what I have the G
Suite templates andprefabricated documents from
Unsubscribed Rehab that Ilearned about from another guest
on your podcast.
(11:26):
But the thing that makes itreally convenient from like a
bookkeeping perspective ishaving a Clover, a purchase of
sales little device so that whenI'm in someone's home I just
pull out this little tiny device.
It syncs up with my phone andwith my business bank account
and I swipe their card and it'sdone.
Until I gain a little bit morecaseload, I'm intending to
(11:49):
provide super bills.
I haven't gotten to that pointright now because the folks that
I'm training at the moment aresuper happy to pay out of pocket
, and this is another thing thatI'm learning is that the
insurance model is reallyfailing a lot of people.
I anticipate, going into this,that the people that I was going
to be marketing to and whowould be my potential new
(12:12):
clients would be folks who havea lot of discretionary income.
But I think that what hasactually happened is the folks
who are pulling into the side ofsaying I really need your help.
Their family works hard fortheir insurance.
It just isn't helping them.
They've either maxed out theirbenefit and it's only September,
or they have crazy highdeductibles and they're
(12:35):
effectively paying a pocket togo see a PT in a clinic anyways.
Tanner Welsch (12:39):
Right.
It's a lose-lose for everybody.
Honestly and I've also heardabout working in the traditional
rehab model insurances alsodictate what we can treat as
okay.
Yeah, this is medicallynecessary and this over here
isn't medically necessary.
So if the patient actuallywants that that's not medically
necessary, it doesn't getreimbursed, you know, and so
(13:01):
your manual muscle testing is afour out of five, and so bye,
you're fine.
Yeah.
Valerie Levesque (13:07):
I mean, it's all.
It all is on a spectrum.
Some people get tougherscenarios than others, but just
having the ability to followthrough with my exact plan of
care is so liberating and soempowering and makes me fall in
love with being a physicaltherapist all over again,
because you can get bogged downand feel like, oh man, am I
(13:29):
really making a difference?
Are these people really gettingbetter when I see them walking
out the door after eight visits?
But now you have no red tape,no problems, no barriers and you
can really see it through untilyou both agree that, yeah, I'm
doing what I want to be doing,so that's really awesome.
Tanner Welsch (13:49):
I'm doing what I want to be doing, so that's
really awesome.
Yeah, you have the autonomy totreat how you want to as a
practitioner.
The traditional model alsooften has the OTs, the PTs,
doing a lot of the evals,reassessments and discharges,
but they actually don't really.
Usually the case is they rarelyactually treat the patients and
I think you know to your pointyou're able to do all of it, I
(14:13):
mean start to finish, includingthe treatments, and I think that
adds, you know, that rapport,that connection and all that
with the patient, because you'reactually there and then seeing
the progress and modifying theprogress or what's to do next.
Valerie Levesque (14:25):
And I've been very, very fortunate to have
worked in clinics that haveone-on-one care, and so I'm not
even used to working withassistants or aides or rehab
techs or whatever, and so theidea of somebody taking my
patient and then handing them tosomebody else, I'm just not
(14:45):
okay with that.
I want to hold on to them andtake care of them and see it all
the way through, and so, yeah,it is hugely important to have
that continuity and care, tohave the ability to coordinate
some of their services, becausea lot of these folks don't know
where to start or who to talk to.
(15:06):
If you ask them, who have youtalked to about this injury
before you talk to me about it,a lot of times they'll say
nobody.
And so if you can be the personto say you know, let's get a
second opinion, because thisdoesn't sound right.
That is what physicaltherapists are supposed to do,
and when that happens, thepatient is going to gain so much
(15:29):
trust.
They're going to know thatyou're not just there to spike
their credit card.
You are there to really makethem feel better, and if that
means going to see a differentprovider, then I'm so happy that
you found that.
Tanner Welsch (15:42):
Yeah, you're allowed to look at the patient
from a holistic point of viewand then have these other
networking, partnerships andrelationships to be able to
refer to the appropriateprofessional to touch on all
those holistic approaches totreat a patient.
Valerie Levesque (15:57):
And I think that in my previous roles I've
yearned for those relationshipswith other professionals.
I just really want to have amassage therapist that I trust
implicitly that when I send apatient to them they're going to
take a really good care of themand vice versa.
And I think that theinteractions that I've had here
in Boise have really surprisedme with how open and generous
(16:20):
everybody is with their patients, but also just with their time.
I think that the health andwellness, allied health, if you
will field, they're all superinterconnected.
Here.
There's less of thatcompetitive.
This is your turf, that is myturf.
If you see a chiropractor, Ican't treat you.
If you're doing cryo-signaltherapy, no way, there's none of
(16:44):
that here.
Tanner Welsch (16:45):
It sounds like you maybe experienced a
different setting to where youwere running into those barriers
, or it was super competitive.
Valerie Levesque (16:53):
It was always an unspoken thing, right, but I
had to go out of my way.
You had to try, and sometimespeople are just so busy.
You try to coordinate thingsand, at the end of the day, my
caseload is overflowing.
I've got wait lists.
Why do I need you?
Tanner Welsch (17:10):
Where was this at or what was going on in your
life at this time?
Valerie Levesque (17:13):
When I graduated PT school, I started
in a residency program inSeattle.
I did a residency and afellowship program and then I
transitioned to a differentclinic and my feeling was that
people were just busy.
It wasn't that they didn't wantthose relationships.
Everybody was super open minded.
But I think that you had foure-bals tomorrow you weren't
(17:36):
focusing on let me go to dinnerwith this chiropractor so that I
can get to know them, and Ithink it's also at the start of
this new venture, and so thatnetworking piece is what I'm
focusing on, and so I'm justrelishing it, I'm loving it.
I think that it's so inspiring,so I'm just having a lot of
benefits.
Yeah, along with it.
Tanner Welsch (17:56):
For sure.
Yeah, I believe it was backwhen you were in Seattle,
because you're in Idaho now,back when you were in Seattle.
This is more what youexperienced, right?
People just feel they didn'thave time to do these networking
things.
Yeah, time to do thesenetworking things.
Valerie Levesque (18:08):
Yeah, because you were seeing 40 patients a
week.
Yeah, dang.
Your brain is like overloadedwith just what you have on your
plate at the moment.
You're scrambling to finishyour notes, you're scrambling to
see the next patient.
You're chugging water as youwalk down out to the lobby to
get your next person, and Ithink that that's a natural
(18:29):
experience as a new therapist.
Right Is that you get thrown inthere and, for better or worse,
ends up with that burnoutexperience.
Knowing how to set boundaries,protect your time, be efficient
All of those things are soimportant because burnout is so
(18:51):
real.
In the middle of the year that Idid this fellowship training
where it was including weekendcourses on top of your full-time
job I tried to quit halfwaythrough and I sent a letter of
resignation.
I can't do this anymore.
Thank you for everything, bye.
And then I got an email fromone of my mentors Thank you for
everything, bye.
And then I got an email fromone of my mentors Come here, sit
(19:11):
down in my office, let's talkabout this, and she talks me off
the ledge of.
You can do this, you just needto finish this through, and
sometimes that's what you needto.
You just need somebody to cheeryou on, but the burnout is real
and it takes a toll on you inways that you don't realize, as
it's happening.
Tanner Welsch (19:30):
That's actually a topic that I talk about in the
miniseries, the TransitionJourney miniseries.
The first episode is episode 40, and that's a topic that's
definitely discussed and I thinkit's important because all of
us have experienced it in thehealth field.
What would you say was thefirst signs of traction?
Or when did you know that thiscould actually work and be
prosperous and profitable?
Valerie Levesque (19:52):
It was recently, in the last couple of
weeks, because until now thishas been a fantasy of mine.
But putting it all into actionand seeing how receptive and
even excited other providers areto have you in their network,
that's when I started to getexcited and be like, oh, this is
going to happen.
The way that you can connectwith some of these other
(20:15):
providers and have anunderstanding that we're not
doing protocols for our patients.
Everything is individualized.
It's so specific to the person,to the condition, and having
another referral source.
See that in you and reflectthat back.
Just the last couple of weeksis really when I started to feel
that, oh, this is going tohappen.
Tanner Welsch (20:38):
That's awesome, congratulations.
I'm excited for you because Ithink a big part of it is
actually making the jump andputting things in place to
actually do it.
That would be a huge barrier, Iimagine, for anybody that was
wanting to do this, and so toclarify the ability to actually
see things look like this isthere's traction, it's going to
be profitable, just keepbuilding it out.
(21:00):
If I understand this right,it's not like you knew this
necessarily before you made thejump.
You had to actually do it,right.
Valerie Levesque (21:08):
Yeah, a leap of faith is an understatement.
It very much felt like, if I'mever going to do it, now is the
time and I just have to throweverything I've got at it.
We've made some really toughdecisions to prioritize this.
You know for ourselves when wesold our house in Seattle.
We're renting a house right nowso that we have the flexibility
(21:30):
to do all the things Imentioned before daycare,
startup costs.
But the concierge model isbeautiful in a sense that it
doesn't require a ton of startupcosts, sole ownership to make
(21:51):
the decisions of what are yougoing to spend your money on,
what are you going to invest inin order to add value to your,
to your patients?
How are you going to setyourself up to be on that
concierge level, white gloveservice sort of care?
Tanner Welsch (22:04):
What are some practical maybe non-obvious
skills that make you a great fitfor this concierge PT practice
that you're going?
Valerie Levesque (22:13):
Some of the skills that are maybe not
something that I learned inschool just this is how I am
trait are more relationshipbuilding skill.
Back when I was in high schoolI was student body president.
I was the president of thephysical therapy club in college
.
Having that position of controlis something that I really
(22:34):
thrive in.
I really like having theability to make decisions for
myself and that's something thatI've known about myself for a
long time.
I think that in PT school, whenI had one affiliation in a
hospital setting and you justfeel like you're a little cog on
a wheel and there's millions ofhierarchies above you, that was
(22:54):
super, super unsettling for meand so I just know that that's
not.
That's not for me.
I guess, to specifically therelationship building and just
making people feel heard, Ithink that a lot of times
patients tell their story toproviders, whoever they might be
, and they don't feel heard.
(23:14):
So whether that means that itwas a time constraint where
somebody had to interrupt themoh no, no, no, you have five
more minutes or they just theysay their story but there's not
really enough of a plan behindit to address their primary
concerns.
That is something I try reallyhard to give the extra time to
(23:36):
listen and really understand.
Where is this coming from?
What other factors might be atplay?
If you take the time tounderstand them, they're going
to buy into your plan of care.
Tanner Welsch (23:48):
Sure.
I also see another thing,possibly with the burnout topic.
You know, if there's a PTOTspeech path that's super burnout
and just doesn't have theenergy time's definitely a thing
too, but doesn't have theenergy to really be present and
listen then it's just again alose-lose situation.
Valerie Levesque (24:05):
And COVID is a perfect example, you know, for
all of us who worked throughCOVID, of complete empathy
fatigue.
You are sitting there andyou're listening not just to
their PT problems but all theseother problems, giving yourself
the space to not fall into thatpattern of another terrible, sad
(24:25):
sob story.
Here we go again.
You just come at it from adifferent perspective when you
have more in your own tank.
Tanner Welsch (24:33):
Exactly, yeah, I completely agree.
What would you say that youlove most about your new reality
?
Valerie Levesque (24:38):
My new reality .
I mean, it's just the sensethat I'm still providing for my
family and I think that nothaving that was it was something
I struggled with.
I love my babies and I lovedthe time that I got to spend at
home with them.
It was a little over a year,but the idea that I wasn't
(25:01):
making a meaningful input to ourspreadsheet, our little
equation, you know, I justdidn't feel good.
It kind of messed like myself-confidence and my
self-worth and I really tie alot of my identity, my
self-worth, to my profession andI think that that's just a
natural thing that therapists ofall kinds do, because it's so
(25:23):
intertwined with who you are.
Finding a way to carve out thisside route of still maintaining
that identity and thatself-worth, that this is how I
add value to our family isreally meaningful to me.
Tanner Welsch (25:40):
Absolutely what is obvious to you now that maybe
you struggled with to see inthe past working in the
traditional rehab profession,you know being where you are now
and then comparing it, lookingin the past and I would say,
framing around you know workingin the traditional rehab and
then also to where you are now,which is, you know, the
concierge business space.
Valerie Levesque (26:01):
Yeah, something that I didn't think
about much before, that I thinkabout a lot now these days, is
how to make your plan of careand your home exercise program
accessible and something thatthey will actually follow
through with.
In the traditional model,they'll have some clinics with
really super specific equipmentfancy pulleys, you name it and
(26:24):
the patient is only experiencingthat when they're in the clinic
.
So if it's one or two times aweek, that's great, but what it
comes down to is what are theydoing at home every single day?
How are they embedding thesenew movement patterns, whatever
it is into their daily rituals?
(26:45):
How do you get somebody to dosomething as consistently as
they brush their teeth, so thatit's like this is ingrained in
them?
This is just what I do.
I take care of my spine, I takecare of my shoulder, whatever I
started, giving smaller andsmaller whole exercise programs,
less and less complicated homeexercise programs, things that
(27:07):
involve less and less props,home exercise programs, things
that involve less and less propsand then being able to see the
patient in their environment andgive them the most specific
instructions and cues for howthey can successfully reproduce
those exercises in their ownspace translates into more
compliance, better performance,better outcomes, because they're
(27:27):
going to be able to actuallyachieve the thing that you want
them to be achieving.
I'm excited to be able to dothat now, where I can say okay,
put your door at this exactangle and, when you're kicking
your leg back, kick it in thisexact direction, towards your
kitchen cabinet.
Tanner Welsch (27:46):
Right.
Valerie Levesque (27:47):
And giving those parameters to certain
people means all the difference.
Tanner Welsch (27:52):
Yeah, there's some things that I haven't
thought about myself, so that'sreally insightful.
Thanks for sharing.
Getting towards the end here ofthe interview, is there
anything else that you'd like toshare with other rehab
professionals who are lookingfor alternative careers and or
maybe considering opening uptheir own rehab practice or
concierge practice?
Valerie Levesque (28:10):
I think that it's obviously doable.
Right, when you are askingyourself, could I do this?
The answer is yes, it could bedone.
But what I would encouragemaybe new grads or new physical
therapists that are grinding itout at the clinic right now to
try and develop patterns of carethat sets you apart.
(28:35):
How can I stay above the frayand do like that little bit
above and beyond piece and thenreally gain that trust with your
patient?
Simple things like following upwith them with an email hey, how
did the visit go last Thursday?
How are you feeling?
That can mean a lot to somebodyIf you're like I know I don't
(28:56):
see you for five more days, butI just want to touch base and
make sure those exercises aretreating you okay.
If you have any questions,don't hesitate to reach out.
So, even though you're probablyhead is spinning with your
crazy key float and you're thisclose to burning out, just if
you can take a step back, thinkof them you know not as a need
as a human and try to just takethat into consideration as you
(29:18):
are following up with their care.
Tanner Welsch (29:21):
Absolutely.
I want to go ahead and summarizefrom this episode is that the
transition to a conciergephysical therapy model can offer
significant advantages,addressing both the needs of
patients and the personalprofessional aspirations of the
practitioner.
The realization that patients,you know, with insurance plans
(29:41):
facing limitations or highdeductibles they are willing to
pay out of pocket for thispersonalized and high quality
care really underscores thevalidity of this alternative
approach.
How to achieve this?
Some of the solutions toachieving this that we've talked
about are embracing anentrepreneurial mindset,
evaluating personal professionalpriorities, actually
(30:02):
considering alternative paths,including this concierge PT
avenue, and then networkingeffectively to connect with
patients seeking personalizedcare and also the personal and
professional networks that areinvolved with the holistic care
of these patients.
And so, by being a rehab owner,the ability to call the shots,
be creative and have controlover the treatment environment
(30:24):
enhances job satisfaction,highlighting the importance of
autonomy and an entrepreneurialmindset and reshaping the
traditional rehab model and,ultimately, your career and the
lifestyle you want to have.
Yeah, I'm really grateful andthankful that you came on,
valerie, to share yourexperience.
Thank you so much.
Valerie Levesque (30:41):
Thank you.
I'm happy that people aretalking about this stuff and
that it's not just this secret,unspoken thing that people sit
around daydreaming about.
Tanner Welsch (30:50):
Same.
It is possible.
People are doing it.
You can do it too, you know.
Take care.
Intro (30:55):
You too, thank you.
Thank you for listening to theRehab 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
rehabrebelspodcast.
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):
Hello Rehab Rebels, welcome back to another
episode.
Hello Rehab Rebels, welcomeback to another episode.
A preview for this episode isif you're feeling burned out and
disillusioned.
Our guest, a physical therapist, faced a common problem in her
career a mountain of debt and aclear-cut income ceiling.
The traditional rehab model incompetitive environments like
Seattle left her nowhere else toturn except contemplating
(00:42):
alternative paths outside thetraditional rehab model.
She's in the process oftransitioning to a cash-based
model for her physical therapypractice, emphasizing the value
her services provide herpatients.
She is strategically growingher business, maintaining
intentional small-scaleoperations while prioritizing
her role as a mom.
(01:03):
Welcome to the show, valerie.
Valerie Levesque (01:05):
Thank you, I'm really excited to be here,
tanner.
Tanner Welsch (01:12):
Yeah, I'm so glad we got to connect and bring you
on.
You're in the middle of thetransition and learning a lot,
and that's great.
That's why I wanted to get youon the show to talk more about
your journey and some of thepain points and struggles that
you're having and or have gonethrough and overcome.
So what is your story behindthe first sense of awareness
that you know things weren'tquite right within your
traditional rehab career andexperience?
Valerie Levesque (01:32):
Yeah, I think it became very real to me when I
was trying to plan my return tothe clinic after having our
second child.
I had to leave it open-endedand then I kept pushing it back
and pushing it back, and pushingit back and it became very
clear that for several factors,but specifically the economic
(01:54):
factors at play, it just didn'tmake sense for me to commit to
returning to the clinic, evenpart-time, because the costs of
child care are really high in anurban setting like Seattle.
And so putting both of my kidsin daycare full-time and then
working maybe part-time, it justdidn't pencil out and I kept
(02:19):
racking my brain where's thein-between?
You know the difference betweenidentifying as a practicing
physical therapist and thenbeing solely stay-at-home mom,
which are both amazing.
But I wanted to find a way forme to maintain my license,
maintain my practice, but alsobe there for my family when you
(02:40):
know they need it.
So being able to see patientsin their home on a flexible
basis lined up and made sense tome.
Tanner Welsch (02:48):
Yeah, like a alternative path that made sense
to fit where you are in yourlife and the lifestyle that
you're wanting to have.
Right, was there like aspecific moment that you had or
that you remember that was OK?
Yeah, this traditional way isnot going to work and this other
starting my own practice iswhat I'm going to do because of
this particular moment or eventthat happened.
Valerie Levesque (03:09):
It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment, but
even as I was working part timeand pregnant with my second,
there was just this loomingsense of dread.
Oh my God, what in the worldare we going to do when this
baby shows up?
How are we going to get throughthis little period of time,
this stretch of time wherethey're not in public school and
(03:30):
you have to pay for privatedaycare?
I knew it was there, but Itried to push it off and I'll
deal with it later.
We'll figure it out and, ofcourse, it doesn't just figure
itself out.
You have to be intentional.
As my second kid got older andolder, I couldn't make a
commitment, it just didn't makesense.
Yeah, so I don't know thatthere was an exact moment, but
there is certainly a build likea crescendo, just drawing a line
(03:54):
in the sand.
I cannot do that.
Tanner Welsch (03:57):
For sure, and it sounds like there's two things
at play here the financialaspect of the care for your
children and also the aspect ofpossibly the time and not being
able to spend as much time withthem because they're in care too
right.
So how do you solve both ofthose things in one go?
And that's where you ended upwith the concierge PT practice.
Valerie Levesque (04:18):
And it's not perfect, right?
Even this week my kids therewere snow days.
Right.
Even this week, my kids therewere snow days.
There were sick days.
I had to shuffle people around.
It's not an absolute perfectmodel, but it works and I feel
confident now that I'm notdigging my family into a deeper
and deeper hole, because that'sa really heavy thing to carry
(04:40):
around.
Oh, it's because of me and mycareer choices that we're not
able to make it right now.
I think that it's also justhaving that self-confidence that
I'm still contributing to myprofession, I'm still
contributing to the growth of myfamily and, yes, it's going to
be a little touch and go whilekids are getting cold and
whatever, but it's going to beokay.
Tanner Welsch (05:03):
And so we everybody's on the same page and
we understand where you're atright now You're taking care of
the kids at home and then on theside, you're building out your
concierge PT practice, correct.
Valerie Levesque (05:14):
Yeah, and as I'm seeing patients, they do go
to a daycare Now that I am verygrateful, for.
We ended up moving from Seattleto Boise, Idaho, and the child
care costs are half they're halfas much as they were in Seattle
and so we feel we have theability to put them in daycare
(05:36):
for a little bit and so that Ican pursue initial vows getting
more patient and very slowlywork my way up with my case load
.
Tanner Welsch (05:44):
Absolutely.
Let's talk about that Onaverage per week.
How many patients would you saythat you see, and how many days
a week are you seeing patients?
Valerie Levesque (05:54):
I think that I open it up to five days a week
right off the bat just becauseI'm trying to gather new
patients.
After a couple of weeks of thatbecause I'm driving right to
house to house I had to be like,okay, that was a crazy week, I
need to concentrate it.
And so Mondays, right now, aremy day, where I'm not going out
and seeing patients.
(06:15):
I'm doing other types of tasks.
I would say that right now I'mseeing about five patient hours
a week and I'm spending probablytwice as much networking.
I'm spending a lot of my hourswhen the kids are at daycare,
that I'm just coffee meetings,group meetings, going to all
(06:36):
these different types ofbusiness related networking
events, and it takes a lot oftime.
My short-term goal right now is16 hours a week.
If I could treat 16 patients aweek, my income would roughly be
the same as working full-timein a clinic.
Tanner Welsch (06:54):
No kidding.
Valerie Levesque (06:55):
When you look at the math in those terms, it's
a pretty easy decision.
Tanner Welsch (07:00):
Absolutely, and that was one of my follow-up
questions was where do you findmost of your success with
referrals and getting these newpatients coming in and what's
been some things that havereally had a good return on
investment of your time to getthose patients coming to you?
Valerie Levesque (07:26):
working with family friends.
You know people that I alreadyhad within my network who needed
services and so treated myhusband's, cousin's husband for
a back injury and working my wayout from there.
The group that I've spent themost time with and I feel has so
far been of the most value, isa networking group called BNI,
business Network International,and I know that there's chapters
(07:48):
all over the place.
It was a little bit of alearning curve for me to get the
hang of it, just becausebusiness networking is not
something that I have an expertin.
You're put on the spot and theysay, ok, tell us who you are,
what you do and what a goodreferral would be for you.
In 40 seconds you have to standup in the crowd and give a
commercial, and so I just threwmyself into it and I've already
(08:12):
paid off my annual dues fromreferrals that I've gotten and I
really anticipate to grow fromthere.
I feel the closer that I becomewith the health and wellness
subgroup within the chapter thatI'm going to, the more
referrals and the more back andforth we'll be able to take care
of people.
Tanner Welsch (08:30):
That's awesome.
I've heard that also fromanother individual that was
starting their own concierge orlike private rehab practice and
they really liked it the BNI.
Valerie Levesque (08:41):
It's a great entry point for me because I'm
new to town, I don't know anyone.
The people I interact with on adaily basis are daycare people
that watch my kid, and so tobroaden my community network,
this has been great.
Oh, now I know somebody whodoes X, y and Z, all the trades,
all the professional services.
(09:03):
We had somebody help us with awill.
You're just making so manyprofessional connections that
you would never be served to youon a platter in any other
setting.
Tanner Welsch (09:12):
Absolutely.
For those that are wanting todo something similar to what
you're doing, you know, starttheir own rehab practice.
What would you say are somefundamental things that you
learned that need to be in placebefore you really start going
out and actually getting thepatients rolling in.
Valerie Levesque (09:29):
A good place to see this play out is my
website.
When I was first putting theseideas to pen to paper, if you
will I grew all of the things Iwas thinking about on my website
.
This is who I am.
This is what I've done.
I have a dog, and it was allthese personal details.
(09:49):
But the more that I'm learningand I'm working through the
story, branding right and howyou tell your story of your
brand is so important, and sobeing really narrow and specific
with your story is how you cancapture audiences, and so I've
(10:10):
been tightening up my messaging,narrowing my messaging, getting
rid of some of the extraneousthings.
Nobody cares that I have a12-year-old rescue dog and being
more specific about here's theproblem you have.
I know all about your problemand this is how I'm going to
solve it for you.
I have the skills to solve yourproblem.
Tanner Welsch (10:30):
I was looking in my book, stack back here for
story branding the book.
Yeah, I got it around heresomewhere.
Valerie Levesque (10:37):
I had a family friend be like you need to read
this and it was huge.
You can spend tons of money ona marketing professional that
does exactly what they tell you,step by step, to do in this
book.
Tanner Welsch (10:51):
Yeah, I completely agree.
It's super useful.
We talked about the marketingaspect.
I imagine there's another EMRsystem or billing, or maybe
that's all in one thing.
What have you found has beenmost you know, the easiest for
you to use and what's worked?
Valerie Levesque (11:05):
So because I have such a small scale at the
moment, I've not been asconcerned about the EMR side of
things just because it's fee forservice, but what I have the G
Suite templates andprefabricated documents from
Unsubscribed Rehab that Ilearned about from another guest
on your podcast.
(11:26):
But the thing that makes itreally convenient from like a
bookkeeping perspective ishaving a Clover, a purchase of
sales little device so that whenI'm in someone's home I just
pull out this little tiny device.
It syncs up with my phone andwith my business bank account
and I swipe their card and it'sdone.
Until I gain a little bit morecaseload, I'm intending to
(11:49):
provide super bills.
I haven't gotten to that pointright now because the folks that
I'm training at the moment aresuper happy to pay out of pocket
, and this is another thing thatI'm learning is that the
insurance model is reallyfailing a lot of people.
I anticipate, going into this,that the people that I was going
to be marketing to and whowould be my potential new
(12:12):
clients would be folks who havea lot of discretionary income.
But I think that what hasactually happened is the folks
who are pulling into the side ofsaying I really need your help.
Their family works hard fortheir insurance.
It just isn't helping them.
They've either maxed out theirbenefit and it's only September,
or they have crazy highdeductibles and they're
(12:35):
effectively paying a pocket togo see a PT in a clinic anyways.
Tanner Welsch (12:39):
Right.
It's a lose-lose for everybody.
Honestly and I've also heardabout working in the traditional
rehab model insurances alsodictate what we can treat as
okay.
Yeah, this is medicallynecessary and this over here
isn't medically necessary.
So if the patient actuallywants that that's not medically
necessary, it doesn't getreimbursed, you know, and so
(13:01):
your manual muscle testing is afour out of five, and so bye,
you're fine.
Yeah.
Valerie Levesque (13:07):
I mean, it's all.
It all is on a spectrum.
Some people get tougherscenarios than others, but just
having the ability to followthrough with my exact plan of
care is so liberating and soempowering and makes me fall in
love with being a physicaltherapist all over again,
because you can get bogged downand feel like, oh man, am I
(13:29):
really making a difference?
Are these people really gettingbetter when I see them walking
out the door after eight visits?
But now you have no red tape,no problems, no barriers and you
can really see it through untilyou both agree that, yeah, I'm
doing what I want to be doing,so that's really awesome.
Tanner Welsch (13:49):
I'm doing what I want to be doing, so that's
really awesome.
Yeah, you have the autonomy totreat how you want to as a
practitioner.
The traditional model alsooften has the OTs, the PTs,
doing a lot of the evals,reassessments and discharges,
but they actually don't really.
Usually the case is they rarelyactually treat the patients and
I think you know to your pointyou're able to do all of it, I
(14:13):
mean start to finish, includingthe treatments, and I think that
adds, you know, that rapport,that connection and all that
with the patient, because you'reactually there and then seeing
the progress and modifying theprogress or what's to do next.
Valerie Levesque (14:25):
And I've been very, very fortunate to have
worked in clinics that haveone-on-one care, and so I'm not
even used to working withassistants or aides or rehab
techs or whatever, and so theidea of somebody taking my
patient and then handing them tosomebody else, I'm just not
(14:45):
okay with that.
I want to hold on to them andtake care of them and see it all
the way through, and so, yeah,it is hugely important to have
that continuity and care, tohave the ability to coordinate
some of their services, becausea lot of these folks don't know
where to start or who to talk to.
(15:06):
If you ask them, who have youtalked to about this injury
before you talk to me about it,a lot of times they'll say
nobody.
And so if you can be the personto say you know, let's get a
second opinion, because thisdoesn't sound right.
That is what physicaltherapists are supposed to do,
and when that happens, thepatient is going to gain so much
(15:29):
trust.
They're going to know thatyou're not just there to spike
their credit card.
You are there to really makethem feel better, and if that
means going to see a differentprovider, then I'm so happy that
you found that.
Tanner Welsch (15:42):
Yeah, you're allowed to look at the patient
from a holistic point of viewand then have these other
networking, partnerships andrelationships to be able to
refer to the appropriateprofessional to touch on all
those holistic approaches totreat a patient.
Valerie Levesque (15:57):
And I think that in my previous roles I've
yearned for those relationshipswith other professionals.
I just really want to have amassage therapist that I trust
implicitly that when I send apatient to them they're going to
take a really good care of themand vice versa.
And I think that theinteractions that I've had here
in Boise have really surprisedme with how open and generous
(16:20):
everybody is with their patients, but also just with their time.
I think that the health andwellness, allied health, if you
will field, they're all superinterconnected.
Here.
There's less of thatcompetitive.
This is your turf, that is myturf.
If you see a chiropractor, Ican't treat you.
If you're doing cryo-signaltherapy, no way, there's none of
(16:44):
that here.
Tanner Welsch (16:45):
It sounds like you maybe experienced a
different setting to where youwere running into those barriers
, or it was super competitive.
Valerie Levesque (16:53):
It was always an unspoken thing, right, but I
had to go out of my way.
You had to try, and sometimespeople are just so busy.
You try to coordinate thingsand, at the end of the day, my
caseload is overflowing.
I've got wait lists.
Why do I need you?
Tanner Welsch (17:10):
Where was this at or what was going on in your
life at this time?
Valerie Levesque (17:13):
When I graduated PT school, I started
in a residency program inSeattle.
I did a residency and afellowship program and then I
transitioned to a differentclinic and my feeling was that
people were just busy.
It wasn't that they didn't wantthose relationships.
Everybody was super open minded.
But I think that you had foure-bals tomorrow you weren't
(17:36):
focusing on let me go to dinnerwith this chiropractor so that I
can get to know them, and Ithink it's also at the start of
this new venture, and so thatnetworking piece is what I'm
focusing on, and so I'm justrelishing it, I'm loving it.
I think that it's so inspiring,so I'm just having a lot of
benefits.
Yeah, along with it.
Tanner Welsch (17:56):
For sure.
Yeah, I believe it was backwhen you were in Seattle,
because you're in Idaho now,back when you were in Seattle.
This is more what youexperienced, right?
People just feel they didn'thave time to do these networking
things.
Yeah, time to do thesenetworking things.
Valerie Levesque (18:08):
Yeah, because you were seeing 40 patients a
week.
Yeah, dang.
Your brain is like overloadedwith just what you have on your
plate at the moment.
You're scrambling to finishyour notes, you're scrambling to
see the next patient.
You're chugging water as youwalk down out to the lobby to
get your next person, and Ithink that that's a natural
(18:29):
experience as a new therapist.
Right Is that you get thrown inthere and, for better or worse,
ends up with that burnoutexperience.
Knowing how to set boundaries,protect your time, be efficient
All of those things are soimportant because burnout is so
(18:51):
real.
In the middle of the year that Idid this fellowship training
where it was including weekendcourses on top of your full-time
job I tried to quit halfwaythrough and I sent a letter of
resignation.
I can't do this anymore.
Thank you for everything, bye.
And then I got an email fromone of my mentors Thank you for
everything, bye.
And then I got an email fromone of my mentors Come here, sit
(19:11):
down in my office, let's talkabout this, and she talks me off
the ledge of.
You can do this, you just needto finish this through, and
sometimes that's what you needto.
You just need somebody to cheeryou on, but the burnout is real
and it takes a toll on you inways that you don't realize, as
it's happening.
Tanner Welsch (19:30):
That's actually a topic that I talk about in the
miniseries, the TransitionJourney miniseries.
The first episode is episode 40, and that's a topic that's
definitely discussed and I thinkit's important because all of
us have experienced it in thehealth field.
What would you say was thefirst signs of traction?
Or when did you know that thiscould actually work and be
prosperous and profitable?
Valerie Levesque (19:52):
It was recently, in the last couple of
weeks, because until now thishas been a fantasy of mine.
But putting it all into actionand seeing how receptive and
even excited other providers areto have you in their network,
that's when I started to getexcited and be like, oh, this is
going to happen.
The way that you can connectwith some of these other
(20:15):
providers and have anunderstanding that we're not
doing protocols for our patients.
Everything is individualized.
It's so specific to the person,to the condition, and having
another referral source.
See that in you and reflectthat back.
Just the last couple of weeksis really when I started to feel
that, oh, this is going tohappen.
Tanner Welsch (20:38):
That's awesome, congratulations.
I'm excited for you because Ithink a big part of it is
actually making the jump andputting things in place to
actually do it.
That would be a huge barrier, Iimagine, for anybody that was
wanting to do this, and so toclarify the ability to actually
see things look like this isthere's traction, it's going to
be profitable, just keepbuilding it out.
(21:00):
If I understand this right,it's not like you knew this
necessarily before you made thejump.
You had to actually do it,right.
Valerie Levesque (21:08):
Yeah, a leap of faith is an understatement.
It very much felt like, if I'mever going to do it, now is the
time and I just have to throweverything I've got at it.
We've made some really toughdecisions to prioritize this.
You know for ourselves when wesold our house in Seattle.
We're renting a house right nowso that we have the flexibility
(21:30):
to do all the things Imentioned before daycare,
startup costs.
But the concierge model isbeautiful in a sense that it
doesn't require a ton of startupcosts, sole ownership to make
(21:51):
the decisions of what are yougoing to spend your money on,
what are you going to invest inin order to add value to your,
to your patients?
How are you going to setyourself up to be on that
concierge level, white gloveservice sort of care?
Tanner Welsch (22:04):
What are some practical maybe non-obvious
skills that make you a great fitfor this concierge PT practice
that you're going?
Valerie Levesque (22:13):
Some of the skills that are maybe not
something that I learned inschool just this is how I am
trait are more relationshipbuilding skill.
Back when I was in high schoolI was student body president.
I was the president of thephysical therapy club in college
.
Having that position of controlis something that I really
(22:34):
thrive in.
I really like having theability to make decisions for
myself and that's something thatI've known about myself for a
long time.
I think that in PT school, whenI had one affiliation in a
hospital setting and you justfeel like you're a little cog on
a wheel and there's millions ofhierarchies above you, that was
(22:54):
super, super unsettling for meand so I just know that that's
not.
That's not for me.
I guess, to specifically therelationship building and just
making people feel heard, Ithink that a lot of times
patients tell their story toproviders, whoever they might be
, and they don't feel heard.
(23:14):
So whether that means that itwas a time constraint where
somebody had to interrupt themoh no, no, no, you have five
more minutes or they just theysay their story but there's not
really enough of a plan behindit to address their primary
concerns.
That is something I try reallyhard to give the extra time to
(23:36):
listen and really understand.
Where is this coming from?
What other factors might be atplay?
If you take the time tounderstand them, they're going
to buy into your plan of care.
Tanner Welsch (23:48):
Sure.
I also see another thing,possibly with the burnout topic.
You know, if there's a PTOTspeech path that's super burnout
and just doesn't have theenergy time's definitely a thing
too, but doesn't have theenergy to really be present and
listen then it's just again alose-lose situation.
Valerie Levesque (24:05):
And COVID is a perfect example, you know, for
all of us who worked throughCOVID, of complete empathy
fatigue.
You are sitting there andyou're listening not just to
their PT problems but all theseother problems, giving yourself
the space to not fall into thatpattern of another terrible, sad
(24:25):
sob story.
Here we go again.
You just come at it from adifferent perspective when you
have more in your own tank.
Tanner Welsch (24:33):
Exactly, yeah, I completely agree.
What would you say that youlove most about your new reality
?
Valerie Levesque (24:38):
My new reality .
I mean, it's just the sensethat I'm still providing for my
family and I think that nothaving that was it was something
I struggled with.
I love my babies and I lovedthe time that I got to spend at
home with them.
It was a little over a year,but the idea that I wasn't
(25:01):
making a meaningful input to ourspreadsheet, our little
equation, you know, I justdidn't feel good.
It kind of messed like myself-confidence and my
self-worth and I really tie alot of my identity, my
self-worth, to my profession andI think that that's just a
natural thing that therapists ofall kinds do, because it's so
(25:23):
intertwined with who you are.
Finding a way to carve out thisside route of still maintaining
that identity and thatself-worth, that this is how I
add value to our family isreally meaningful to me.
Tanner Welsch (25:40):
Absolutely what is obvious to you now that maybe
you struggled with to see inthe past working in the
traditional rehab profession,you know being where you are now
and then comparing it, lookingin the past and I would say,
framing around you know workingin the traditional rehab and
then also to where you are now,which is, you know, the
concierge business space.
Valerie Levesque (26:01):
Yeah, something that I didn't think
about much before, that I thinkabout a lot now these days, is
how to make your plan of careand your home exercise program
accessible and something thatthey will actually follow
through with.
In the traditional model,they'll have some clinics with
really super specific equipmentfancy pulleys, you name it and
(26:24):
the patient is only experiencingthat when they're in the clinic
.
So if it's one or two times aweek, that's great, but what it
comes down to is what are theydoing at home every single day?
How are they embedding thesenew movement patterns, whatever
it is into their daily rituals?
(26:45):
How do you get somebody to dosomething as consistently as
they brush their teeth, so thatit's like this is ingrained in
them?
This is just what I do.
I take care of my spine, I takecare of my shoulder, whatever I
started, giving smaller andsmaller whole exercise programs,
less and less complicated homeexercise programs, things that
(27:07):
involve less and less props,home exercise programs, things
that involve less and less propsand then being able to see the
patient in their environment andgive them the most specific
instructions and cues for howthey can successfully reproduce
those exercises in their ownspace translates into more
compliance, better performance,better outcomes, because they're
(27:27):
going to be able to actuallyachieve the thing that you want
them to be achieving.
I'm excited to be able to dothat now, where I can say okay,
put your door at this exactangle and, when you're kicking
your leg back, kick it in thisexact direction, towards your
kitchen cabinet.
Tanner Welsch (27:46):
Right.
Valerie Levesque (27:47):
And giving those parameters to certain
people means all the difference.
Tanner Welsch (27:52):
Yeah, there's some things that I haven't
thought about myself, so that'sreally insightful.
Thanks for sharing.
Getting towards the end here ofthe interview, is there
anything else that you'd like toshare with other rehab
professionals who are lookingfor alternative careers and or
maybe considering opening uptheir own rehab practice or
concierge practice?
Valerie Levesque (28:10):
I think that it's obviously doable.
Right, when you are askingyourself, could I do this?
The answer is yes, it could bedone.
But what I would encouragemaybe new grads or new physical
therapists that are grinding itout at the clinic right now to
try and develop patterns of carethat sets you apart.
(28:35):
How can I stay above the frayand do like that little bit
above and beyond piece and thenreally gain that trust with your
patient?
Simple things like following upwith them with an email hey, how
did the visit go last Thursday?
How are you feeling?
That can mean a lot to somebodyIf you're like I know I don't
(28:56):
see you for five more days, butI just want to touch base and
make sure those exercises aretreating you okay.
If you have any questions,don't hesitate to reach out.
So, even though you're probablyhead is spinning with your
crazy key float and you're thisclose to burning out, just if
you can take a step back, thinkof them you know not as a need
as a human and try to just takethat into consideration as you
(29:18):
are following up with their care.
Tanner Welsch (29:21):
Absolutely.
I want to go ahead and summarizefrom this episode is that the
transition to a conciergephysical therapy model can offer
significant advantages,addressing both the needs of
patients and the personalprofessional aspirations of the
practitioner.
The realization that patients,you know, with insurance plans
(29:41):
facing limitations or highdeductibles they are willing to
pay out of pocket for thispersonalized and high quality
care really underscores thevalidity of this alternative
approach.
How to achieve this?
Some of the solutions toachieving this that we've talked
about are embracing anentrepreneurial mindset,
evaluating personal professionalpriorities, actually
(30:02):
considering alternative paths,including this concierge PT
avenue, and then networkingeffectively to connect with
patients seeking personalizedcare and also the personal and
professional networks that areinvolved with the holistic care
of these patients.
And so, by being a rehab owner,the ability to call the shots,
be creative and have controlover the treatment environment
(30:24):
enhances job satisfaction,highlighting the importance of
autonomy and an entrepreneurialmindset and reshaping the
traditional rehab model and,ultimately, your career and the
lifestyle you want to have.
Yeah, I'm really grateful andthankful that you came on,
valerie, to share yourexperience.
Thank you so much.
Valerie Levesque (30:41):
Thank you.
I'm happy that people aretalking about this stuff and
that it's not just this secret,unspoken thing that people sit
around daydreaming about.
Tanner Welsch (30:50):
Same.
It is possible.
People are doing it.
You can do it too, you know.
Take care.
Intro (30:55):
You too, thank you.
Thank you for listening to theRehab 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
rehabrebelspodcast.
We'll see you next time.
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