Shows
The Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 38: Physical Therapist Growth SpurtsIn this episode, we share our growth-spurt experiences as physical therapists. We realized during mentoring that ALL physical therapists experience growth spurts. It’s how we evolve our clinical practice! So long as we keep learning, there will always be periods of change followed by periods that are more steady as we integrate the new information into our practice. We also share our signs of being in a growth spurt and tips for navigating these with less overwhelm!
Thank you for listening to The Conscious Clinician. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and write a re...2021-11-2114 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 37: When PT Is Not The AnswerWe have spent 36 episodes exploring how to work with someone, build better rapport, collaborate, move past our own and the patient's roadblocks to improving our quality of care and work. We realized that we haven't talked about when PT is not the answer and how we know we need to end care.
In this episode, we explore the reasons why you may choose to recommend discharge, including what we say and examples of how we handle these conversations. We can practice within our ethics AND support the patient to get the care that’s best for them.
2021-11-0139 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 35: Telehealth Tips for Physical TherapistsOne of the few positives from the pandemic was the widespread access to telehealth medical services. Our bet is that it’s here to stay. We have been providing telehealth PT since March 2021. We recognize that while it’s convenient for patients and providers, it does change the way we interact with our patients. Additionally, providing telehealth from your own home creates unique challenges for providers.
In this episode, we focus on how to prepare and care for yourself to provide telehealth. We explore the way that communication changes when it’s virtual and we offer tips that ha...2021-10-1036 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 34: Managing Your Time In a VisitPicture this: It's a long day. You're behind on notes. You're running late to see the next person and it just feels like the whole day is slipping away from you. And you're thinking, “What happened here and how am I going to dig myself out of this hole?”
In this episode, we focus on time management and the self-reflection required to identify strategies for change. We need to take a hard look at what factors are causing us to run behind, because it's not as simple as like, ‘Oh, I'm just running late all the time.” If you'v...2021-10-0329 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 33: Providing Patient-Centered Care with Students & ObserversPicture this, you’re working with a new student or have someone shadowing you. They are eager to learn about your field and have tons of questions to ask you AND the patient. While you love their desire to learn, it’s also affecting the flow of the session.
We’ve certainly been there, so in this episode, we dissect why and how having another person in the room affects patient-centered communication and care. This applies to observers, interns, students, mentors, and anyone else who might be a third body in the treatment space.
We discuss ...2021-09-2632 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 31: Patient Centered Plan of Care Development (SOAP Series #4)In this episode, we finish with part 4 of the SOAP note series: Plan of Care & Prognosis. Often the plan of care is an afterthought, something we consider when documenting or perhaps the last 5 minutes of the evaluation when we schedule follow-up visits. So we asked ourselves “How do we form a mutually agreed-upon plan, which is realistic and considerate of the patient and the provider?”
We share the tips which have helped us create more collaborative plans with patients and the assumptions and fears which have gotten in the way. Our own fears and psychosocial factors can affec...2021-09-1325 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 30: Empowering Assessments (SOAP Series #3)In this episode, we continue with part 3 of the SOAP series: The Assessment. We have broken this section out into three key considerations:
What is our assessment of the patient?
What information do we share with the patient?
How do we keep reassessing throughout the plan of care?
In addition, we also discuss examining our own biases in assessment, practicing new conversations with peers/mentors, focusing on solutions rather than impairments, and how to fold in biomechanical explanations in an empowering way. Tune in next week for Plan of Care tips!
Highlights from our conversation in E...2021-09-0522 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 29: Performing A Conscious Clinical Exam (SOAP Series #2)In this episode, we continue with part 2 of the SOAP series: the Objective Exam. Most of us learned explicitly and implicitly from our training that the purpose of the exam is for us (the provider) to learn about the patient's body in order to create an appropriate plan of care. However, we’ve realized that the patient is actually learning about their body during the exam as well!
Everything that we do during the exam process is teaching the patient something about their body. They are internalizing our language and reactions - for better or worse! So in...2021-08-2928 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 28: Taking a Patient-Centered History (SOAP Series #1)We are kicking off a 4 part series to explore patient-centered care from where it all begins - the evaluation. We break it into sections using the SOAP note model: Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan. We discuss what we could do to improve rapport with our patients, our efficiency and accuracy in getting to the root of a problem while partnering with our patients as active collaborators.
In this episode, we focus on the subjective including building rapport, understanding the patient’s experience, and wrapping the subjective up into the objective. How do we learn their story and ho...2021-08-2235 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 26: Supporting New Parents’ Health with Catherine O’Brien, MA, LMFTIn this episode, we have the pleasure of dissecting maternal and paternal mental health with Catherine O’Brien, MA, LMFT. She shares the common issues that new parents experience which contribute to pelvic floor conditions like dyspareunia. While postpartum is a time of massive changes, we need to listen to our patients when they feel like something just isn’t right.
Catherine helps soon-to-be parents create a postpartum plan because “there’s usually a lot of prep for a birth plan… but nobody's like, well then what happens after we bring the baby home?... Your partner is not your p...2021-07-2634 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 25: Physiatry in Pelvic Health with Dr. Allyson Shrikhande, MDIn this episode, we discuss pelvic health from the lens of physiatry with Dr. Allyson Shrikhande, MD. She is the medical director and founder of Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine (PMR), offering true multidisciplinary care for people with pelvic floor dysfunction.
Allyson shares what a pelvic health physiatrist does, saying “we're trained really to look at the interplay between the organ systems with each other, as well as the organ systems with the fascia, the muscles, and the nervous system.” Physiatrists can serve as the quarterback for people with pelvic floor dysfunction, referring them to the various specialties. She also...2021-07-1829 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 24: How to Thrive, Not Just Survive with Yolanda Johnson, MD, FAAPIn this episode, we unpack overwhelm and burnout with Dr. Yolanda Johnson, MD, FAAP. As a pediatrician, mom, and coach for women in healthcare, Yolanda knows that doing it all means burning out. She shares practical tips to start shifting out of survival mode and begin discovering who you are, how you want to work, and what needs to change.
For the first time, Dr. Yolanda shares her experience of impostor syndrome during residency and how that led to her passion for coaching. We dive deep into the counterintuitive need to slow down and do less when...2021-07-1152 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 23: Inclusive Pelvic Health Practice with Dr. Brian Stirling, DPT, OCSIn this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Brian Stirling, DPT, OCS who treats male pelvic health and orthopedics. Brian shares the barriers he’s encountered as a male specializing in pelvic health as he wants to expand to treating all genders of patients. We discuss inclusive care, which develops when we have the courage to face our biases, remove educational barriers, and support a variety of providers joining the specialty!
We explore how our own fears (for our license, saying the wrong thing, avoiding litigation) have influenced our practice patterns. Brian leads us in...2021-07-0454 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 21: Intersections of Sexuality, Racism, and Healthcare with Dr. Uchenna "UC" Ossai, DPT, WCS, CLTIn this episode, we discuss how you can’t separate racism from healthcare with Dr. Uchenna “UC” Ossai, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT. As the only Black pelvic health physical therapist certified in Sexuality Counseling, UC has been empowering people to embrace their sexuality with their whole selves - and in spite of what society may be telling them.
This leads us into discussing the spectrums of pleasure, joy, race, sexuality, and how these factors all affect a person’s experience of sex. We explore the archetypes which affect black women’s health and sexual wellbeing, in the context of...2021-06-2050 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 18: Impostor Syndrome in Healthcare ProvidersIn this episode, we shed light on impostor syndrome in healthcare. This all too common phenomenon is an isolating experience. Providers who feel like impostors are constantly striving to earn the acceptance they cannot give to themselves. This is most common in marginalized groups including people of color, first-generation college students, and women in male-dominated fields. If not addressed it worsens as people attain more prestige/higher positions and is associated with burnout.
We share our experiences with impostor syndrome and how this has affected us in the clinic. Feeling inadequate or like a fraud definitely influences h...2021-05-1633 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 17: Providing Patient-Centered EducationHave you ever had a moment where you realize that a patient did not understand what you thought you educated them on? We have!
In this episode, we share our strategies for providing patient-centered education rather than lecturing. We’ve developed a checklist to follow:
Assess their current understanding
Ask permission to share your knowledge or perspective
Identify their skepticism and response
Break it down into chunks
Check their interpretation
We explain each step, how we do it, and why we do so. We’ve learned that patient-centered education is an ongoing process, especially when we're wo...2021-05-0928 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 16: Defining Patient-Provider Relationship BoundariesIn this episode, we explore how to establish healthy patient-provider boundaries around discussing personal matters. Sammy describes a patient experience that started as a discussion of pain-related stress and evolved into the patient sharing personal conflicts, relational issues, and more.
Sammy felt uncomfortable and realized that the patient was seeking emotional support that exceeded her scope of practice. After multiple attempts to redirect and focus on PT, she had a direct conversation with the patient.
These types of situations can challenge our personal and professional boundaries. Each of our definitions of “oversharing” varies, however, practicing with e...2021-05-0223 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 14: Enhancing Your Emotional IntelligenceIn this episode, we are so excited to bring you part 2 of emotional intelligence (EQ). First, check out Part 1: EQ for Healthcare Providers (Episode 13).
Emotional intelligence affects both patient and provider outcomes. A staggering 80% of medical errors are due to miscommunication (2014). Logically, improving our EQ will help us connect with people of different backgrounds, communicate clearly, and thus improve patient outcomes. However, we were surprised to find that there is relatively little research exploring EQ and patient outcomes.
The link between EQ, burnout, and resilience has received more empirical attention. Emotional intelligence is inversely correlated w...2021-04-1833 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 13: Emotional Intelligence for Healthcare ProvidersIn part 1 of a two-part series, we break down emotional intelligence (EQ), what it is, and how it shows up in clinical practice. We have discussed several of the skills of EQ in our previous episodes, so it’s about time we focus specifically on this skill!
Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor your own and others' feelings, to discriminate amongst them, and use this information to guide your thinking and action. EQ is a skill that can be developed, the cornerstone of those elusive yet important “soft skills.” We discuss the skills which make up EQ, bas...2021-04-1141 minThe Conscious Clinician PodcastEpisode 11: Authentic Evidence Based Practice with Dr. Annemarie Everett, DPT, WCSIn this episode, we dive deep into PT practice, what it is and what it could be, with Annemarie Everett, DPT, WCS. She shares how she co-founded POPUp and the humbling lessons she learned to approach patients who have prolapse with dignity, honesty, and autonomy.
This patient-centered approach to practice was shaped by her personal growth. At a low point, Annemarie realized that she had to stop assuming responsibility for other people’s happiness, fulfillment, and ability to achieve their goals. Something had to give. She started asking “what can I create for people and what can I see...2021-03-281h 05