What is quality?  How do we really know we provide quality care?

Let me ask you this– If you were looking to choose a Physical Therapist for your mom, and you could decide by comparing their initial assessment of your mother’s ability, which would you pick?  

Politics? Government? I’ve never been into politics, mainly because I don’t really understand much of it. When I was first approached with participating in PT Day on Capitol Hill, I thought, as many of you might have, “I know nothing about politics”. After reading over the legislation the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is advocating for, I quickly realized I was more into it than I thought. The reality is I felt passionate about the topics.  I could personally relate to each piece of legislation, and I was able to use this personal connection when speaking with the staffers (office staff who relay the information to the legislators) of the politicians.  

As a physical therapist practicing for almost 16 years, I still find it extremely difficult to understand all of the politics surrounding rehab services. It seems pretty cut and dried: Good therapy makes a life-changing difference for many of our patients. So why are we always on the “chopping block” financially?  

What ever happened to hard work? I am definitely getting older that is for sure. I was driving home from Canada over the Christmas break listening to XM Radio, the channel was called “Doctor something.” The topic was discussing the psychology and perceptions of hard work, job satisfaction, generational values and the current societal trend of “entitlement.” Driving 10 hours usually gives you time to think. There is nothing wrong with hard work.