Have you been looking for the ideal job as a physical therapist? One with an opportunity for growth, leadership, mentorship, a flexible work schedule, and potential profit-sharing?
Do you want to have the opportunity to learn and grow your clinical skills while having someone with the same philosophy and approach available to strategize with you about your treatments and patients? Do you want to work in an environment that supports you to continue your learning and growth as a therapist while also maintaining a good work/life balance?
Do you want to avoid struggling with being overworked, underpaid, unappreciated while working in a hospital, PT mill, a traditional PT clinic where you’re expected to treat up to 4 patients an hour, pressured to treat patients a certain way? Do you feel you’re not learning all the therapeutic skills or getting the mentorship opportunities you expect so you can become the absolute best therapist you’ve always dreamed of?
- Are you looking for the ideal clinic where truly focuses on the health outcome or your clients?
- Do you like to spend enough time to achieve clients’ goals with the treatment strategies you think the best?
- Do you envision working in an out-of-network clinic without the nonsense that goes along with insurance contracts and reimbursement?
- Do you value spending a full hour one-on-one with each of your patients (and only 7 patients per day!)?
- Do you like to drastically reduced paperwork requirements compared to the average in-network PT clinic?
- Having a truly pivotal role in a company that helps active people stay fit, healthy and mobile without medications, injections, and unnecessary surgery?
If you are a YES! This could be the perfect position for you.
Before we dive into roles and tasks, let me give a quick background on the company and why this position is going to be so important…
I started FuncPhysio Physical Therapy P.C. in 2015. Previously I work in large hospitals and private clinics where I had to see 2-5 patients per hour. It was just like a factory, which I felt helplessness because I could not provide what I thought the best for them. Unfortunately, this kind of physical therapy clinic is all over the states due to insurance company dictation. This is the reason I established FuncPhysio to truly help people.
Originally it was just me. I was a therapist, administrator, marketer, and receptionist. Less than one year, Funcphysio grew up quickly purely by word-of-mouth. People recognized my quality of service and the results they are getting. However, no matter how I tried my best, I could not see more than 40 clients per week.
My mission is to help thousands of people who are ignored by the current health care system like people; “I went to doctor for my back pain, but they just give me a painkiller”, “a surgeon recommended only surgery for my back, but I want to avoid it”, “I went physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage, but my back is not better”, “my doctor told me that my back pain is normal for my age, I just have to live with it”, and so on.
Therefore, I am recruiting a therapist who has the same passion and is willing to learn and grow with us.
Physical Therapist Job Description (Tasks)
At FuncPhysio Physical Therapy, our mission to be the primary provider for people with pain or injuries and to enhance and empower the lives of people we encounter to change and grow.
- Communicate with patients in a way that they can confidently make the right decision about the plan of care you suggest
- Ensure that patients achieve their clinical and health/lifestyle outcomes (in the time frame you set)
- Develop a mutually beneficial relationship that benefits both the patient and the clinic
- Ensure that patients remain excited about the prospect of coming for physical therapy (and remain committed to the treatment plan that you suggest)
- Provide a high level of customer care that will cause patients to want to come back frequently and tell their friends and family about us as well
- Ensure that patients agree to a plan of care that will help them hit their health goals
- Ensure that patients complete a full plan of care (as agreed in the first session)
- Participate in, contribute to, and help to develop the in-house educational training program that is provided to all physical therapists
- Utilize non-treatment times to participate in networking and marketing programs for the clinic.
To meet these requirements you need;
- Be able to communicate with patients in such a way that they can understand why the suggested plan of care is the best solution to solve their problem
- Communicate with patients in a way that they can see value in the plan of care being put to them – in exchange for their time and money
- To be able to communicate in such a way that the patient can confidently say yes to a full plan of care
- To be able to engage with and connect with patients at a personal level that goes way beyond a clinical outcome
- Demonstrates an understanding of what the causes are – and solutions – that could lead to a patient dropping off the schedule
- Demonstrates a willingness to be held accountable for performance
- Ability to thrive in an environment where measurement is the driving force behind progress
Treating clients with my hands has been the primary focus of my career but I never discount the importance of therapeutic or corrective exercise, and all of our clients are taught a home self-treatment program to support the work we do in the clinic.
On that same topic, we never have clients doing things in the clinic that they could be doing on their own at home … people don’t like to pay much out-of-pocket for that treatment approach.
Documentation must be inline with the NY State Practice Act and be sufficient if legal issues arise, as well as must be sufficient to receive insurance reimbursement for out-of-network beneficiaries.
Clinically, we’re looking for someone who has “great hands” and likes to use them on your clients and someone who has a strong willingness to learn, receive constructive feedback and be mentored.
Having a natural ability with your hands is a must. I’ve known PTs who have taken significant continuing education courses in manual therapy but lacked a natural ability with their hands.
Some things can be taught and some things, unfortunately, cannot. I’m looking for that person who has always been told they have “great hands.”
You may bring your own skillset but we would like someone who is passioned about the Functional Manual Therapy approach. However, I’m a fan of having a big clinical “toolbox”. You will see so many other school thoughts and skills you have never seen and you have to be open-minded to learn.
HOWEVER, there’s something even more important than your manual/PT skills: your personality and interpersonal skills. Your skills and knowledge are meaningless and I do not care how many letters you have after your name nor how many years of experience you have if you do not have caring characteristics. It is simply true.
The right person for this job will learn to assess and skillfully respond to the wide variety of personality types that visit our clinic, “meeting them where they’re at” to build great rapport with every client.
So I’m obviously looking for someone who is passionate about your client’s health, motivated to learn, is wise enough to know there will always be much more to learn … regardless of your age or experience.
Some other things to help you decide if this position is a good fit for you:
- If a primary joy for you in the field of PT involves being able to treat sedentary elderly patients, this may not be the best clinic for you since we are limited in which Medicare beneficiaries.
- This clinic’s population is quite diverse and evenly spread among gender and age: weekend warriors, desk jockeys, high school athletes, and middle-aged highly-driven people trying to stay active and fit, and anyone looking for healthy aging to avoid future injuries and immobility.
- Due to the cash-based business model and the fact that we don’t market to physicians, the clinic doesn’t see a lot of post-op rehab patients (nor is the clinic outfitted for much of that … no large gym space with lots of equipment).
- This is currently a full-time position, 40 hours per week. Your schedule will be open to 35 hours per week of patient care time with one-hour lunch documentation/in-service time (paid). However, you need to have the flexibility of your schedule to meet your clients’ needs since no-one is able to start with a full caseload. You are probably starting with up to 10 treatments per week, with the goal of growing a full caseload of 35 clients each week within 6 months. There will be other regular marketing tasks (online wellness programs, video creation, community/athletic events and workshops, etc.) you’ll be responsible for as well.
- Our culture cannot tolerate the situation you do not do anything when you have open slots or the situation you do not do anything outside or your work hour. Therefore if you are looking for a job “just treating patients”, “just working 9am-5pm and don’t want to spend any time outside of your working hour for learning, communicating with staffs or clients, community event, or networking”, this may not be good for you.
If all the above has made you excited about this job, here is a detailed “success description” outlining all the details of what being successful in this position will look like …
Here are the primary characteristics a candidate must have for this important role in our company:
-A warm and calming demeanor and an affinity towards communicating comfortably with new people and making them feel welcome
-Natural empathy and compassion for those in pain
-Willingness to learn and implement feedback
-Strong attention to detail
-Be a Self-Starter
-Desire to work in an intimate setting, where you only treat 1 patient per hour
-Have or be willing to learn a manual therapy approach
-Graduate of an accredited physical therapy program
We are looking for a candidate who is able to adhere to the following core values:
- People First, Patient Second: See the person as a human being and relate with them on that level, then find out what they need. Connect and Re-Direct. We believe that the person who walks in our door is the 1st priority.
- Pursue Growth and Learning: We are a company of self-starters who are never satisfied with the status-quo. We are always learning and not afraid to try new things. Personal growth and development using open and honest communication and regular feedback is vital to our success.
- Keep It Positive: We help patients achieve positive and hopeful outcomes. Pain is normal, our goal is to help our patients understand what it means.
- Do More with Less: We keep things simple. We are constantly streamlining and automating wherever we can. We strive for essential communication with patients about their body, treatment, and exercises. Less chat, more communication!
- Over Deliver/ Go Above and Beyond Expectations: Provide an exceptional experience that was never expected.
- Be Fully Present: Give patients and your work 100% Attention.
- Model Healthy and Active Lifestyle: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Exercise regularly, get regular treatment; be proactive about your health for your patients, friends & family.
- Create Community: Patients are part of the FuncPhysio family for life through all ages and stages of life. Employees and staff are also connected and invested in serving the long term goals and mission of our practice. We are a family!
- Be part of something bigger: Be a Yes and someone who is standing positively for what’s happening in your life and the lives you touch, and for what you want to have happen in your future (and your patients future)—you’re a person who’s up to something bigger, and you can inspire our patients by showing up fully in your life.
The successful candidate will work for the owners of the business to ensure that these core values are present in the day to day running of the business – and ultimately, responsible for the successful growth of the business.
All hiring at FuncPhysio are made with these Core Values firmly in mind and we look forward to discussing them more with you at the interview – when we can also discuss other benefits and incentives of you choosing to join our team.
Please re-read the job description and core values again and make sure you deeply believe they describe you. Every characteristic is highly important and written very deliberately.
If they do describe you, we would love to meet you!
Here is a video of where you might be working!
Now, let’s dive into the details of your duties and how you can apply for this position if you feel excited about this opportunity …
To have Rockstar Status in this position you will:
- Laugh and make others laugh (or at least make them smile : )
- Learn and perform free phone consultations and in-person injury screens with prospective patients, so that a maximum possible number of people needing our help to decide to do business with us
- Actively engage in staff meetings and manual therapy training. (“Training” will not end after your first few months … we are ALWAYS training, evolving, and improving)
- Smile and make patients feel extremely welcome and cared for, even on days you’re not feeling very ‘smiley’
- Stay current on research and methodologies that will help you provide superior treatment and patient interactions
- Actively seek to understand what drives each of your patients … it’s not the pain that brought them to the clinic; it’s an activity they need, want, or love to do which the pain is keeping them from doing in the way they want
- Care about your co-workers and take an interest in their lives and happiness
- Be willing to occasionally work on Weekend to serve those patients who can’t schedule appointments during the weekdays or fit in the weekday spots we have available. (When this occurs, that time would be subtracted from your need to be at the clinic at some other point in the week)
- Express gratitude to our administrative staff for how much easier and more enjoyable they make our time at the clinic
- Adopt a firm belief that we are not just here to help people when they get injured, but that we have the role of primary caregiver for musculoskeletal impairments and that we are our clients’ lifelong guides to staying active and healthy
- Move at least one patient per month into our ongoing healthy aging program (wellness/prevention/maintenance program)
- Never take for granted the amazing patient-care atmosphere and daily work setting this job provides compared to the typical outpatient PT clinic
- Be responsible for maintaining your own personal movement practice and taking care of your body at least 2 days a week. That may include running, yoga, working out in a gym, CrossFit, cycling, etc…
- Attend at least one community/athletic event each month to generate and deepen connections with attendees and referral sources (even if these events take place on the weekend)
- Compel at least 2 patients per month to leave an online review of their experience at FuncPhysio Physical Therapy
- Just being awesome in general and proactively thinking of things that could make a huge difference to the way the business runs and our ability to help people
- Create 1-2 compelling pieces of content each month (blog, video, report/eBook, etc) that will educate our ideal patients on resolving their limitations and getting back to the active lifestyle they desire on physical therapy related topic you are passionate about
- Be flexible in your working hours – In the 21st Century, patients expect to be seen before, during, after work and on weekends. We know that back pain doesn’t go away for our patients after 5pm. Because of that, and to be successful in this role, please be flexible about your working schedule based on your patient’s needs. Your contracted hours will be scheduled during these hours (start and end times between these hours are negotiable!)
- Contribute and attend a minimum of 1 hour per week in clinic Continuing Education and training– including giving a once per month powerpoint presentation to the rest of the team
- Drive referrals – within 3 months we expect that at least 5 word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals are specifically stating that YOU referred them each month – and within 12 months we expect that at least 5 patients per month are RETURNING because of an interaction with you
- Patient visit average – the most successful therapists at this practice have an average patient visit of “35 per week”… to be successful in this role we expect that your communication and ability to handle money/co-pay objections will allow you to achieve this target. Training will be provided on this and within 6 months our patient visit average (PVA) will be at >30 per week
- Learn and apply specific scripts and techniques for performing free phone consultations and in-person injury screens with prospective patients, so that a maximum possible number of people needing our help to decide to do business with us
- The mission of FuncPhysio Physical Therapy is “to be the primary provider for people with pain or injuries and to empower their healthy aging and healthy life”, and one of the things that we offer our prospective patients to help to do that is a free DISCOVERY visit. Your role will be to facilitate this via 20 minutes Discovery visit, occasionally follow up with patients on the phone and helping prospective patients make the best decision for themselves
- Be responsible for limiting “drop-offs” – Patients who book appointments and then drop off schedules are not good for either party involved. Because of that, you will be required to be pro-active in making regular re-activation phone calls to the people who have dropped off your schedule
P.S. in case you were wondering: This PT clinic is not “in-network” with any insurance/Medicare. You won’t have to spend your time arguing with insurance companies (we still have to prior authorization and pier to pier review for out-of-network beneficiaries
How to Apply…
Thank you for reading this far. You are already showing some of the characteristics we are looking for. If you are interested in applying for this position, please send an email to:
admin@funcphysio.com
and
- Use the exact subject line: I will be a shining PT at FuncPhysio
- Attach your resume as a PDF file
- Within the email, please write 550 words about why you feel you are a great fit for this position.
- Please follow the instruction written in the email you receive.
Thank you so much for your interest in this position.
I hope to meet you soon!
Yohei Takada
