What Makes a PT Great?

I’m always curious to hear what other healthcare professionals think of physical therapy. Physicians and surgeons in particular never seem to withhold their candid opinions.

And I’ve heard it all.

“Physical Therapy is a SCAM!”

“For the right patient, it’s great”

“I wish all my patients would go!”

Most responses verge on the borderline of ‘it depends.’ Like any medical experience these days, there is inherent variability- find a great PT and your experience will be fantastic, find one who is burnt out and doesn’t seem to care, and your experience might be a waste of time.

Over the years I’ve adapted my question to dig further into the ‘why’ of what makes certain PTs so much better than others. The question I ask now is:

“What makes a PT great?”

Last week, while at lunch with one of the leading concierge physicians in the Washington DC area, Dr. Craig Cheifetz of Inova 360 Concierge Medicine, I heard one of the most concise and well articulated answers I’ve heard to date.

Given that he built the biggest, highly respected concierge practice in our area, I was particular eager to hear his opinion.

When I posed the question, Dr. Cheifetz responded:

“Two things.”

Number One: Results

A great PT delivers on the promise they make to patients. They have the book skills, the hands on skills, and the soft skills to know what time to deliver what treatment.

This results in a clear and comprehensive assessment, effective treatment plan, and clear progress towards the patient’s goals.

Even if the patient doesn’t reach their goal, a great PT is able to find the right healthcare provider to refer the patient to, ushering them along their healthcare journey.

Number Two: Communication

It starts with excellent communication with the patient.

• Patients know what they need to do to succeed, and understand why.
• They have clear knowledge of the exercises and what it will take to reach their goals.

And it extends to communication with the care team. When a physician works with a great PT:

• They are part of an interprofessional care team.
• They are kept fully up to date on the patient’s progress.
• They receive concise updates from the PT when it matters most.

I think Dr. Cheifetz is spot on.

You might have the most advanced certification in the world and deliver textbook results every time, but if you cannot communicate effectively with the referrer / care team and the patient, it’s going to be hard to advance professionally.

Vice versa, you might be the world’s greatest communicator, but if you cannot deliver the hands-on results, patients are not going to keep coming or refer their friends and family.

The magic lies in the combination of being world class at both.

I’d venture to say these lessons can be broadened out to not only apply to physical therapists, but to nearly all professions.

Since our meeting, I’ve been trying find something that is missing, but I have not yet been able to break his answer.

I’ve also started self-reflecting and asking if I am communicating well and delivering results in each of my roles.

I’ll turn to you and ask:

• Do you agree?
• What’s missing?
• What else makes a PT, or any professional for that matter, great?

Would love to hear your thoughts.