January 2015 Newsletter

PRESIDENTS COLUMN

CONTENT
President Eric Tarrs
Column
Call for Nominations
WVPTA Lobby Day is
January 28, 2015
Bryanna Ordiway
Recognized by APTA
House Committee
Update
Insurance News
Update
Spring Conference
2015 Outline
Practice law
provisions that
changed in 2014
National Student
Conclave news and
reports

ERIC TARR, PT, DPT, MBA, OCS

PRESIDENT, WVPTA

Remember when you first got out of physical therapy school? You were
ready to tackle the world, show whoever would pay attention what you
could do. Give me a tough one. I like a challenge. For many of you, that
has never changed. You still look to be the shiniest diamond on the
ring. You look for opportunity to provide value to others because you
have a talent for it. I can tell you from experience that applying that
mentality to leadership is exponentially more rewarding than keeping
it within the four walls of your practice.
Jim Rohn, one of the greatest leadership coaches in our time, said, The
challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not
weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble,
but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without
folly. Leadership is a challenge but it is such fun education. If you
have the attributes of a leader, your profession needs you.
The WVPTA is now looking for leaders to step up as we look ahead to
our April elections. Its an exciting time to be involved as most of health
care is morphing. Pay special attention to our Nominating Committees
requests for nominations. If you see something that interests you,
whether you are already a proactively involved member or not, reach
out to the committee to get your questions answered.
Finally, thank you to all of our members and WVPTA leaders for such a
productive 2014. I very much look forward to 2015. I hope each of you
and your families have a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

WVPTA LOBBY DAY

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Gretchen R. Pfost, PT, DPT, NCS
Nominating Committee Chair

Annual chapter elections are fast approaching!

Our slate will be released to the membership on
January 25 look for it in your inbox!
Please exercise your membership responsibility
and privilege by voting electronically!
This year we have several vacancies which we
are looking forward to filling with some
energetic people.
The following positions are open for 2015:
President-Elect
Vice-President
Secretary
House of Delegates (1)
Nominating Committee (1)
The individual elected for the President-Elect
position will serve one year shadowing the
current president and then assume the duties of
President at the end of that year. The terms for
President, Vice-President, Secretary, and the
Nominating Committee position are all two
years. The President-Elect, Vice-President, and
Secretary positions all require one year of
membership prior to the election. The
Nominating Committee position has a two-year
membership requirement prior to the election.
Please take a minute to view the officer job
descriptions. They are located on the chapters
website www.wvpta.org. Once you are signed
in, click About, select Bylaws from the dropdown menu and scroll down to pages three and
four. If you are considering nominating yourself
or someone else, please do not hesitate to
contact a current member of the Nominating
Committee. My email is lane36@marshall.edu,
or you can contact Rhonda Haley at
rhaley@wju.edu or Jamie Tridico at
jamtrid@hotmail.com. We would be happy to
answer your questions and we are looking
forward to hearing from you!

January 28, 2015

WV Capitol Building

Join the WVPTA in Welcoming the 81st Legislature Election

day has come and gone and there have been big changes in
the Legislature. For the first time in 80 years the Republican
Party will control the House of Delegates and the Senate. This
means there will be all new committee leadership.
As a result it is of vital importance that we get members form
all across the state to come to Charleston and meet with
legislators.
We want to introduce the WVPTA and the work that we do to
as many of the new members of the Legislature as we can.
We also want to touch base with returning legislators and
maintain those relationships.
The Regular session of the legislature should be eventful from
a number of perspectives that could impact the practice of
physical therapy and the health of West Virginians.
One issue that has come up again is the licensure of athletic
trainers. The WVPTA has met with the West Virginia Athletic
Trainers Association on two occasions to negotiate the
change from being registered to being licensed to practice.
There is anticipation that there will be other bills the WVPTA
will need to act upon as well.
For those who have never attended a Lobby Day here is a
little run down of what happens:
-

Morning Briefing and Guest Speakers

Meetings with Legislators at the Capitol
Watch a Session of the Legislature and recognition by
your local representatives. Go to the floor of House or
Senate for a picture with your representative.
Lunch
Observe Committee Meetings and additional meetings
with legislators.
Debriefing with the WVPTA staff.

The members of the WVPTA Board and our staff will give as
much or as little guidance as you need to make the day
beneficial for you and the practice of physical therapy.
Like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/wvpta or follow
us on www.Twitter.com/wvpta for an updated agenda and
timeline for the Lobby Day. Hope to see you there.

BRYANNA ORDIWAY, PTA RECOGNIZED BY THE APTA

NANCY KOENIG, HealthSouth PT MANAGER

The Physical Therapy Department at HealthSouth Mountainview

Rehabilitation Hospital would like to congratulate Bryanna
Ordiway Physical Therapist Assistant, Program Coordinator for
being recognized in Advanced Proficiency in the area of
neuromuscular treatment by the American Physical Therapy
Association. The APTA Recognition of Advanced Proficiency
Program recognizes physical Therapist assistants (PTAs) who
have achieved advanced proficiency through education,
experience, leadership and as part of the PT/PTA team in a
specified area of work. This brand signifies that the recipient has
gone above and beyond entry-level education in their selected
area of work and sets the recipient apart from other providers.
She will be recognized at the 2015 APTA Annual Conference at
National Harbor in June.
Ms. Ordiway has been practicing since 2002 when she joined the HealthSouth team. She developed her skills
through rotations on varied diagnostic teams (TBI, CVA, SCI / Musculoskeletal). Served as program leader of the
Spinal cord injury team facilitating program development, staff education, and community outreach through
support group activities. She has developed as a mentor/educator through teaching lab sessions to West Virginia
University PT students and Pierpont Community and Technical College PTA students in areas of spinal cord,
amputee, stroke, and traumatic brain injury.
Ms. Ordiway further developed her professional skills through pursuing a Bachelors of Science degree in Allied
Health Administration which led her to a role as Program Coordinator where she coordinates OT/PT/SLP services
at an offsite clinic associated with HealthSouth Mountainview.
She has expanded her vision of her role through accepting responsibility as the PTA caucus Chair for the West
Virginia American Physical Therapy Association chapter as well as President of the PTA Special Interest Group for
West Virginia.
Ms. Ordiway demonstrates accomplishments and skills that set an example for everyone who has the privilege to
work with her. She is to be commended for her commitment to the PT profession and the patients she serves.

2015 APTA HOUSE OF DELEGATES HEATS UP

D. SCOTT DAVIS PT, MS, EdD, OCS
WV Chief Delegate

The 2015 House of Delegates (HOD) is rapidly gearing up with

discussion of several motion concepts. It is important to
recognize that these are possible motions, which may
eventually become Reference Committee Motions (RCs). The
upcoming house is a bit special in that it is a bylaws year
where bylaws may be amended. The HOD has hosted several
Virtual Town Halls, with the most recent being December 9,
2014. The West Virginia Chapter is part of the Midwest Caucus
and we have had one online meeting and another is scheduled
for Wednesday, December 17th. In addition to these virtual
meetings there has been tremendous discussion on the HOD
message board.

SAVE THE DATES:

WVPTA Annual Conference
Stonewall Resort
April 24-26, 2015
WVPTA Annual Golf Scramble
April 24, 2015 (Time TBA)

The following represent a brief listing of the current motion concepts being discussed:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Changing the House of Delegates position statement on Medical Necessity

PTA members serving in non-officer positions on the Board
Physical Therapists role in diet and nutrition
PTA members serving as Chapter Delegates
Life members serving as Chapter Delegates
Changing the term of office for the Board members
Sections having a vote in the HOD

As a reminder, I am the current Chief Delegate; however, I will be passing the reigns off to Kelly Terry DPT after the
Spring Conference meeting. Kelly and Ralph Utzman PT, MPH, PhD will represent the Chapter at the 2015 House of
Delegates, June 1-3 in National Harbor, Maryland. There is currently an open position for the alternate delegate,
which will be voted on in the upcoming Chapter election. If you have an interest in learning the inner working of
the APTA and you are looking for a great way to serve the Chapter, please consider running. The newly elected
person will serve as the alternate this year and would not be required to travel until 2016.
If you have questions/comments or you would like to learn more about these motion concepts, please feel free to
contact Kelly Terry [odell8@mctc.edu], Ralph Utzman [rutzman@hsc.wvu.edu], or myself [dsdavis@hsc.wvu.edu].

INSURANCE UPDATES
SALLY OXLEY, PT, OCS, CHT, CMDT
WVPTA Payer Relations Committee Chair
PEIA - From the recent Public Meetings, the new healthcare plan would need to cut $40 million from their
healthcare budget for next year, $30 million in benefits for active employees, $3 million for county and municipal
employees covered by PEIA, $4.5 million for pre-65 retirees and $4 million for Medicare retirees. For active
employees, the menu of cuts includes increasing out-of-pocket maximums for family coverage, increasing
deductibles, increasing primary- care office visit co-pays by $5 to $20, increasing specialist office visit co-pays by
$15 to $40, doubling the outpatient surgery co-pay to $100, doubling the Urgent Care visit co-pay to $50,
eliminating coverage for massage therapy and for removal of impacted wisdom teeth, among other options. Ted
Cheatham also is looking at instituting a Healthy Tomorrows program, which would increase the annual deductible
by $500 for employees who fail to meet standards to encourage healthy lifestyles. In the first year, the only
requirement would be to name a primary-care physician. In the second year, insurees would have to have a
primary-care physician and report their blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol and waist circumference. By the third
year, insurees would have to have blood pressure at or under 140/90, glucose at or under 125, and cholesterol at
or under 245, to avoid the higher deductible. Cheatham said it will be one of several initiatives to promote healthy
lifestyles. PEIA is finally getting to the place where we have the tools for members to take care of themselves, he
said. Other tools include an online version of the Healthcare Bluebook, to compare provider cost and quality for
143 common medical procedures, as well as for 115 commonly prescribed prescription drugs. Josh Sword, who
represents teachers on the Finance Board, noted that part of the reason for the benefit cuts is that employer
premiums for PEIA have not increased in three years. Cheatham said PEIA could not consider a premium increase
this year because the governors budget recommendations for the 2015-16 fiscal year does not include additional
funding for employer premiums for PEIA
BrickStreet- There have been some payment delays since Brick Street introduced their new Jopari System.
Practices that are not using Jopari and continuing to send paper bills are not having the issues.
United Health Care When verifying benefits for patients with UHC the cap on the number of visits is a hard cap.
Even if Optum authorizes visits beyond the 20 (or whatever visit) cap they will not be paid.
Medicaid Initial authorizations for the Medicaid Expansion Plans are coming through in 2-3 days for the first 6
visits. Second authorizations are taking about 2 weeks. It is difficult to get authorizations beyond 12 visits.

Medicare Congress must act before March 31, 2015 to stop payment
cuts due to the flawed SGR formula. If they do act:

The 2015 therapy cap will be $1940.00, up $20.00 from the

2014 cap.
The $3,700.00 manual medical review will not expire
March 31, consistent with the expiration of the agencys
authority to provide therapy cap exceptions.

NEWS FROM THE PRACTICE COMMITTEE

RHONDA HALEY, PT, DPT, GCS, ATC
Practice Committee Chair, WVPTA
As 2014 winds down and 2015 begins, we have the perfect opportunity to
reflect on the past year, to review the current legislative rules, and to
engage in new opportunities for all physical therapists and physical
therapist assistants in the state of West Virginia.
The APTA is calling 2014 A Transformative Year in Physical Therapy.
The profession has adopted a new vision statement that has been
energetically embraced by the members. The APTA is working to
transform the association with member offerings that are more interactive
and streamlined, to transform the profession through bold initiatives
including the Physical Therapy Outcome Registry and the Integrity in
Practice Campaign, and to transform society by having a level of direct
access allowing for evaluation and treatment in all 50 states plus
Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands beginning January 1, 2015.
The APTA describes 2014 transformations that include better data, better
access, better choice, better effectiveness, and better awareness. A visit to
the APTA homepage will lead all to the link for the 2014 numbers which
will make all members proud.
The West Virginia Board of Physical Therapy has a link to the General
Provisions for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants.
Below you will find a few of these provisions specific to the Scope of
Practice, the Supervision of a Physical Therapist Assistant, and Continuing
Education:
Scope of Practice for Physical Therapists.
7.1. A physical therapist may perform the following:
7.1.a. Examine, evaluate and test patients/clients with mechanical,
physiological and developmental impairments, functional
limitations, and disabilities or other health and movement related
conditions in order to determine a diagnosis, prognosis and plan of
treatment intervention, and to assess the ongoing effects of
intervention: provided, that electromyography examination and
electro diagnostic studies other than the determination of
chronaxia and strength duration curves shall not be performed
except under the supervision of a physician electromyographer
and electro diagnostician;

WVPTA Spring
Conference 2015
Outline
KRISTINE GRUBLER, PT, DPT
Education Committee Chair,
WVPTA
The WVPTA Spring Conference
will be held April 25-26 at the
Stonewall Jackson Resort. Please
watch for the full conference flyer
and registration which will be sent
out later this month. Highlights of
the conference are listed below:
Is Your Tool Box Up To Date?

Dr. Matthew Walker, Dr.

Charles Shuff, Stephen
Summers, PT: Spinal
surgeries; Pre-Op
Instructions and Post-Op
rehabilitation for the
spinal surgeries

Stephen Summers,
PT: Mobilization of the
Nervous System

Ralph R. Utzman PT,

MPH, PHD: Current
Concepts in
Management of Patient's
with Parkinson's
Disease

Deborah Mattingly,
PT: Stress Management
and Yoga

James A. Dauber, PT,

DPT, DSc, OCS, SCS: Dry
Needling: Theory,
Evidence, and Current
Concepts in Practice

7.1.b. Alleviate impairments, functional limitations and disabilities by designing, implementing and
modifying treatment intervention that may include, but are not limited to: therapeutic exercise, functional
training in self-care in relation to motor control function; mobility; and in home, community or work
integration or re-integration; manual therapy techniques including mobilization of the joints, therapeutic
massage; fabrication of assistive; adaptive, orthotic, prosthetic, protective and supportive devices and
equipment; airway clearance techniques; integumentary protection and repair techniques; patient-related
instruction, mechanical and electrotherapeutic modalities, and physical agent or modalities including, but
not limited to, heat, cold, light, air, water, and sound;
7.1.c. Reduce the risk of injury, impairment, functional limitation and disability, including the promotion
and maintenance of fitness, health and wellness in population of all ages; and,
7.1.d. Engage in administration, consultation, and research

Supervision of a Physical Therapist Assistant

8.1. In all practice settings, the following are required:
8.1.a. An initial visit shall be made by a physical therapist for evaluation of the patient and establishment of
a plan of care.
8.1.b. The physical therapist shall make the final visit to terminate the plan of care unless the patient or
physician terminates the plan of care.
8.1.c. No more than 4 physical therapist assistants, physical therapist assistants holding a temporary
permit, or physical therapy aides, or any combination thereof, can be supervised by a physical therapist at
any one time
8.2. Supervision requirements of a physical therapist assistant depend upon the practice setting in which
the care is delivered:
8.2.a. When care is delivered in a hospital or other acute-care center, free-standing, outpatient, or
independent practice setting, a physical therapist must provide on-site supervision, with the exception that
general supervision is permitted in a hospital or other acute-care center, free-standing, outpatient, or
independent practice setting 40% of the time once the physical therapist assistant performing treatment
has at least 1000 hours of experience. The supervising physical therapists shall document when general
supervision is utilized under this subdivision.
8.2.b. General supervision may be utilized when care is delivered in a skilled/unskilled nursing facility,
distinct part skilled/unskilled nursing unit or swing-bed unit in an acute-care hospital, home health, or
school system setting, and the following requirements must be observed and documented in the patient
records when general supervision is used:
8.2.b.1. A physical therapist must be accessible by telecommunications to the physical therapist assistant at
all times that the physical therapist assistant is treating patients; and available to make a joint onsite visit
with the physical therapist assistant within 24 hours as prudent practice indicates.
8.2.b.2. The physical therapist must visit the patient at least once every 10 physical therapist assistant
visits, or within 30 calendar days, whichever occurs first.

8.2.b.3. In the event that the

supervising physical therapist
changes, the new supervising
physical therapist must discuss
the patients diagnosis and plan of
care with the previous
supervising physical therapist
before the next physical therapist
assistant visit is made. Either
physical therapist must document
such communication.
Continuing Education
10.3.e. Clinical instruction.
10.3.e.1. Providing clinical
instruction to physical
therapist or physical
therapist assistant
student(s) enrolled in a
CAPTE approved physical
therapist or physical
therapist assistant
program can qualify for up
to a maximum 8 units per
year.
10.3.e.2. Four weeks of
clinical instruction is equal to 1
unit of continuing education.
This new year provides new
opportunities to learn and advance our
practice as physical therapists and
physical therapist assistants. The WVPTA
and the APTA have many options for
those wanting to network, keep up on
legislative changes, and to become
engaged in research. The APTA is holding
a free legislative insights webinar on
Thursday January 15, 2015. The
Combined Sections Meeting will be in
Indianapolis February 4-7, 2015. The
WVPTA is having the Annual Conference
in April 2015 at the Stonewall Resort.
PTNow through the APTA continues to
look for professionals to review and test
current practice in the profession. It
seems 2015 is going to be a pivotal and
exciting year for all of us!

THE NATIONAL STUDENT CONCLAVE: MILWAUKEES BEST

AMANDA ALTHOUSE, SPT, HFS

This past Halloween weekend, Milwaukee, otherwise known as

Brew City, was brewing more than the finest craft beers. The
city was also brewing professional development in the finest
physical therapy and physical therapist assistant students from
across the nation. It brings a whole new meaning to
Milwaukees Best. Of the three distinct national conferences the
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) hosts each year,
the National Student Conclave (NSC) is a unique conference
dedicated to the professional development of PT and PTA
students. Over the course of three days, students had the
opportunity to attend various lectures about leadership, career
pathways, residency options, financial management and global
health involvement. In addition to attending various lectures, a
large focus of the NSC was devoted toward students interacting
with candidates for the Student Assembly Board. After a
weekend of getting to know the values and goals of each
candidate, students were able to vote for the board members
they felt would serve student interests best.
The Student Assembly Board is the voice of thousands of PT and
PTA students across the country. I believe its important for
student autonomy to remain active in the voting process. Its
comforting to know we have an intelligent group of student
leaders looking out for us. The elected president, Fred Gilbert,
claims he will help others [students] recognize their potential
and transform the Student Assembly by optimzing involvement
to improve the student experience. This clever take on the
APTAs vision eloquently speaks to the power of student
autonomy.
Personally, I enjoyed how interactive the NSC was and I was
impressed by how effortless the APTA made it. For example,
there was a specific NSC app that students were able to
download. This app allowed each student to create an
individualized schedule based on the events he or she wanted to
attend as well as with candidate information, exhibit hall times,
and activities occurring outside the conference center in the
evenings. The most interesting feature on the app was the badge
collecting game. All students who were registered on the app
were able to receive badge codes when attending events. This
was a fun way to promote friendly competition and meet other
students from around the country.
Attending the NSC allowed me to meet over one thousand PT and
PTA students from over thirty different programs. It was an

NATIONAL STUDENT CONCLAVE NEWS

NSC NEWS: EXPLORING YOUR
PATH
ALLISON HALL
Ralph Waldo Emerson once advised,
Do not go where the path may lead,
go instead where there is no path and
leave a trail. While we might all be
on the same path as PT and PTA
students, we each have the
opportunity to make it our own.
However, sometimes it may not be so
easy to decide where our trails should
lead amidst the numerous
assignments, exams, projects, and
practicals each semester. I would
have to say flying by myself for the
first time, rooming with students
from three different programs, and
meeting many of the 1,100 SPT and
SPTA students at National Student
Conclave was one of the best
experiences I have had during PT
school to figure out where my own
path may take me. After attending
NSC, I believe it is the perfect place to
take a break from classroom learning
and explore your P.A.T.H.
P--Passion. One of the most
important steps in determining what
your path may be is finding a passion.
This year at NSC finding a physical
therapy related passion was easier
than in the past. Do you think you
have passion for global health and
service learning? Or would you enjoy
building your own private practice?
This year there was no need to limit
yourself. You could attend both in
addition to learning about several
other pathways including PTA
advance proficiency, teaching,
research, and entrepreneurship. In
case that did not help you tune in to
what you may like best,
representatives from all of the 18
sections were available to talk to you
in the exhibit hall.
A--Advocate. Once you have found
your passion, advocating for it is the
best way to make sure it stays around
to be your passion. NSC proved

excellent way to network with peers and professionals. One thing I

learned at the NSC was how crucial connections are within our field
of practice and education. Jody Frost of the APTA mentioned, In
2014, PT was the number seven best job in the USA with 73,500 job
openings. PTA is the number seventeen best job with 23,500 job
openings. To me this is says we are growing. With growth comes a
wealth of opportunity. I speak for many students when I say
networking, professional development and planning my future
career have helped me to gather an idea about how I can best serve
my profession.
We are lucky to be apart of a healthcare profession that offers such a
vast array of possibilities. The lectures presented on Friday honored
our prospects as future PTs and PTAs. I attended four different
lectures including opportunities in research, global health, expert
clinician residencies, and teaching. The nice thing about the NSC
schedule is that students have the option to attend the presentations
they feel best suit their future goals. I attended these four lectures
because they were all career paths I could see myself pursuing as a
physical therapist. All of the sessions left time for a question and
answer session with the students and those presenting. I felt this was
especially beneficial for students interested in pursuing a residency.
The demand and rigor associated with a residency leaves many
questions for students, primarily, Is it worth it? The consensus
among the three guest speakers was yes. Each speaker pursued a
residency at different times in his or her life, ranging from
immediately after graduate school up to ten years after practicing in
the field. Though they completed a residency at different times in
their lives, the reason why they embarked on the journey was the
same. They felt there was so much more they still had to learn. It
was promising to know that a residency can truly be achieved at any
time in a physical therapists career and it proves that as healthcare
providers we need to be life-long learners.
In addition to the activities and lectures occurring in the conference
center, the NSC inspired the creation of several organized events,
which took place in downtown Milwaukee. Both PT Pub night and
the Physical Therapy Political Action Committees Halloween party
took place on Friday, offering a fun and relaxed environment for
students and professionals to interact outside of the conference
atmosphere. With over 180 in attendance, there was truly no place
better than Brew City to host a PT Pub night. PT Pub Night is a
popular event occurring in 40 states and 70 cities across the nation
each month. According to the PT Pub Night website, This is where
the future meets the past. Its where PT students and seasoned
professionals stand side by side, forming a bond at the intersection

advocating for your patients and

profession can in fact be fun.
Throughout the weekend, PT PAC
and Foundation for PT held social
events and campaigns to provide
students with a welcoming
atmosphere to network and raise
money for our efforts on Capitol
Hill and funding evidence-based
research. Additionally, the second
day of sessions aided students in
becoming the change to propel
our profession by learning how to
create student advocacy groups
and continuing such efforts as
early professionals.
T-- Take opportunities. Take
opportunities as they come to you.
You may stumble upon something
you really enjoy. If you were not
sure what opportunities are out
there, the Student Neighborhood
and exhibit hall delivered plenty
from which to choose. The
Student Neighborhood was filled
with national and state student
representatives ready to assist in
finding a good fit for you. Many of
the booths in the exhibit hall
informed students about job,
residency, and volunteer
opportunities. For example, the
Pediatrics Section was looking for
volunteers to assist kids of all
abilities in a mini triathlon at their
SoPAC conference next fall in
Pittsburgh, PA.
H--Have fun. By and large, APTA
conferences are a place to
network, make new friends, and
learn while having fun. What is
unique about NSC is that it is for
students only. It affords the
chance to meet people who will be
the future leaders in physical
therapy, and it allows you to
create relationships that will last
through other conferences and
ultimately help you in your career.

between the experience that brought us to today, and the passion and
ideas that will lead us into tomorrow. I felt as though the event tied
seamlessly into the theme of the NSC. After all, the idea of the NSC is to
meet peers from across the country, make life-long connections, and
network with mentors, employers and APTA leaders. I hope to continue
to expand PT Pub Night in the state of West Virginia. As a member of the
WVPTA Student Special Interest Group, I can proudly say that we were
pleased to host our first PT Pub Night this past August and a second in
October. I hope it can continue to grow in popularity so that someday
between Marshall, WVU, and Wheeling Jesuit University we can have
over 180 in attendance.
A goal of the NSC is for students to utilize resources to ease the transition
from student to professional. I felt as though Saturdays resume building
activity and presentations including financial management, leadership
and a guide to the national boards fostered this transition. Passing the
boards, applying for a job, and managing student loans within the first
year of graduation can be an overwhelming thought. I found that each of
these lectures offered key advice and constructive information for the
new professional. My favorite of these activities was the leadership
lecture. Former APTA Vice President of Education, Janet Bezner, inspired
me when she said, Leadership doesnt end with leading patients to a
better lifestyle, it continues with what legislatures think about us and
what other health professionals think about us. We [the APTA] believe
the risks if we dont talk about this are too high. If you think education is
expensive, try ignorance. I realized that when I graduate, professional
development and leadership skills are imperative to who we treat, who
we work with, and what we aspire to accomplish in the future.
Leadership ties into everyday life as a physical therapist. I hope to have
made my first step to becoming a future leader by attending the NSC. It
doesnt end with completing graduate school, passing the boards, and
making sure I show up to work everyday. The NSC has helped me to gain
further knowledge on how leadership can expand through completion of
a residency, providing international physical therapy service, conducting
research, and educating others.
At the end of my three-day journey in Milwaukee, I was convinced
this years NSC had nothing less than an audience filled with of the future
leaders of tomorrow. It was not just Milwaukees best, but physical
therapys best. I have adopted so many new aspirations and learned
about opportunities I didnt even know existed. This has led to a
newfound excitement for what my future may hold. Margaret Drabble
once said, When nothing is sure, everything is possible. Although I
cannot predict the exact path I will end up choosing in my physical
therapy career, the NSC has taught me the possibilities are endless.

The next chance to catch NSC is October 22-24, 2015 in Omaha, NE. Between now and then there are several other
conferences to attend and ways to get involved. I encourage any readers to reach out to the WV SSIG or any
sections in which you may be interested so you can start creating your own path.