APTA CSM 2016 in My Shoes As I unpack and do laundry and try to readjust to real life again, I keep thinking about the themes that ran through all of my conversations this past week at APTA CSM. I feel like it’s really important to reflect on not just the content we learn at conferences of this scale, but also the 30,000 foot view of where our profession is and where we’re heading. Here’s a look at what sticks in my mind: Patients Are People This could not have been any more beautifully illustrated by two brave women who stood in front of a room full of physical therapists to share their very personal stories of the good, the bad, and the ugly they have experienced over the years in their journeys as patients. In the @womens_PT section in a session moderated by Jerry_DurhamPT, Erin (@mrsjacksoda) and Lisa (LISAMACNCHEESE) shared their frustrations with being looked at as a body part or a diagnosis rather than as a whole human being. These women gave simple suggestions that sometimes get lost in the healthcare shuffle, such as, “Listen to your patients” and “Tell your patients and their families the truth” and my favorite “If you don’t know, just don’t make shit up.” We would be well served to remember that interacting with other human beings requires a biopsychosocial model of care. Patients are whole people, with fears and anxieties and families and careers and everything else that plays into their journey through the healthcare system. As we shift as a profession to caring more about population health and early intervention, we need to keep in mind that true health and wellness involve a lot more than just exercise. We need to think about all of the aspects of wellness that affect […]
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