Welcome back to season 2 of PT Elevated where we are broadening our topics to include more researchers but still focusing on topics that you can use in your clinic every day.

Our ninth episode of season 2 welcomes Dr. Bryan Guzski and Dr. Tim Reynolds who are the authors of the book Movers and Mentors. Bryan is a physical therapist who practices at the University of Rochester Orthopaedic Spine & Sports Center and recently just stepped down as the residency program director. He graduated from Ithaca College and then did a post orthopaedic residency and spice fellowship at Cayuga Medical Center. Tim is a physical therapist by trade who went to Ithaca College for his Doctorate. He then did a post orthopaedic residency and spine fellowship with Cayuga Medical Center as well. Currently he teaches anatomy and physiology at Ithaca College.

Here are some of the highlights:
“This book is a compilation of stories, throughs, and advice from over 75 leaders  in the fields of physical therapy and movement science. From researchers and expert clinicians, to innovators and business owners, their answers to thought-provoking questions provide personal and professional guidance for the next generation of rehabilitation professionals.”

Bryan and Tim started this book idea when they were going through residency together. They saw the same names recurring. They were also reading an interview style book called, “Tools of Titans,” by Timothy Ferris and thought it would be great to have a book like that, centered around physical therapy. In 2018 they drafted a list of interviewees and a list of questions and fired off emails and one thing lead to the next and they published this past year.

Common Themes Bryan & Tim Recognized from interviewing leaders in our field for their book:

• Failure
  • The questions they asked were more human related about failure, good and bad advice and favorite interests and less focused on their interviewees treatment paradigm & focus.
  • “It was interesting to hear some of the big leaders in the profession discussing past failures, such as not getting into physical therapy school on the first try or failing clinicals.”

• Mentorship
  • The importance of mentorship and the importance of investing in yourself. “Mentorship is an investment in yourself. If your are looking at who you want in your clinical mentorship circle, focus on who is practicing the way you want to be and how can you provide value to them so that they are able to provide value to you.”

There were opinions on specializing right out of school via residency or becoming a generalist and seeing a lot of different things that several PTs they interviewed had different views on.

Tim’s Clinical Pearl – “When I did my spine fellowship program it wasn’t the advancement in my manual skills or treatment paradigms or pattern recognition, it was Jason Cherry who is a professor at Ithaca College who introduced me to the concepts of motivational interviewing and that has been what my clinical focus the last two or three years has hovered around, the power of words. Being mindful of the power of word choice, being able to take advantage of that placebo effect, and being able to communicate more effectively with a patient. If I had the chance to go back and talk to myself coming out of school in 2014 my response would be, it is okay that you do not have these manual skills yet. Try to work on some of these “strong” skills, communication, and the power of words.”

Bryan’s Clinical Pearl – “Don’t underestimate the power of momentum. If you are interested or passionate about a particular area and find yourself wanting to know more and learn more about this one thing, dive into that and lean into that. That will lead to more momentum, where you have new conversations with new people and that is where doors start to open, and you can continue to grow from there. Learn into momentum and do not underestimate the power of it.”

Helpful research and training:
Online: Business Management Principles for the Rehab Therapist
Online: AmaZing! Customer Service Course for Individuals
Online: AmaZing! Customer Service Suit

Connect with us on socials:
@ZimneyKJ on Twitter
@PMintkenDPT on Twitter
@MoversMentors on Twitter
@TimReynoldsDPT on Twitter
Moversandmentors.com