How Education Plays Into Our Patient Experience
So much of working with patients is centered on effective education. The teachers who stood out to me, Mrs. Walden and Mr. Lidster, did so because they made the subject matter come to life. Every day, when I woke up, I couldn’t wait to get to class. It cultivated internal motivation and made me want to learn more. When we work with patients, we try to implement this same type of training. We want their rehab to come to life and have them actively engaged in every aspect of their recovery. That all starts with our staff.
If knowledge really is power, then our staff is a force to be reckoned with. Each PT on our team is a doctor in physical therapy and has received a very high level of education. Beyond that, each staff member goes through continuing education that empowers them to be the best therapists they can possibly be. It creates a cascading effect through our entire practice because physical therapy is about so much more than just treating. It’s about being educators as well.
We need to take what we know and teach that to our patients, and that requires wisdom. Knowing which information to act on is just as important as learning it in the first place. Just because a therapist writes the book on best practices doesn’t mean they can relate the pertinent information to a patient. There are already enough emotional and mental complications in a patient’s recovery journey. The last thing they need is to try and comprehend information that isn’t essential to their recovery. But wisdom is also about applying real-world applications to modern modalities. It’s our job to impact lives beyond just business, and that means connecting with others beyond the facility. When we combine our skills with support and real-world knowledge, we can reach patients on a whole new level.
When I went to London as a teenager, I knew all the history of the city and all the hot spots because I learned it. In this same way, patients can take the information we teach them and go home with it to assist their rehab. I learned the information about London not just because it was explained to me in a book, but because it was made real to me and fostered through a connection. I ended up obtaining so much more knowledge about the city the second I touched down because I had a foundation of understanding and the desire to learn more.
Our patient experience is at the center of everything we do. The physical healing is just one part of how we want to make an impact in the lives of others. We want to have a lasting effect on their lives through an experience that helps make them physically, emotionally, and mentally whole again. If we can do that, then we’re achieving our mission. With the fantastic staff we have here, I’m more than confident that we’re reaching people at this level every day at In Motion O.C. and changing lives.
-Jeff Thomas
