June 5, 2025
PTAs, Here's Why the Future of Rehab Summit Matters for YOU
In this insightful episode, host Katie Sutton sits down with Drew Contreras of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) to unpack the five biggest reasons PTAs (and other rehab professionals) must pay attention to the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit, happening July 9–10 in Washington, DC.
This is not just another conference—it’s a pivot point for the entire rehab profession.
If you're a PTA, PT, OT, SLP, or healthcare innovator, this summit is where you'll find the conversations that are shaping the future of rehab. From tech innovation to interprofessional collaboration, it’s all covered here.
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Yeah, and I will also add, we've even invited some of the industry people to come, researchers, other people.
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Like look if you touch these things and you're interested in it, come on, because a lot of times, like you said, people may be like, "Well, I was a PT but I've been in, working, you know, developing these products or doing these things for 25 years."
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Like, it's okay.
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Come, come on, come with us, right?
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Or there might be a biomechanist, right, who works with OTs all day long but like, "Well I'm not an OT."
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Like, you're welcome, come on.
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So I think, again- Yeah.
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broadening that, that knowledge base, the amount of people that come, I think it's really important.
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Welcome back everybody to another episode of the PTA Plus Podcast, where the conversation is for PTs by PTAs.
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I am Katie Sutton, your host.
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Today's guest is Drew Contreras from the American Physical Therapy Association.
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Today we discuss the 5 reasons why PTAs need to be paying attention to the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit happening this July in D.C.
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You will notice that the title is very intentional to bring the conversation to all professionals within rehab therapy.
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We are excited to announce that PTA Plus will be on-site this July providing updates and live interviews with the most innovative minds in rehab therapy.
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I'm excited for you to hear today's conversation with Drew.
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As always, thank you so much for listening.
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the PTA Plus podcast.
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I am Katie Sutton, your host, and today we have some exciting news.
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We have with us Drew Contreras, Vice President of Strategic Affairs at APTA headquarters.
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He's gonna t- help me break down the 5 reasons why PTAs need to be paying attention to this upcoming event, the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit.
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I'm calling it FORTS.
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I've heard that other people are calling it FORTS too, so
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Yeah, it works out better that way sometimes.
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Okay, good.
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And this is coming up in July, so July 9th and 10th, and it is in Washington, DC.
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Is that correct?
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Yeah, that's correct, right.
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Washington, DE- DC at, uh, the Omni Hotel in downtown DC.
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Wonderful.
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And some components are also at APTA he- at APTA headquarters.
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Is that correct or
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Yeah, that's, that's correct, right.
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There are some other things that are going on that week, uh, at APTA, um, and this is just one of the ways that we try to schedule an event, um, where we could kind of leverage people that are already traveling and already in the area.
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Wonderful.
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So you hopped on today because the exciting news from my perspective is I'm gonna be coming.
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I'm coming to the, the FORTS, the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit, uh, from PTA Plus podcast.
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We're gonna be doing some live broadcasts.
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We're gonna be, um, doing, kicking off a lot of episodes in regards to some of the topics and the content that we're getting from, um, the FORTS, uh, all the way down there in DC.
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So I'm really excited to have that opportunity to come and talk to all of the innovative minds that are gonna be there.
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I will probably have a co-pilot/wingman with me.
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Nice.
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Um, more information on that coming here real soon.
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But, um, Drew, you joined today 'cause you're gonna help me kind of kick off, um, 1, the first of many episodes, uh, that we're gonna talk about the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit.
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And it's important that we're gonna talk a little bit more about this title.
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Yep.
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Future of Rehab Therapy Summit, 'cause we're not just talking about PTs and PTAs here, are we?
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No, we're not.
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We're not, right?
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And, and I think, right, as you, as we kind of get into this today you'll understand that, you know, there's a lot of challenges out there, but the challenges aren't specific to physical therapists, right?
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It's to the entire medical system and, and importantly to our, to our brothers and sisters that also work in other rehab areas.
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So if you're having the conversation i- i- it only makes sense to include the other people that are tied to you that are on our interdisciplinary teams, right, that we work with close in facilities, uh, because these, these challenges are for everybody.
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So it's important to include them.
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Absolutely.
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So we're gonna break 'em down, 5 reasons why.
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And of course this is the podcast that's mainly directed towards physical therapist assistants, although I know that there are, um, PTs that also listen to it as well.
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And of course we're gonna try to blast this information out to everybody that we know is part of the rehab profession and, and that we want them to be included in this as well.
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But the first reason that we have that PTAs should be paying attention to the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit is that there are new career pathways that are being built.
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So one of the sessions that's happening, I believe it might be a panel, is called Beyond the Traditional Path.
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That's right.
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And I found this to be very interesting because, um, I think that there are, um, many PTs and PTAs that are kind of veering in different directions these days.
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I mean, I'm not a traditional PTA that works in a clinic.
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Um, you're a physical therapist.
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You don't work in a clinic every day, do you?
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Nope.
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I do not.
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No.
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Yeah.
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So why was this an important topic for PTs, PTAs, other rehab professionals to hear about?
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I, I think it's important for 2 reasons.
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I think number one, um, I think that there has been a lack of embracing of those clinicians who have found other interests that they wanted to pursue, right?
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So like you, you've been working on patients or you're in the clinic and then after a while, you know, you get an itch and you decide you wanna start
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I don't know, right?
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You, you have this great idea for a product or you wanna pursue developing an app or like whatever your passion is and then you start pursuing that passion and it takes you away from the clinic.
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Well there was a lack of embracing people for doing that because people were afraid that like, well then we're encouraging people to leave the profession.
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You know, and, and my take on that is n- no, you're, you're broadening the profession, right?
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So, and don't look at it as they're not, they've left.
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Th- they're still who they are, right?
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They're training who made them who they are, who made their brain think in that process, in that
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sequential pathway of looking f- looking at a problem and how do we provide solutions.
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That's what made them successful.
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So, you know, if they're going out and pursuing other things, we should not only, um, understand that, right?
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We should support it, and at times, we should leverage it, right?
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Because all it will do is make the profession stronger.
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And then the other thing, I think, um, is a little bit of a generational change, right?
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And- and I just- I just gave a talk to a bunch of new graduates, and the reality is that clinicians that are graduating now have been tested harder than I was when- when I went to school, right?
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They are top in their high school classes, they go to strong universities, they pass rigorous exams.
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Like, these are bright, strong, smart clinicians, and they have other interests, right?
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They're- they're- they're capable of doing all kinds of things.
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So if you're gonna limit them to one thing, you're going to lose them, right?
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So I just think that that's the reality, that these clinicians just have more interests, right?
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They wanna go out and do other things.
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And, you know, the world out there has started to understand that people who work and understand the neuromusculoskeletal health space are valuable, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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They're valuable to businesses.
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Yeah.
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They're valuable to companies.
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They're valuable, uh, l- working in C suites of hospitals.
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Like, they're valuable people.
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So the reality of it is that, like, these people are- are- are going to keep doing amazing things, and we need to embrace that and let them know, uh, that we're- we support that, right, and also learn from it.
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Learn- learn from the things that they have to share.
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That's what it's about.
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Yeah.
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Absolutely.
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Well, and the whole, uh, premise of this podcast, and I say this probably more than what people who actually listen to the podcast care to hear it.
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But I keep saying it because I want them to understand that the whole- the whole title, PTA Plus, that was very intentional.
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It's because a lot of the guests that I have on the podcast or a lot of the topics that we talk about is because it's a physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant that is doing something plus being a PT or PTA.
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So yes, I'm a physical therapist assistant, but I'm also an educator.
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I also do X, Y, and Z.
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So we're kind of filling in all these other blanks that make us a well-rounded human being, a well-rounded professional.
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Um, so it- we all go beyond just that title.
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Yeah.
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Love it.
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Love it.
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So number 2, pow- powerful professional connections.
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So there's gonna be round tables, there's gonna be panels, there's gonna be people, and I love this, from ASHA, AOTA.
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We're bringing in our friends and our neighbors from other professions to talk, um, with us at the same table, and this is really exciting to me.
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I got really stoked when I saw that.
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Because we're finally looking at people outside of our own profession to see if we can kind of solve some of these problems with innovative minds, right?
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So why did APTA feel that it was important to make sure that we included people outside of our own scope?
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Well, I think it's important because, um, you know, the challenges that are- that we're facing, right, are not- they're not just ours.
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Like, lots of people have similar challenges, right?
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Like, whether we're talking about payment, whether we're talking about scope of practice, whether we're talking about workforce challenges, like, everybody's feeling the squeeze.
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And the reality is that why wouldn't we include the people, right, who are most similar to us, who also have the same challenges?
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If we could come up with solutions and you could come up with solutions that you can scale across multiple professions, well, now you have- now you have s- you have- you have something that people will not only listen to 1 one discipline.
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If you have multiple disciplines that have come up to the same conclusion of how you can do something better, how we can better provide care for our patients, now you start getting the attention, right, of administrators.
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You start getting the attentions of systems.
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You start getting the attention of elected officials, right?
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You can start to have a larger impact.
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And that's really what it's about, right?
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And, you know, APTA is- is happy to kind of put together this kind of atmosphere where we can have that conversation, right?
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Because we're- we're a little larger, right?
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To- to be blunt.
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Like, we've got more PTs and we've got a little more scale.
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So we can bring them into the conversation.
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We can help them.
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They can help us.
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You know, again, they've, they've got other nuances that we don't necessarily have.
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So bringing everybody into that conversation, you know, really, really becomes helpful, and I think that's a big part of it.
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And then one of the other points that you made is, um, this, this setup is designed, this meeting is designed for interaction, right?
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It's really designed for you to network with people.
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And for some clinicians, they've never had the chance to network with people from other disciplines, right?
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Maybe that's just their career path has never gone there, right?
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They've always been in one specific discipline or one location.
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So sometimes, right, getting out of your own little bubble, right, widening your, your, your scope of influence of friends that you're working with leads to all kinds of idea generation.
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So we thought that was really important.
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Yeah.
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So essentially what you're saying, Drew, is PTs could be there.
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PTAs could be there.
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OTs could be there.
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OTAs can be there.
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Speech and language pathologists.
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I mean, so this is really kind of broad.
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It's very wide open.
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Yeah.
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And I will also add, we've even invited some of the industry people to come, researchers, other people.
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Like if
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Look, if you touch these things, and you're interested in it, come on, because a lot of times, like you said, people may be like, "Well, I was a PT, but I've been in
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Working, you know, developing these products or doing these things for 25 years."
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Like, it's okay.
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Come, come on.
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Come with us, right?
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Or there might be a biomechanist, right, who works with OTs all day long, but like, "Well, I'm not an OT."
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Like, you're welcome.
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Come on.
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So I think, again- Yeah.
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broadening that, that knowledge base, the amount of people that come, I think it's really important.
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Awesome.
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Okay.
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third, the next thing, and I struggled with this one myself.
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I'm gonna be very honest with, with the audience about this one.
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So leveling up with tech and innovation.
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I started using ChatGPT kicking and screaming.
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I was like, "No.
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No, no, no.
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Not gonna do it."
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But there are gonna
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And, and I am now, and I'm thankful that I have finally embraced it, right?
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So, um- Yeah.
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we, we have to embrace this.
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If you're not using it, you're behind.
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Um, so there's gonna be sessions on tech, AI, innovation.
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So, uh, w- what do you got for us there?
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What do you, what do you think?
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So, right, there's
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It's, it's a pervasive thing that is a sign of the times, right?
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Like, you can't have a conversation about anything in, in the rehab world, whether it's intake of patients, whether it's evaluations.
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And can we put CPGs?
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Can we, can we embed them into the EMR, right?
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Can we go ahead and have AI help us with documentation?
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Can it help us with billing?
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Can it help us with claims denial?
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Like, all these things are just going to be part of the normal ecosystem.
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They're already there.
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I understand not everybody's comfortable with it yet, and that's fine, right?
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But your comfort is not going to delay it.
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It's coming whether you wanted it or not, right?
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And so, right, I feel like one of the things that APTA needs to do is kind of help people understand, this is the, the pathway that things are on.
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Let me provide you with information so that you can be the best clinician you can be, but also let me take down some of the barriers for your understanding of
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And so we have, you know, some great AI experts, um, who are gonna have a great platform conversation to answer some of these questions and kind of demystify some of these things and also to kind of understand, right?
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The, I think that the rehab community struggles with this concept that they're going to be replaced, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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By some AI chatbot,
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Mm-hmm.
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Um, that, you know, it's coming to take your clinical jobs, or it's gonna replace you, right?
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And, and I hear it all the time.
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And the, the truth is, right, as I go out in my job, I talk to companies all the time that say, "Oh, we're gonna do this, and we're gonna"
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You know, they're, they're gonna replace and you
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There's no reason to ever go to a clinic.
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And I'm like, listen, if there was no reason, like if information was all people needed, right, everybody would be jacked and have 6 pack abs and eat amazing, right?
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'Cause all the information's- Yeah.
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available and free.
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But like, no.
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Humans are humans, right?
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And, and humans need other humans to help them along in their pathway.
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So clinicians aren't going anywhere, right?
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That's, that's not the case.
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However, clinicians who are enabled by using leveraging technology and things that make their job more efficient, make the patient encounter easier, help bridge some of those gaps when
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In patient care or when things are just not suitable for in a clinic, right?
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Like, if we didn't learn anything from COVID, we learned, look, we can leverage technology to still help take care of people, right?
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So we know that it can be done.
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We have to be willing to accept it, and it
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And I really think that a lot of these sessions is w- is it's kind of woven into some of the thoughts.
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And you'll see it from some of the industry providers.
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Like, they've just got some amazing things that'll just help make
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It helps make treating patients easier.
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It helps make, you know, clinical life a lot easier.
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Uh, but it's never gonna take your job.
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Yeah.
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You know, uh, it, it was very interesting.
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I actually just did a live podcast the other day with, um, Jimmy McKay.
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So if, if you haven't watched that one, audience, go back and watch that one first because we talked about core skills in 2020 or 2030 by the World E- Economic Forum.
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Mm-hmm.
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And it was very interesting 'cause some of those top skills are AI and big data, technology literacy, creative thinking.
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I like this one, creativeness and lifelong learning.
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leadership, social influence, resiliency, flexibility, agility.
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So, those are all things that the group that you were discussing or d- uh, describing that are going to be graduating, this fits perfect, right?
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This How can we blend all this?
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Right.
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And, like, this is their default setting, right?
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So, understand that, right?
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Like, th- you know, this group as they come up, and if you're somebody that finds themselves like me, right, a little more gray hair than they have, like, if I want to lead them, right, if I want to be competent and understand their skill set, it means that I need to level up my own skill set,
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And that's just part of, part of it, and that's one of the things that we're trying to accomplish at this meeting.
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I love it.
244
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Okay.
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Number 4, inspiration from other healthcare disruptors.
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So specifically, we're talking about this rock star, Dan Statz, right?
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Yeah.
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He's gonna come and talk.
249
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Um, Dan is a physical therapist, but also a Shark Tank winner.
250
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That's right.
251
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Yeah.
252
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So, like, Dan, uh, I don't
253
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I won't steal his thunder, right?
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Uh-huh.
255
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But the reality of it is, he's, he's a clinician, and he was like, "Man, what if I did this?"
256
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Right?
257
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And just had a kooky idea, took his idea onto Shark Tank, won Shark Tank, got investments from Mark Cuban, and, like, pursued that path.
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Like, it's kind of a, a crazy story from the outside, but when you, when you sit down and you hear it, you're like, "It makes complete sense."
259
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Mm-hmm.
260
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It's, it's, it's completely logical.
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And the difference is like, well, what, what made him different than anybody else who's ever been, like, in the shower and had an idea?
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Like, he just- Mm-hmm.
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decided to do it.
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That was- Yeah.
265
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literally the difference, right?
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Yeah.
267
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So, as we go through that, you'll also see, um, in day 2 of this meeting, we've kind of laid out a couple of things very specific to people who want to scratch this itch, right?
268
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We have conversations, um, with, uh, patent attorneys.
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So, if you have a great idea, how do you protect yourself and your idea?
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How do you not give it away?
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We have conversations with FDA representatives.
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So, if you have this idea and you want to make this product, what does that mean, right?
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'Cause, 'cause in the healthcare space, creating a healthcare product is completely different than, you know, making a, I don't know, a widget or, or whatever it is, right?
274
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
276
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Yeah.
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We have conversations with people, like, "How did you take your idea from start to finish?"
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And we have conversations with some very well-seasoned, um, investors, people who have done multiple investment rounds, of how do you speak to investors?
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How do you bridge that gap of, all right, I have my idea, but in order to take it forward, now I need to get some investment to make that happen?
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What are they looking for, right?
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And so, you know, we really compressed a lot of really great information in a day that, you know, if you want to understand this, right, or if you think that at some point you'll be leading people who will be s- want to scratch this itch, it's really important to kind of understand how it flows, where you're at, and, and how these things work.
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And, and again, um, it's just about having conversations with people in the room.
283
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And I think that people will find it immensely valuable.
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Yeah.
285
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And you know what's interesting about that is that, like you said, Dan hit the start button.
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Yeah.
287
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So, you know, it, it
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I mean, a- any- anybody could have these kind of ideas.
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It's just a matter of fact that they act on it.
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Um, and that can fall into any of those categories that are, um, potentially going to be here at this summit.
291
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Yeah.
292
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Right.
293
00:19:30,553 --> 00:19:37,873
And again, it's also a matter of, like, you know, speaking right to your, your spec- your 95% audience, right?
294
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Like, you don't have to have, you know, a, a, a dual PhD in, you know, quantum physics to come up with a great idea, right?
295
00:19:46,913 --> 00:19:47,253
Mm-hmm.
296
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Yeah.
297
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Regular people have amazing ideas, right?
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And it's okay, and right?
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And I, and I guarantee, right, that somebody who's listening to this is like, "Yeah, I thought of this once."
300
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And then, you know, 3 years later, I saw somebody else actually did it, and I was like- Somebody did.
301
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"Dang it, I missed it."
302
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"I could have done the thing," right?
303
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And so just kind of, you know, if, if that's something, you know, you want to do, or, or it's a passion of yours or just something you want to s- you want to pursue, I'd encourage you to come and be part of it.
304
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Great.
305
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And then the last one, number 5.
306
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Okay.
307
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Investing in professional growth.
308
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Drew, there is a thousand ways that we can invest in our professional growth.
309
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:37,180
But being on the cutting edge of new innovation in rehab advancements that are happening in this realm, um, that's vital right now, as we just kind of discussed with all of the, the information that we have went over with AI and, um- Mm-hmm.
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you know, our, our new generation that's coming into the rehab profession.
311
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But what would you like to tell the audience about investing in their professional growth?
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I think that a lot of times, right, we, when we look at something, we try to determine, "What is the return on my
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Am I paying for this?
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Is my company paying for this?
315
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Am I gonna take the time off of work?
316
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Do I really wanna go bother to drive to this place or get on a plane?"
317
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Right?
318
00:21:03,639 --> 00:21:11,312
So, you kinda look for that transactional, "Is this worth what it's going to cost me in time and resources to go?"
319
00:21:12,019 --> 00:21:13,359
Um, I think that's always important, right?
320
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It's always a consideration.
321
00:21:15,299 --> 00:21:23,568
But I think what you really need to kinda consider is, "Is this going to help me get to what my professional goals are?"
322
00:21:24,059 --> 00:21:24,279
Right?
323
00:21:24,279 --> 00:21:39,449
And so, for example, right, like, APTA puts on a, a really big conference every year with a lot of continuing education units for, you know, 15 to 17,000 of you and your closest friends to go hang out together, right?
324
00:21:39,799 --> 00:21:44,400
And you learn a bunch, there's a lot of sessions, there's a lot of information, there's a lot of CEUs.
325
00:21:45,059 --> 00:21:46,559
This is not that.
326
00:21:46,559 --> 00:21:49,079
This is the complete opposite of that.
327
00:21:49,079 --> 00:21:50,864
Number one, there are no CEUs.
328
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0.
329
00:21:52,419 --> 00:21:54,672
This is not a CEU event, right?
330
00:21:55,199 --> 00:22:06,939
This is an event that is designed for a couple of hundred people to get together, to look at complicated things, think about them, and exchange a lot of information.
331
00:22:06,939 --> 00:22:11,952
If you look at the schedule, I think almost 35% of the time is set aside for networking.
332
00:22:12,719 --> 00:22:22,539
It's forcibly designed for you to talk to other people who you may or may not know, who you may or may not be comfortable talking with, but to say, like, "Look, I wanna have a
333
00:22:22,539 --> 00:22:25,840
We just saw this presentation on AI, and I wanna have more conversation about it.
334
00:22:26,339 --> 00:22:29,072
Go over to this area and meet with those people and talk about
335
00:22:29,919 --> 00:22:39,659
So, it's designed for you to get the most out of your time being here that is not beholden to rules and restrictions, right?
336
00:22:39,659 --> 00:22:42,416
It's really designed for your personal development.
337
00:22:42,939 --> 00:22:49,539
And I think that's kinda the key that I would look at when I'm trying to decide what is worth my time and energy now, right?
338
00:22:49,539 --> 00:22:53,959
Obviously, right, you, you gotta take the ethics and jurisprudence in your state, if that's what you need, right?
339
00:22:53,959 --> 00:22:56,079
You need the things to keep your license.
340
00:22:56,079 --> 00:23:10,539
But when I'm trying to decide how am I going to make myself better or how am I gonna make myself more valuable, especially, right, as you look at, like we talked about earlier, the curve of these things is very, very dramatic, right?
341
00:23:10,539 --> 00:23:21,379
Like, 3 years ago, when I told people, "Hey, we've got, you know, online AI platforms that are starting to do exercise, we really have to get in front of this," people were like, "Oh, no, I've never, I never heard of that."
342
00:23:21,379 --> 00:23:26,419
Like, now, right, now people get it in the mail from their BlueCross and, like- Here it is.
343
00:23:26,419 --> 00:23:27,199
here, here it is.
344
00:23:27,199 --> 00:23:28,139
Like, it
345
00:23:28,139 --> 00:23:28,382
Right?
346
00:23:29,019 --> 00:23:30,559
This is here, right?
347
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:38,819
And, and if you think that if you've got, like, you know, school-age kids and you think they're not using AI for their work, you are sadly mistaken, right?
348
00:23:38,819 --> 00:23:40,739
It is absolutely everywhere.
349
00:23:40,739 --> 00:23:40,979
Mm-hmm.
350
00:23:40,979 --> 00:23:44,099
So- Might as well find a way to build it in somewhere.
351
00:23:44,099 --> 00:23:44,719
Right, yeah.
352
00:23:44,719 --> 00:23:46,999
We've got, we've gotta find a way to work with it, right?
353
00:23:46,999 --> 00:24:01,296
And then so, as you kind of figure out, "Well, how do I maximize what I'm able to offer, either for myself or for my employer, or where, you know, whatever it is I'm trying to do, what's my next step?"
354
00:24:01,819 --> 00:24:04,859
This is one of those events where I think you really get that.
355
00:24:04,859 --> 00:24:06,699
That's what this is designed for.
356
00:24:06,699 --> 00:24:21,739
It's designed for you, for you to kinda get a, a, a step ahead on some of these things that you may not get exposure to, where I can bring the people together for a 2day thing, where you would normally have to go out and fish for it, search.
357
00:24:21,739 --> 00:24:21,959
Mm-hmm.
358
00:24:21,959 --> 00:24:22,839
"Is this one any good?
359
00:24:22,839 --> 00:24:23,619
I'm not sure."
360
00:24:23,619 --> 00:24:24,359
Right?
361
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:25,339
You know, "Are these people
362
00:24:25,339 --> 00:24:27,039
Is this a reputable company?"
363
00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:27,199
Right?
364
00:24:27,199 --> 00:24:29,499
'Cause a lot of us, you just don't have those resources.
365
00:24:29,499 --> 00:24:33,479
You don't have the time or energy to sift through it all and decide, "Is this somebody I should listen to?"
366
00:24:33,479 --> 00:24:33,659
Right?
367
00:24:33,659 --> 00:24:35,839
We, we take that guesswork out of it.
368
00:24:35,839 --> 00:24:41,168
And then the, the other portion of it is, just to be blunt, right, like, I made this as cheap as possible.
369
00:24:41,679 --> 00:24:49,739
This is the l- the, the least expensive thing you're ever gonna see talking about these topics, because this is not about making money.
370
00:24:49,739 --> 00:25:07,459
This is about providing an opportunity, not just for the PT audience, but for the OTs, the speech-language pathologists, and the industry, to come together and have the conversation, because APTA felt that it was more important to get people together and start having these conversations and making it readily available.
371
00:25:07,459 --> 00:25:08,699
That's the goal, right?
372
00:25:08,699 --> 00:25:10,959
That's the, that's what we're trying to do.
373
00:25:10,959 --> 00:25:20,208
Um, and so you're not gonna find something that's as cost-effective or, or as, just have as much packed into it at that price point.
374
00:25:21,410 --> 00:25:21,950
I love it.
375
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:24,679
Drew, amazing information.
376
00:25:24,679 --> 00:25:26,679
Thank you so much for sharing all of that.
377
00:25:26,679 --> 00:25:32,719
Can you please, uh, close this out today by letting us know, is there anything else that you wanna add?
378
00:25:32,719 --> 00:25:38,159
Is there a specific place where people can go to find out more information about the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit?
379
00:25:38,159 --> 00:25:44,019
Yeah, I mean, first off, you could just put Future of Rehab Therapy Summit in Google, it'll be the first thing that pops up, right?
380
00:25:44,019 --> 00:25:48,339
You can find it on the APTA webpage, you can register for it, all that stuff, right?
381
00:25:48,339 --> 00:25:50,639
You guys, your listeners know how to do all that stuff,
382
00:25:51,499 --> 00:25:59,152
The one thing I would just wanna say to your listeners is that, um, I really think it's important for everybody to kinda take
383
00:25:59,879 --> 00:26:17,264
As the profession, the medical profession, really, kinda sits at this pivot point of, like, how is it going to move forward?The only way that, you know, we know that there are challenges in having enough physicians, nurses, clinicians in every, every corner of this country.
384
00:26:17,938 --> 00:26:27,158
And the only way we're gonna get to a better place is that if everybody starts doing the best that they can at the top of whatever it is they do.
385
00:26:27,158 --> 00:26:27,697
Right?
386
00:26:27,697 --> 00:26:46,057
And that means, you know, from physicians, non-physician providers, clinic- clinical people, rehab professionals, PTAs, everybody doing kinda what's at the top of their scale, their scope, that allows us to be able to see more patients.
387
00:26:46,057 --> 00:26:48,018
Because we're never gonna meet the demand.
388
00:26:48,018 --> 00:27:02,357
And we're gonna have to understand that we're gonna have to embrace things like technology and platforms that will allow us to connect with our patients, allow us to see them, uh, where, when, when it's convenient for them, when they're available, right?
389
00:27:02,357 --> 00:27:09,517
The days of, you know, them coming and sitting in your 0 waiting off- waiting room for two and a half hours to spend 5 minutes with you are over.
390
00:27:09,517 --> 00:27:11,456
People will not do that anymore, right?
391
00:27:11,456 --> 00:27:11,956
Mm-hmm.
392
00:27:11,956 --> 00:27:12,178
Yeah.
393
00:27:12,178 --> 00:27:16,778
So, so as we shift this model, right, we've got, just got to start to embrace it, right?
394
00:27:16,778 --> 00:27:20,617
And I'd encourage the entire listening audience of like, the shift is now.
395
00:27:20,617 --> 00:27:21,437
It's happening.
396
00:27:21,437 --> 00:27:23,877
It's not, it's not going to happen, it's happening now, right?
397
00:27:23,877 --> 00:27:35,277
So if you can find yourself in the middle of the shift, you're just gonna be more successful, which means that you're gonna do a better job seeing your patient, which means you're gonna see more patients, you're gonna do a better job in your communities.
398
00:27:35,277 --> 00:27:38,456
And ultimately, right, that we help out the people that we're here to serve.
399
00:27:38,456 --> 00:27:44,080
And so I, that's what I would just say to everybody, is embrace it, embrace it when you can, and we can all do better.
400
00:27:45,378 --> 00:27:46,257
Agreed.
401
00:27:46,257 --> 00:27:47,437
I have nothing more to add.
402
00:27:47,437 --> 00:27:48,097
That was wonderful.
403
00:27:48,097 --> 00:27:49,277
Thanks, Drew.
404
00:27:49,277 --> 00:27:52,917
Um, again, thank you for joining us here on the PTA Plus Podcast this year.
405
00:27:52,917 --> 00:27:54,456
All of this exciting news.
406
00:27:54,456 --> 00:28:07,357
Um, again, the future of Rehab Therapy Summit is coming in July, July 9th and 10th, in DC at APTA headquarters, and also, um, at the Omni Shoreham, I think?
407
00:28:07,357 --> 00:28:07,976
That's correct.
408
00:28:07,976 --> 00:28:10,456
I believe, I'm not, um, mistaken there.
409
00:28:10,456 --> 00:28:10,476
Nope.
410
00:28:10,476 --> 00:28:13,398
And PTA Plus will be there with some live interviews.
411
00:28:13,398 --> 00:28:18,377
We're gonna be, um, doing some episodes and, um, giving updates while we're there on site.
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So thanks again, Drew.
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I appreciate it.
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I'm really excited for the summit to happen and to get more information out about it.
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So we appreciate your time.
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Great.
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Thank you.
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Yes, of course.
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You've just wrapped up another episode of the PTA Plus Podcast, where the conversation is by PTAs for PTAs, and always leveling up.
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Just a quick head-up, this show is for entertainment and inspirational purposes only.
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It is not medical advice.
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Be sure to check with your healthcare provider about your own healthcare needs.
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All opinions are that of the host, guest, and do not necessarily reflect any employer, institution, or professional association.
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PTA Plus is hosted and produced by Katie Sutton, physical therapist assistant, and is proudly part of the PT Podcast Media Network.
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If this episode hit home or made you think, please share it with your PTA crew and drop a review on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, or YouTube.
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It really helps us grow.
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Thanks for listening, and until next time, stay curious, stay bold, and keep rising.
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Yeah, and I will also add, we've even invited some of the industry people to come, researchers, other people.
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Like look if you touch these things and you're interested in it, come on, because a lot of times, like you said, people may be like, "Well, I was a PT but I've been in, working, you know, developing these products or doing these things for 25 years."
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Like, it's okay.
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Come, come on, come with us, right?
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Or there might be a biomechanist, right, who works with OTs all day long but like, "Well I'm not an OT."
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Like, you're welcome, come on.
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So I think, again- Yeah.
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broadening that, that knowledge base, the amount of people that come, I think it's really important.
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Welcome back everybody to another episode of the PTA Plus Podcast, where the conversation is for PTs by PTAs.
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I am Katie Sutton, your host.
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Today's guest is Drew Contreras from the American Physical Therapy Association.
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Today we discuss the 5 reasons why PTAs need to be paying attention to the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit happening this July in D.C.
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You will notice that the title is very intentional to bring the conversation to all professionals within rehab therapy.
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We are excited to announce that PTA Plus will be on-site this July providing updates and live interviews with the most innovative minds in rehab therapy.
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I'm excited for you to hear today's conversation with Drew.
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As always, thank you so much for listening.
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the PTA Plus podcast.
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I am Katie Sutton, your host, and today we have some exciting news.
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We have with us Drew Contreras, Vice President of Strategic Affairs at APTA headquarters.
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He's gonna t- help me break down the 5 reasons why PTAs need to be paying attention to this upcoming event, the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit.
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I'm calling it FORTS.
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I've heard that other people are calling it FORTS too, so
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Yeah, it works out better that way sometimes.
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Okay, good.
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And this is coming up in July, so July 9th and 10th, and it is in Washington, DC.
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Is that correct?
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Yeah, that's correct, right.
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Washington, DE- DC at, uh, the Omni Hotel in downtown DC.
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Wonderful.
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And some components are also at APTA he- at APTA headquarters.
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Is that correct or
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Yeah, that's, that's correct, right.
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There are some other things that are going on that week, uh, at APTA, um, and this is just one of the ways that we try to schedule an event, um, where we could kind of leverage people that are already traveling and already in the area.
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Wonderful.
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So you hopped on today because the exciting news from my perspective is I'm gonna be coming.
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I'm coming to the, the FORTS, the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit, uh, from PTA Plus podcast.
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We're gonna be doing some live broadcasts.
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We're gonna be, um, doing, kicking off a lot of episodes in regards to some of the topics and the content that we're getting from, um, the FORTS, uh, all the way down there in DC.
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So I'm really excited to have that opportunity to come and talk to all of the innovative minds that are gonna be there.
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I will probably have a co-pilot/wingman with me.
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Nice.
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Um, more information on that coming here real soon.
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But, um, Drew, you joined today 'cause you're gonna help me kind of kick off, um, 1, the first of many episodes, uh, that we're gonna talk about the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit.
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And it's important that we're gonna talk a little bit more about this title.
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Yep.
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Future of Rehab Therapy Summit, 'cause we're not just talking about PTs and PTAs here, are we?
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No, we're not.
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We're not, right?
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And, and I think, right, as you, as we kind of get into this today you'll understand that, you know, there's a lot of challenges out there, but the challenges aren't specific to physical therapists, right?
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It's to the entire medical system and, and importantly to our, to our brothers and sisters that also work in other rehab areas.
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So if you're having the conversation i- i- it only makes sense to include the other people that are tied to you that are on our interdisciplinary teams, right, that we work with close in facilities, uh, because these, these challenges are for everybody.
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So it's important to include them.
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Absolutely.
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So we're gonna break 'em down, 5 reasons why.
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And of course this is the podcast that's mainly directed towards physical therapist assistants, although I know that there are, um, PTs that also listen to it as well.
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And of course we're gonna try to blast this information out to everybody that we know is part of the rehab profession and, and that we want them to be included in this as well.
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But the first reason that we have that PTAs should be paying attention to the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit is that there are new career pathways that are being built.
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So one of the sessions that's happening, I believe it might be a panel, is called Beyond the Traditional Path.
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That's right.
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And I found this to be very interesting because, um, I think that there are, um, many PTs and PTAs that are kind of veering in different directions these days.
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I mean, I'm not a traditional PTA that works in a clinic.
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Um, you're a physical therapist.
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You don't work in a clinic every day, do you?
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Nope.
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I do not.
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No.
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Yeah.
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So why was this an important topic for PTs, PTAs, other rehab professionals to hear about?
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I, I think it's important for 2 reasons.
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I think number one, um, I think that there has been a lack of embracing of those clinicians who have found other interests that they wanted to pursue, right?
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So like you, you've been working on patients or you're in the clinic and then after a while, you know, you get an itch and you decide you wanna start
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I don't know, right?
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You, you have this great idea for a product or you wanna pursue developing an app or like whatever your passion is and then you start pursuing that passion and it takes you away from the clinic.
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Well there was a lack of embracing people for doing that because people were afraid that like, well then we're encouraging people to leave the profession.
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You know, and, and my take on that is n- no, you're, you're broadening the profession, right?
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So, and don't look at it as they're not, they've left.
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Th- they're still who they are, right?
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They're training who made them who they are, who made their brain think in that process, in that
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sequential pathway of looking f- looking at a problem and how do we provide solutions.
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That's what made them successful.
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So, you know, if they're going out and pursuing other things, we should not only, um, understand that, right?
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We should support it, and at times, we should leverage it, right?
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Because all it will do is make the profession stronger.
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And then the other thing, I think, um, is a little bit of a generational change, right?
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And- and I just- I just gave a talk to a bunch of new graduates, and the reality is that clinicians that are graduating now have been tested harder than I was when- when I went to school, right?
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They are top in their high school classes, they go to strong universities, they pass rigorous exams.
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Like, these are bright, strong, smart clinicians, and they have other interests, right?
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They're- they're- they're capable of doing all kinds of things.
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So if you're gonna limit them to one thing, you're going to lose them, right?
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So I just think that that's the reality, that these clinicians just have more interests, right?
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They wanna go out and do other things.
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And, you know, the world out there has started to understand that people who work and understand the neuromusculoskeletal health space are valuable, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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They're valuable to businesses.
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Yeah.
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They're valuable to companies.
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They're valuable, uh, l- working in C suites of hospitals.
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Like, they're valuable people.
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So the reality of it is that, like, these people are- are- are going to keep doing amazing things, and we need to embrace that and let them know, uh, that we're- we support that, right, and also learn from it.
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Learn- learn from the things that they have to share.
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That's what it's about.
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Yeah.
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Absolutely.
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Well, and the whole, uh, premise of this podcast, and I say this probably more than what people who actually listen to the podcast care to hear it.
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But I keep saying it because I want them to understand that the whole- the whole title, PTA Plus, that was very intentional.
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It's because a lot of the guests that I have on the podcast or a lot of the topics that we talk about is because it's a physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant that is doing something plus being a PT or PTA.
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So yes, I'm a physical therapist assistant, but I'm also an educator.
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I also do X, Y, and Z.
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So we're kind of filling in all these other blanks that make us a well-rounded human being, a well-rounded professional.
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Um, so it- we all go beyond just that title.
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Yeah.
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Love it.
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Love it.
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So number 2, pow- powerful professional connections.
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So there's gonna be round tables, there's gonna be panels, there's gonna be people, and I love this, from ASHA, AOTA.
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We're bringing in our friends and our neighbors from other professions to talk, um, with us at the same table, and this is really exciting to me.
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I got really stoked when I saw that.
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Because we're finally looking at people outside of our own profession to see if we can kind of solve some of these problems with innovative minds, right?
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So why did APTA feel that it was important to make sure that we included people outside of our own scope?
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Well, I think it's important because, um, you know, the challenges that are- that we're facing, right, are not- they're not just ours.
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Like, lots of people have similar challenges, right?
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Like, whether we're talking about payment, whether we're talking about scope of practice, whether we're talking about workforce challenges, like, everybody's feeling the squeeze.
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And the reality is that why wouldn't we include the people, right, who are most similar to us, who also have the same challenges?
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If we could come up with solutions and you could come up with solutions that you can scale across multiple professions, well, now you have- now you have s- you have- you have something that people will not only listen to 1 one discipline.
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If you have multiple disciplines that have come up to the same conclusion of how you can do something better, how we can better provide care for our patients, now you start getting the attention, right, of administrators.
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You start getting the attentions of systems.
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You start getting the attention of elected officials, right?
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You can start to have a larger impact.
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And that's really what it's about, right?
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And, you know, APTA is- is happy to kind of put together this kind of atmosphere where we can have that conversation, right?
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Because we're- we're a little larger, right?
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To- to be blunt.
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Like, we've got more PTs and we've got a little more scale.
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So we can bring them into the conversation.
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We can help them.
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They can help us.
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You know, again, they've, they've got other nuances that we don't necessarily have.
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So bringing everybody into that conversation, you know, really, really becomes helpful, and I think that's a big part of it.
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And then one of the other points that you made is, um, this, this setup is designed, this meeting is designed for interaction, right?
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It's really designed for you to network with people.
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And for some clinicians, they've never had the chance to network with people from other disciplines, right?
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Maybe that's just their career path has never gone there, right?
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They've always been in one specific discipline or one location.
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So sometimes, right, getting out of your own little bubble, right, widening your, your, your scope of influence of friends that you're working with leads to all kinds of idea generation.
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So we thought that was really important.
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Yeah.
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So essentially what you're saying, Drew, is PTs could be there.
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PTAs could be there.
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OTs could be there.
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OTAs can be there.
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Speech and language pathologists.
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I mean, so this is really kind of broad.
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It's very wide open.
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Yeah.
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And I will also add, we've even invited some of the industry people to come, researchers, other people.
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Like if
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Look, if you touch these things, and you're interested in it, come on, because a lot of times, like you said, people may be like, "Well, I was a PT, but I've been in
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Working, you know, developing these products or doing these things for 25 years."
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Like, it's okay.
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Come, come on.
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Come with us, right?
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Or there might be a biomechanist, right, who works with OTs all day long, but like, "Well, I'm not an OT."
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Like, you're welcome.
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Come on.
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So I think, again- Yeah.
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broadening that, that knowledge base, the amount of people that come, I think it's really important.
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Awesome.
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Okay.
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third, the next thing, and I struggled with this one myself.
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I'm gonna be very honest with, with the audience about this one.
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So leveling up with tech and innovation.
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I started using ChatGPT kicking and screaming.
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I was like, "No.
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No, no, no.
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Not gonna do it."
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But there are gonna
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And, and I am now, and I'm thankful that I have finally embraced it, right?
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So, um- Yeah.
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we, we have to embrace this.
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If you're not using it, you're behind.
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Um, so there's gonna be sessions on tech, AI, innovation.
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So, uh, w- what do you got for us there?
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What do you, what do you think?
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So, right, there's
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It's, it's a pervasive thing that is a sign of the times, right?
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Like, you can't have a conversation about anything in, in the rehab world, whether it's intake of patients, whether it's evaluations.
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And can we put CPGs?
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Can we, can we embed them into the EMR, right?
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Can we go ahead and have AI help us with documentation?
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Can it help us with billing?
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Can it help us with claims denial?
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Like, all these things are just going to be part of the normal ecosystem.
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They're already there.
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I understand not everybody's comfortable with it yet, and that's fine, right?
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But your comfort is not going to delay it.
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It's coming whether you wanted it or not, right?
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And so, right, I feel like one of the things that APTA needs to do is kind of help people understand, this is the, the pathway that things are on.
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Let me provide you with information so that you can be the best clinician you can be, but also let me take down some of the barriers for your understanding of
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And so we have, you know, some great AI experts, um, who are gonna have a great platform conversation to answer some of these questions and kind of demystify some of these things and also to kind of understand, right?
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The, I think that the rehab community struggles with this concept that they're going to be replaced, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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By some AI chatbot,
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Mm-hmm.
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Um, that, you know, it's coming to take your clinical jobs, or it's gonna replace you, right?
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And, and I hear it all the time.
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And the, the truth is, right, as I go out in my job, I talk to companies all the time that say, "Oh, we're gonna do this, and we're gonna"
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You know, they're, they're gonna replace and you
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There's no reason to ever go to a clinic.
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And I'm like, listen, if there was no reason, like if information was all people needed, right, everybody would be jacked and have 6 pack abs and eat amazing, right?
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'Cause all the information's- Yeah.
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available and free.
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But like, no.
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Humans are humans, right?
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And, and humans need other humans to help them along in their pathway.
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So clinicians aren't going anywhere, right?
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That's, that's not the case.
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However, clinicians who are enabled by using leveraging technology and things that make their job more efficient, make the patient encounter easier, help bridge some of those gaps when
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In patient care or when things are just not suitable for in a clinic, right?
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Like, if we didn't learn anything from COVID, we learned, look, we can leverage technology to still help take care of people, right?
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So we know that it can be done.
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We have to be willing to accept it, and it
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And I really think that a lot of these sessions is w- is it's kind of woven into some of the thoughts.
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And you'll see it from some of the industry providers.
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Like, they've just got some amazing things that'll just help make
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It helps make treating patients easier.
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It helps make, you know, clinical life a lot easier.
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Uh, but it's never gonna take your job.
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Yeah.
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You know, uh, it, it was very interesting.
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I actually just did a live podcast the other day with, um, Jimmy McKay.
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So if, if you haven't watched that one, audience, go back and watch that one first because we talked about core skills in 2020 or 2030 by the World E- Economic Forum.
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Mm-hmm.
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And it was very interesting 'cause some of those top skills are AI and big data, technology literacy, creative thinking.
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I like this one, creativeness and lifelong learning.
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leadership, social influence, resiliency, flexibility, agility.
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So, those are all things that the group that you were discussing or d- uh, describing that are going to be graduating, this fits perfect, right?
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This How can we blend all this?
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Right.
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And, like, this is their default setting, right?
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So, understand that, right?
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Like, th- you know, this group as they come up, and if you're somebody that finds themselves like me, right, a little more gray hair than they have, like, if I want to lead them, right, if I want to be competent and understand their skill set, it means that I need to level up my own skill set,
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And that's just part of, part of it, and that's one of the things that we're trying to accomplish at this meeting.
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I love it.
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Okay.
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Number 4, inspiration from other healthcare disruptors.
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So specifically, we're talking about this rock star, Dan Statz, right?
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Yeah.
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He's gonna come and talk.
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Um, Dan is a physical therapist, but also a Shark Tank winner.
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That's right.
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Yeah.
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So, like, Dan, uh, I don't
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I won't steal his thunder, right?
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Uh-huh.
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But the reality of it is, he's, he's a clinician, and he was like, "Man, what if I did this?"
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Right?
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And just had a kooky idea, took his idea onto Shark Tank, won Shark Tank, got investments from Mark Cuban, and, like, pursued that path.
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Like, it's kind of a, a crazy story from the outside, but when you, when you sit down and you hear it, you're like, "It makes complete sense."
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Mm-hmm.
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It's, it's, it's completely logical.
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And the difference is like, well, what, what made him different than anybody else who's ever been, like, in the shower and had an idea?
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Like, he just- Mm-hmm.
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decided to do it.
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That was- Yeah.
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literally the difference, right?
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Yeah.
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So, as we go through that, you'll also see, um, in day 2 of this meeting, we've kind of laid out a couple of things very specific to people who want to scratch this itch, right?
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We have conversations, um, with, uh, patent attorneys.
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So, if you have a great idea, how do you protect yourself and your idea?
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How do you not give it away?
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We have conversations with FDA representatives.
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So, if you have this idea and you want to make this product, what does that mean, right?
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'Cause, 'cause in the healthcare space, creating a healthcare product is completely different than, you know, making a, I don't know, a widget or, or whatever it is, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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We have conversations with people, like, "How did you take your idea from start to finish?"
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And we have conversations with some very well-seasoned, um, investors, people who have done multiple investment rounds, of how do you speak to investors?
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How do you bridge that gap of, all right, I have my idea, but in order to take it forward, now I need to get some investment to make that happen?
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What are they looking for, right?
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And so, you know, we really compressed a lot of really great information in a day that, you know, if you want to understand this, right, or if you think that at some point you'll be leading people who will be s- want to scratch this itch, it's really important to kind of understand how it flows, where you're at, and, and how these things work.
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And, and again, um, it's just about having conversations with people in the room.
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And I think that people will find it immensely valuable.
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Yeah.
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And you know what's interesting about that is that, like you said, Dan hit the start button.
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Yeah.
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So, you know, it, it
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I mean, a- any- anybody could have these kind of ideas.
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It's just a matter of fact that they act on it.
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Um, and that can fall into any of those categories that are, um, potentially going to be here at this summit.
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Yeah.
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Right.
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And again, it's also a matter of, like, you know, speaking right to your, your spec- your 95% audience, right?
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Like, you don't have to have, you know, a, a, a dual PhD in, you know, quantum physics to come up with a great idea, right?
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Mm-hmm.
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Yeah.
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Regular people have amazing ideas, right?
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And it's okay, and right?
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And I, and I guarantee, right, that somebody who's listening to this is like, "Yeah, I thought of this once."
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And then, you know, 3 years later, I saw somebody else actually did it, and I was like- Somebody did.
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"Dang it, I missed it."
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"I could have done the thing," right?
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And so just kind of, you know, if, if that's something, you know, you want to do, or, or it's a passion of yours or just something you want to s- you want to pursue, I'd encourage you to come and be part of it.
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Great.
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And then the last one, number 5.
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Okay.
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Investing in professional growth.
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Drew, there is a thousand ways that we can invest in our professional growth.
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But being on the cutting edge of new innovation in rehab advancements that are happening in this realm, um, that's vital right now, as we just kind of discussed with all of the, the information that we have went over with AI and, um- Mm-hmm.
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you know, our, our new generation that's coming into the rehab profession.
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But what would you like to tell the audience about investing in their professional growth?
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I think that a lot of times, right, we, when we look at something, we try to determine, "What is the return on my
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Am I paying for this?
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Is my company paying for this?
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Am I gonna take the time off of work?
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Do I really wanna go bother to drive to this place or get on a plane?"
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Right?
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So, you kinda look for that transactional, "Is this worth what it's going to cost me in time and resources to go?"
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Um, I think that's always important, right?
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It's always a consideration.
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But I think what you really need to kinda consider is, "Is this going to help me get to what my professional goals are?"
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Right?
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And so, for example, right, like, APTA puts on a, a really big conference every year with a lot of continuing education units for, you know, 15 to 17,000 of you and your closest friends to go hang out together, right?
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00:21:39,799 --> 00:21:44,400
And you learn a bunch, there's a lot of sessions, there's a lot of information, there's a lot of CEUs.
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This is not that.
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This is the complete opposite of that.
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Number one, there are no CEUs.
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0.
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This is not a CEU event, right?
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00:21:55,199 --> 00:22:06,939
This is an event that is designed for a couple of hundred people to get together, to look at complicated things, think about them, and exchange a lot of information.
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If you look at the schedule, I think almost 35% of the time is set aside for networking.
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It's forcibly designed for you to talk to other people who you may or may not know, who you may or may not be comfortable talking with, but to say, like, "Look, I wanna have a
333
00:22:22,539 --> 00:22:25,840
We just saw this presentation on AI, and I wanna have more conversation about it.
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Go over to this area and meet with those people and talk about
335
00:22:29,919 --> 00:22:39,659
So, it's designed for you to get the most out of your time being here that is not beholden to rules and restrictions, right?
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It's really designed for your personal development.
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And I think that's kinda the key that I would look at when I'm trying to decide what is worth my time and energy now, right?
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Obviously, right, you, you gotta take the ethics and jurisprudence in your state, if that's what you need, right?
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You need the things to keep your license.
340
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But when I'm trying to decide how am I going to make myself better or how am I gonna make myself more valuable, especially, right, as you look at, like we talked about earlier, the curve of these things is very, very dramatic, right?
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Like, 3 years ago, when I told people, "Hey, we've got, you know, online AI platforms that are starting to do exercise, we really have to get in front of this," people were like, "Oh, no, I've never, I never heard of that."
342
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Like, now, right, now people get it in the mail from their BlueCross and, like- Here it is.
343
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here, here it is.
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00:23:27,199 --> 00:23:28,139
Like, it
345
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Right?
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This is here, right?
347
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:38,819
And, and if you think that if you've got, like, you know, school-age kids and you think they're not using AI for their work, you are sadly mistaken, right?
348
00:23:38,819 --> 00:23:40,739
It is absolutely everywhere.
349
00:23:40,739 --> 00:23:40,979
Mm-hmm.
350
00:23:40,979 --> 00:23:44,099
So- Might as well find a way to build it in somewhere.
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00:23:44,099 --> 00:23:44,719
Right, yeah.
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00:23:44,719 --> 00:23:46,999
We've got, we've gotta find a way to work with it, right?
353
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And then so, as you kind of figure out, "Well, how do I maximize what I'm able to offer, either for myself or for my employer, or where, you know, whatever it is I'm trying to do, what's my next step?"
354
00:24:01,819 --> 00:24:04,859
This is one of those events where I think you really get that.
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That's what this is designed for.
356
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It's designed for you, for you to kinda get a, a, a step ahead on some of these things that you may not get exposure to, where I can bring the people together for a 2day thing, where you would normally have to go out and fish for it, search.
357
00:24:21,739 --> 00:24:21,959
Mm-hmm.
358
00:24:21,959 --> 00:24:22,839
"Is this one any good?
359
00:24:22,839 --> 00:24:23,619
I'm not sure."
360
00:24:23,619 --> 00:24:24,359
Right?
361
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:25,339
You know, "Are these people
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Is this a reputable company?"
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00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:27,199
Right?
364
00:24:27,199 --> 00:24:29,499
'Cause a lot of us, you just don't have those resources.
365
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You don't have the time or energy to sift through it all and decide, "Is this somebody I should listen to?"
366
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Right?
367
00:24:33,659 --> 00:24:35,839
We, we take that guesswork out of it.
368
00:24:35,839 --> 00:24:41,168
And then the, the other portion of it is, just to be blunt, right, like, I made this as cheap as possible.
369
00:24:41,679 --> 00:24:49,739
This is the l- the, the least expensive thing you're ever gonna see talking about these topics, because this is not about making money.
370
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This is about providing an opportunity, not just for the PT audience, but for the OTs, the speech-language pathologists, and the industry, to come together and have the conversation, because APTA felt that it was more important to get people together and start having these conversations and making it readily available.
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That's the goal, right?
372
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That's the, that's what we're trying to do.
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Um, and so you're not gonna find something that's as cost-effective or, or as, just have as much packed into it at that price point.
374
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I love it.
375
00:25:22,599 --> 00:25:24,679
Drew, amazing information.
376
00:25:24,679 --> 00:25:26,679
Thank you so much for sharing all of that.
377
00:25:26,679 --> 00:25:32,719
Can you please, uh, close this out today by letting us know, is there anything else that you wanna add?
378
00:25:32,719 --> 00:25:38,159
Is there a specific place where people can go to find out more information about the Future of Rehab Therapy Summit?
379
00:25:38,159 --> 00:25:44,019
Yeah, I mean, first off, you could just put Future of Rehab Therapy Summit in Google, it'll be the first thing that pops up, right?
380
00:25:44,019 --> 00:25:48,339
You can find it on the APTA webpage, you can register for it, all that stuff, right?
381
00:25:48,339 --> 00:25:50,639
You guys, your listeners know how to do all that stuff,
382
00:25:51,499 --> 00:25:59,152
The one thing I would just wanna say to your listeners is that, um, I really think it's important for everybody to kinda take
383
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As the profession, the medical profession, really, kinda sits at this pivot point of, like, how is it going to move forward?The only way that, you know, we know that there are challenges in having enough physicians, nurses, clinicians in every, every corner of this country.
384
00:26:17,938 --> 00:26:27,158
And the only way we're gonna get to a better place is that if everybody starts doing the best that they can at the top of whatever it is they do.
385
00:26:27,158 --> 00:26:27,697
Right?
386
00:26:27,697 --> 00:26:46,057
And that means, you know, from physicians, non-physician providers, clinic- clinical people, rehab professionals, PTAs, everybody doing kinda what's at the top of their scale, their scope, that allows us to be able to see more patients.
387
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Because we're never gonna meet the demand.
388
00:26:48,018 --> 00:27:02,357
And we're gonna have to understand that we're gonna have to embrace things like technology and platforms that will allow us to connect with our patients, allow us to see them, uh, where, when, when it's convenient for them, when they're available, right?
389
00:27:02,357 --> 00:27:09,517
The days of, you know, them coming and sitting in your 0 waiting off- waiting room for two and a half hours to spend 5 minutes with you are over.
390
00:27:09,517 --> 00:27:11,456
People will not do that anymore, right?
391
00:27:11,456 --> 00:27:11,956
Mm-hmm.
392
00:27:11,956 --> 00:27:12,178
Yeah.
393
00:27:12,178 --> 00:27:16,778
So, so as we shift this model, right, we've got, just got to start to embrace it, right?
394
00:27:16,778 --> 00:27:20,617
And I'd encourage the entire listening audience of like, the shift is now.
395
00:27:20,617 --> 00:27:21,437
It's happening.
396
00:27:21,437 --> 00:27:23,877
It's not, it's not going to happen, it's happening now, right?
397
00:27:23,877 --> 00:27:35,277
So if you can find yourself in the middle of the shift, you're just gonna be more successful, which means that you're gonna do a better job seeing your patient, which means you're gonna see more patients, you're gonna do a better job in your communities.
398
00:27:35,277 --> 00:27:38,456
And ultimately, right, that we help out the people that we're here to serve.
399
00:27:38,456 --> 00:27:44,080
And so I, that's what I would just say to everybody, is embrace it, embrace it when you can, and we can all do better.
400
00:27:45,378 --> 00:27:46,257
Agreed.
401
00:27:46,257 --> 00:27:47,437
I have nothing more to add.
402
00:27:47,437 --> 00:27:48,097
That was wonderful.
403
00:27:48,097 --> 00:27:49,277
Thanks, Drew.
404
00:27:49,277 --> 00:27:52,917
Um, again, thank you for joining us here on the PTA Plus Podcast this year.
405
00:27:52,917 --> 00:27:54,456
All of this exciting news.
406
00:27:54,456 --> 00:28:07,357
Um, again, the future of Rehab Therapy Summit is coming in July, July 9th and 10th, in DC at APTA headquarters, and also, um, at the Omni Shoreham, I think?
407
00:28:07,357 --> 00:28:07,976
That's correct.
408
00:28:07,976 --> 00:28:10,456
I believe, I'm not, um, mistaken there.
409
00:28:10,456 --> 00:28:10,476
Nope.
410
00:28:10,476 --> 00:28:13,398
And PTA Plus will be there with some live interviews.
411
00:28:13,398 --> 00:28:18,377
We're gonna be, um, doing some episodes and, um, giving updates while we're there on site.
412
00:28:18,377 --> 00:28:19,797
So thanks again, Drew.
413
00:28:19,797 --> 00:28:20,517
I appreciate it.
414
00:28:20,517 --> 00:28:26,057
I'm really excited for the summit to happen and to get more information out about it.
415
00:28:26,057 --> 00:28:27,280
So we appreciate your time.
416
00:28:27,874 --> 00:28:28,218
Great.
417
00:28:28,218 --> 00:28:29,157
Thank you.
418
00:28:29,157 --> 00:28:29,918
Yes, of course.
419
00:28:30,757 --> 00:28:38,480
You've just wrapped up another episode of the PTA Plus Podcast, where the conversation is by PTAs for PTAs, and always leveling up.
420
00:28:39,217 --> 00:28:43,937
Just a quick head-up, this show is for entertainment and inspirational purposes only.
421
00:28:43,937 --> 00:28:45,637
It is not medical advice.
422
00:28:45,637 --> 00:28:50,257
Be sure to check with your healthcare provider about your own healthcare needs.
423
00:28:50,257 --> 00:28:58,672
All opinions are that of the host, guest, and do not necessarily reflect any employer, institution, or professional association.
424
00:28:59,202 --> 00:29:06,704
PTA Plus is hosted and produced by Katie Sutton, physical therapist assistant, and is proudly part of the PT Podcast Media Network.
425
00:29:07,237 --> 00:29:18,357
If this episode hit home or made you think, please share it with your PTA crew and drop a review on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon, or YouTube.
426
00:29:18,357 --> 00:29:19,440
It really helps us grow.
427
00:29:20,017 --> 00:29:25,534
Thanks for listening, and until next time, stay curious, stay bold, and keep rising.