Why I Left Clinical Physical Therapy: Part 3

Today is the final post in the 3 part series providing my reasons for leaving clinical physical therapy to join the nonclinical world. If you didn't read the prior 2 posts in the series, you can read them at Part 1 and Part 2. My final reasons for deciding to leave clinical physical therapy include:

Physical demands do not appear sustainable

I have been fortunate to generally be in good health most of my life. However, there have been times when I would have discomfort, often times when performing a lot of manual transfers. Despite “safe handling techniques” being recommended all of my career, there remains an unavoidable amount of manual lifting required in most physical therapy settings. I do believe pain to be complex and involve many factors. However, I was also recognizing that it would be unlikely to be able to tolerate the physical demands of the job until I would retire.

Wanting to learn a different skill

With the combination of the reasons previously stated, I saw the need to explore more options. As I mentioned, I thought my options were primarily to be a clinician, manager or professor. There was a new world that opened up through a few different Facebook groups and YouTube videos. I initially visited a blog about nonclinical options back in 2017 when I felt burnout and depressed in home health. I found out that there were many different options out there. It honestly felt a little overwhelming to know what way to go, but I did see that I was not alone in wanting to pursue something nonclinical. In January 2021, there was a YouTube video that talked about Utilization Review. It sounded intriguing and I learned more about it. The journey from submitting applications to landing the job I have now was not as smooth as what I would have liked. I hope that I can help teach others from my experience to avoid the mistakes I made along the way! As of this post's published date, I have been able to provide assistance to 7 people that have accepted job offers at naviHealth!

Better benefits with nonclinical job

One of the biggest perks I saw was that the benefits at many nonclinical jobs were significantly better than what I had throughout my career as a clinician. Granted, it helps when the company you work for has a major health insurance company as their primary owner! However, it was more than just the medical benefits. Much better PTO, being able to work a set schedule 8-5 Monday-Friday (although that is not the situation for everyone), opportunities to advance throughout the company, and the ability to work remotely anywhere in the United States. I don’t believe there can be a “perfect” company, but many of the issues previously mentioned were removed in the nonclinical setting.

The Physical Therapy market will be oversaturated in a few years

Within weeks of accepting my job at naviHealth, a report came out on May 3, 2021 by the American Council of Academic Physical Therapy (ACAPT). If you haven’t read it, click here! The discussed concerns should be eye-opening for others in Physical Therapy.

“The most recent workforce study by the American Physical Therapy Association shows that projected increases in the national supply of PTs is outpacing expected growth in demand for services based on an increase in the U.S. population who have health insurance. Using data including current graduation, licensing, and attrition trends, the model predicts an estimated surplus of over 25,000 physical therapists by 2030."

I personally find that disheartening because most of the labor statistics for PT throughout the 2000s has talked about how the market for Physical Therapy has a positive outlook. If I weren't already nonclinical, I believe that after reading this report I would plan ahead for the future to consider it.

My goal for this series has not been to talk negatively about the PT profession. My intent has been to have an open dialogue about what brought me to this point in my career. I hope you found this series enjoyable whether or not you agree with my thoughts!

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