Have you ever searched for a job post-pandemic?
Because I did it in the midst of the pandemic. I can still remember the day that I applied to a (then) part-time outpatient physical therapy marketing job ad. I was nervous. To leave an industry that I had built my career around for the past 10 years. But and I mean a BIG but, that shot in the dark was the best decision I ever made. Being employed by USPh and working for Star Physical Therapy has been a breath of fresh air. I cannot count on my hands how many times my husband and I are in conversation about something and he turns to me and says “ This job has been the best decision you’ve made besides marrying me”.
When you work for Star, you are considered family. I feel like I should play the olive garden commercial music when I say that to my peers. When you are here, you are family. And I mean that for our associates as well as our patients. Our patients choose us because we care and it shows. I have never been so welcomed with open arms in an industry that was completely new to me. And given that we were in the midst of the pandemic my onboarding wasn’t the usual but such a wonderful process of learning and meeting some of the most sincere people I know today. Everyone is casually interested in who you are as a person and also who you are as a professional. Change can be hard for anyone but I have certainly felt that we all embraced the change that came when I joined the team. Andy, my Partner, and I have shared many laughs together as we have navigated the adversity of the industry during this time. We have overcome staffing challenges and danced with any idea that came our way. I have never felt alone in doing my job. I always have someone to call whether that person has my same job duties or that person is someone that works in a different realm of the company. I have never felt judged in my communication. While I continue to aspire to be more polished in my presentation, no one has ever questioned any of my sporadic thoughts or unfinished plans. Heck, my CEO has seen me cry as I expressed gratitude towards the company, and to have personally met him, I know he recognizes the good work that we all do every day. My immediate supervisor, Kim, is fully supportive of everything that I bring to the table. I can share when something is going right and I can share when something is going wrong and together we solve. We have been able to discuss the why and present the how without it being someone’s fault or wrongdoing and I hope that someone reading this can understand what I am saying. Someone out there needs to know that a company can value the work that you do. They can give you the space to do it and allow for growth that cannot be achieved under the looking glass.
In my first year with USPh, a new outpatient clinic was assigned to my portfolio and allowed for a new star to enter my galaxy. Laura, the Director of the clinic, and I met one random afternoon and honestly the rest is history. Laura is the gold to my silver. She just gets me. She cares about the things I care about and even when we do not speak, we are on the same page, the same sentence and adding the same punctuation. Her clinic in Fairfield has had rapid success and I attribute that to the two of us but also the vast community that it serves. Fairfield needed us and we needed them. We never have felt pressured into getting a job done, rather incentivized and recognized for our hard work. Nobody fears us into doing a good job. When you walk into her clinic you can taste the fun and breathe the innovation. It is always an exciting time. And I get it. No one wakes up and decides that today is the day that they are going to call us and schedule their evaluation and commit to coming in twice a week as their doctor has prescribed, but by golly we try out best. We are constantly learning new things and I have never felt stagnant in my growth. In fact, Laura is about to open a second location in Tomball, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about serving a new community with the greatness that we have created in the past year.
Two and a half years employed. Two new clinics added. Countless patient’s lives has changed for the better.
I am not a PT, but what I do each and every day connects someone new to receiving PT and to ME that is equally as important.
