For starters, I knew I could count on all of you to be your awesome selves! I had no doubts in my mind... as I reviewed the transcript I was smiling. The twists and turns were quite interesting. Transcript at bottom.

So, it all starts off with:

@eiverspt Hi. My name is Stuart Eivers, BS, MPT, LPT, CPR cert., MOMT, OCS, OMT, FAAOMPT

Nice introduction, Stuart...

When the transcript is generating, it seems as though not every tweet is snagged when tweets were posted at the same time. I didn't edit anything from this transcript.

Here are a few thoughts from the hour:

@jdimick Consumers have no idea what initials are respected and which aren't. Only fellow
practitioners know this.

@AboutPTguide Too many certs...CSCS, OCS, Cert MDT...which ones to market to consumers? Which are significant?

@chinzeDPT We have a hard enough time educating public on what PT alone is, let alone countless abbreviations.

@PhysicalTherapy Alphabet soup stands for insecurity, insecurity, insecurity

@JCookPT Certs is another way of demo a seeking of knowledge in their specific area and practice time- not a bad thing for consumers

@TJMPitt But we have to give credit to those who have done the extra work to receive a credential

@MattDeBole Is it EGO or EDUCATION that drives us to use letters?

@Kintegrate Lets be honest, has any patient gone to you because you have letters other than PT next to your name??? not me.

@jengalbraith Most important designation after PT, in reality, would be one to show you give 1:1 care and you listen to patient.

@JsalvaPT Ultimately, results and relationships are what drive success. Letters may show
commitment to learning and improving

@PranaPT Stop quibbling and get out there to educate the public about what PT's do! They have no clue! We need to market directly!

Talk to you later...

~Selena

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-22-2012_ABC_soup.pdf (510 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-22-2012_ABC_soup.pdf (510 KB)

Twitter #SolvePT Tuesdays from 9-10 pm EST will be here soon.

The Twit-o-sphere had a weekend of targeted buzzing around a single example that gave a visceral response to quite a few physical therapists. Tonight the focus isn't on that single example, but instead on the whole issue of being credentialed or certified in a particular skill set and the creativity that sometimes occurs in defining or naming the new set of skills.

Tonight will have a different feel to it. Tonight is a live, interactive debate. Agree, disagree or be on the fence... share your thoughts on the issue.

Does the way we label or market ourselves (via credentials or certifications) erode our professional identity?

A few questions you can contemplate:

Does an "a la carte" physical therapist create identity confusion for consumers? Should the "a la carte" meet certain content standards? Does the "a la carte" name matter? Do consumers demand "a la carte" physical therapists? Do consumers choose based on "a la carte?"

Talk to you later.

~Selena

Wowwie Zowwies... that hour flew and I don't think I could think fast enough at times! There were a few "tracks" of conversation. One track was on changes we'd like to see happen in the physical therapy/physiotherapy profession and the other really small track was how we were creating change. As usual, the transcript is at the bottom.

I'll just hit a few comments to help you learn the level of the discussion. Now, there were LOTS of really good comments (over 200 to choose from), but I'm tired and have swim training in the morning, so I just snagged a few. :)

As @Jerry_DurhamPT said every physical therapist/physiotherapist participating was already a change agent. I believe he is correct.

@joebrence9 is very focused on changing educational curriculums to include pain science in physical therapy/physiotherapy education.

@Kintegrate asked a valid question that focuses on creating change for patients you are treating. His question got missed, but I do think it is relevant. Motivational interviewing which is comprised of listening, changing and acting is a way to help improve both communication and adherence.

@TNBackPain brought up a valid question that also didn't get much of a response."Can we create a pro forma with existing data on how good PT saves $? Predictive modeling?" Think of how something like that might create change...

@jengailbrath shared how her philosophy of education promotes professional mindset change: "I encourage my students to challenge everything! Even me! Find out if facts are proven, disproven, or just what's always been done!"

@PhysicalTherapy suggested, "Put the physical therapist back & exclusively in #physicaltherapy. They are equivocal #solvept" And he mentioned, "It's not APTA's job to #solvept - it is ours & ours alone-by PT's practicing PT."

It all started going downhill with the mention of a reality physical therapy show... and movies.

Remember, we are all in this together. Seriously, I know with this group any one of those participating would not mind in the least if you ever wanted to talk about their passion and creating change. If you ever felt the need to reach out, do so!

Talk to you later,

Selena

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_Change_Agents_5-15-2012.pdf (355 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_Change_Agents_5-15-2012.pdf (355 KB)

Twitter #SolvePT Tuesdays from 9-10 pm EST will be here soon.

We've had some excellent, open discussions thus far. I've heard mumblings that a tweetchat doesn't "solve" anything. Of course, the chat doesn't solve a darn thing! What it does is open the door for discussion, provides ideas and maybe provides new direction which allows someone to decide to take action.

How about sharing how you are a change agent? Many of you are change agents: you may not know it, but you are changing the world... you are influential... you are making progress in your local world. You ARE making an impact. Ripples of change are good things!

I realize the chat will be convoluted with all of you sharing your endeavors. Even though I know this, I think it will bring value. Try to remember to use #solvePT as you have your side discussions explaining yourself or answering questions. It might get a bit messy for lurkers to follow along... but it will be great to hear the neat things you are actually doing! Let your ripple of change potentially reach more than just your local area. Maybe some of us would like to see the same change in our local area and your endeavors will help us to achieve change. Let others who might not be change agents yet, begin to have courage and confidence to take steps toward the change they want to see.

~Selena

Yes, yes... productivity obviously has value for business. Via the tweetchat, it's apparent that adding something new to the equation might be helpful.

The concepts of defining value, creating loyal patients, focusing on improving patient attendance, focusing on customer service via connecting & engaging with patients, and patient satisfaction were all brought into the discussion.

Another interesting point, currently we are reimbursed for our services based on codes and modalities, yet the service we truly provide are the decisions we make and our critical thinking abilities.

Transcript is included below for ease of learning about the discussion!

~Selena

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-8-12_productivity.pdf (255 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-8-12_productivity.pdf (255 KB)

For those of you unfamiliar, engaging discussion happens on Twitter during #solvePT Tuesdays from 9-10 pm EST. The topic this week has a twist in thinking about productivity.

Although physical therapy is a business, a focus of performance measurement based primarily on productivity can result in diminished quality of service. Primarily measuring productivity, defined as billable units per hour, seems to be a short-sighted measurement.

Is there more to the "health" of a physical therapy business than productivity? Are there other factors that can be measured or tracked that may be just as important as productivity? Are there nonbillable activities in which a physical therapist may engage that could substantially enhance the health of the physical therapy business?

For example, think of this... In an 8 hour day at 80% productivity at $27/unit, a physical therapist generates about $691. Are there other daily behaviors or even sporatic opportunities that are just as important that can actually generate even more than $691 in far less time?

~Selena

For those of you unfamiliar, engaging discussion happens on Twitter during #solvePT Tuesdays from 9-10 pm EST.

I'd like to think the majority of physical therapists take time to continually evolve, grow and be better! One major problem, in my opinion, is the lack of readily available information on the quality of a continuing education course. I don't know about you, but I don't value courses based on fad with titles snazzling buzzwords to entice me to attend.

What could be implemented for physical therapists to readily appreciate the quality of a continuing education course? Should physical therapists expect more transparency from continuing education providers? Should courses specifically state, "not formally tested in clinical setting?" or what about "results unknown?"

For physical therapists truly focusing on improving performance with a directly associated goal of improving outcomes with patients, what needs to happen in the continuing education world to assist physical therapists in truly bettering performance?

Looking forward to a lively and engaging discussion and hearing your perspective Tuesday night! #solvePT 5/1/2012 will revolve around continuing education.

(EDIT: PDF of #solvePT Tuesday now available and added at end of this post. Slight hiccup with technology, you may need to click on "download" below box to view.)

Talk to you later...

~Selena

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-1-2012.pdf (267 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_5-1-2012.pdf (267 KB)

#solvePT 4/24/2012: Direct Access 9-10 pm EST

For those of you with direct access, how is your clinical practice different from non-direct access? In what way do you target consumers? What have you found to be successful in reaching consumers in your local area? After time do physicians seem less threatened?

For those of you without direct access, how do you think your clinical practice would change if you did have direct access?

For those of you in a country that has had direct access for many years, what advice would you have for your colleagues here in the United States?

EDIT: You can find transcript from evening below!

~Selena

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_4-24-12_Direct_Access.pdf (318 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The-Pulse-of-Physical-Therapy---Live_4-24-12_Direct_Access.pdf (318 KB)

It's obvious physical therapists/physiotherapists need a venue to be heard.

More and more physical therapists/physiotherapists are online with Twitter accounts. We may actually be able to better our profession one community at a time by sharing our thoughts. Change doesn't happen overnight... but one voice can create change. Welcome to the tweet chat world! For those of you unfamiliar, I think you'll find Tweet Chats 101 helpful.

Every Tuesday a different topic will be discussed. The topic content will be shared on Monday so you can decide if the topic is engaging and interesting to you. You can think about the topic overnight and prepare your talking points.

If you decide to participate, please remember to use #solvePT. If you are talking to one specific person within the discussion, remember to @person so that person will readily see your comment AND remember to include #solvePT if you'd like everyone else to see the comment too! Heck, you can @person to snag their attention on the topic if you think the person would have a perspective to share!

For those of you who prefer to lurk, search #solvePT. If you really want to get into it, you'll need something like Tweetdeck. With Tweetdeck, you can create multiple columns - columns for the discussion and also for your favorite participants.

At the end of the #solvePT chat, I'll have a PDF transcript created and will share it via Twitter.

Looking forward to engaging discussions!

~Selena

In my little world, I'm not connected enough for this grand idea. So... @SandyHiltonPT and I are now on a mission. A mission that can only be possible if someone with the know-how steps up and offers assistance in this fabulous business dream.

You see, in the physical therapy world (heck the whole medical world), there is this huge push for making decisions based on "evidence." I'd even venture to say the public is in need of evidence when they search for medical answers too! The current system is less than rewarding. @SandyHiltonPT and I want something that can't be too difficult... something that fills a void that needs to be filled.

Imagine... you find an abstract of an article you'd love to download in PDF format and read without paying $40. You have a current annual membership in the iResearch portal. iResearch has a relationship of sorts - a subscription with some company entity that hospital libraries and academia use that offers full text access for their employees/students. iResearch is readily available via desktop or phone app which allows for searching and provides abstracts. What is different, iResearch immediately offers a cost effective way to download a PDF for members. Members just pay a low rate like $3.99 per article.

Of course, iResearch would allow for various levels of membership. Two options for access would be a monthly or annual membership into the iResearch portal. Of course, credit cards would be automatically charged monthly/annually OR members could choose to manually pay for access as membership expires. Members could pay per article or could pay into their account and have funds just sitting there waiting to be used.

Why not? Who could help make this happen? The only risk is that all journals will become open access. I don't see that happening any time soon, do you?

@SnippetPhysTher