When we held our first PT Pub Night event four years ago, we stumbled onto something cool.And stumbled is the operative word, because what PT Pub Night has come to achieve and represent within our profession isn’t something we had planned for.
So, what is PT Pub Night?
On the surface, PT Pub Night is a meetup event through which PTs, students, and support staff get together periodically to enjoy one another over a burger, a pint or a pop.It’s an opportunity to meet in a casual environment – often a restaurant, pub, or home – to focus on nothing other than developing relationships.It’s about as simple as it gets.
Our profession has grown leaps and bounds since I received my player’s card 18 years ago, and by many accounts we are stronger than we’ve ever been.Evidence-based practice is now the standard.We are a doctoring profession.We practice autonomously in many states, and on the heels of many more.We are respected as an integral part of the healthcare community and offer unique and defendable value in an era of exponentially rising costs.
We’re on the rise.But we’re not without our challenges.
Reimbursement continues to decline even as we collaborate on models of care which incentivize quality and outcomes.Physician-owned practices have run many PT clinics out of business, leaving us demoralized and disenchanted with the notion of healthy competition within healthcare.Those who understand our value love us, but there are far too few who choose us first.The future of our profession – our students and young professionals – are in more debt than ever before.There is a fiscal cliff looking them in the eye, but most fail to see it.
So, even as we sit in pole position in a race that we can win, we’ve many odds stacked against us as we attempt to become a provider of choice for the future of healthcare around the globe.Our growth in popularity and awareness will attract more competition.More haters.More challenges than we face even today.
Enter community.
As physical therapists, we share a genetic fabric that possesses strength far beyond that of the challenges we face.This strength comes in the form of community.Camaraderie.A genuine pride in our collective offering of improved movement, reduced pain, and optimal quality of life.Whether through the occasional peek from under our shell, or as the consummate life of the party, I’ve met few PTs who do not possess a desire to form with others a bond which improves each other, and at the same time our profession as a whole.
By itself, community can’t cure all our ills – but it’s an active ingredient in the antidote for all issues we face.From unfair competition to reimbursement challenges and student debt to legislative advocacy – the pride, energy, and innovation that comes from two or more colleagues coming together as part of a unified profession is where I’ll be placing my bet.And that’s exactly what we do at PT Pub Night.
To learn more about how to attend, start, or sponsor PT Pub Night in your area, contact us at www.ptpubnight.com/start.
Tannus Quatre, PT, MBA, is a physical therapist and entrepreneur dedicated to improving the profession through innovative business and marketing solutions. His work can be seen in such projects as PT Pub Night® and BuildPT.com, as well as through numerous speaking and authored contributions to APTA and PPS. He is president of Vantage Clinical Solutions and can be reached at tannus@vantageclinicalsolutions.com.