Are You in Control of Your Physical Therapy Practice?

One of the most common complaints that physical therapists have today is that they feel their practice is running them and that they’re being pulled in every direction instead of really running the practice themselves.

Well, I’d like to tell you, when I was in private practice I experienced the same thing.  I was working too many hours, not seeing my family as much as I should; my staff always came to me looking for the solutions to day-to-day scenarios and so on.  I found I was lacking the amount of time necessary to really do what I loved best which was working with my patients, seeing their results and being able to live life.

After 5 years of burning the wick at both ends, I decided something needed to change quickly because my candle was getting ready to burn out. 

I realized that in the midst of running my physical therapy practice with all its stresses and being a husband and father, I needed to get my priorities straight, re-evaluate my purposes and really become the very best administrator possible to make my practice and personal life efficient and enjoyable again.

You’re probably thinking what you’re going through is normal or that’s just the way it’s always been or supposed to be.  Take a patient who’s had headaches all this life and has lived on drugs to handle it.  You and I both know there is a solution to that and he doesn’t have to live with headaches or be on drugs.  Well, I’m telling you the same thing.  It’s not normal, that’s not the way it is and you don’t have to live with these management difficulties or be controlled by your practice.

So, how do you change it and get off the roller-coaster ride?  There are a few important factors to look at in order to accomplish this.  First, take a look at why you became a physical therapist in the first place.  Are you fulfilling that dream the way you envisioned it in its entirety?  Now, look at everything that is not optimum or that you’re experiencing that is not part of your dream.  Look at things such as: Are you spending enough quality time with your patients without interruption?  Do you spend time with your family?  Does your staff know their positions fully?  Does your staff put problems or situations on your plate that you need to now solve?  Does your staff get along or are you a mediator to their continuous problems?  Are you working too many hours and lacking the return?  Are you pounding the pavement to generate more referrals with little to no success?  Are you behind in your financial plans or goals?  These are to name just a few of the common areas of concerns that physical therapists face. Take a look at those things that come to the top of your mind that concern you the most.  Then prioritize those things which are causing the most difficulty for you in your practice or life.

It’s easy to list out what may be going downhill, but the ultimate question is how do you turn those things around?

The way you do that is by becoming the very best administrator possible so that you can manage, train and delegate in order to create the most effective and efficient machine possible.    What is an administrator exactly?  Well, per the Webster’s College Dictionary “Administrator:  n. 1.  a person who manages the direction of a government, business, institution or the like.  (Latin- administrare to assist, carry out, manage the affairs of.)