I believe many patients of color do not pursue physical therapy because they don't see themselves. This causes them to believe physical therapy is a luxury. By the time we see many of our patients of color they have often formed severe chronic and debilitating functional patterns because physical therapy was not accessible for them or was not marketed to them at all. We may not want to believe that color or culture matters, but it does when trust is being built with a population that has been ignored or manipulated for so long by the American Healthcare System.
The healthcare system will often place hurdles in place to prevent access to or to weed out certain groups over time.This is also seen in the adding of testing or higher degree requirements at Universities to achieve acceptance or licensure into a specific profession.The American Physical Therapy Association made that decision when they transitioned to a doctorate for all new physical therapy students after 2015 and for all schools to only offer doctorate programs by 2020. For many practicing physical therapists this means that somewhere down the road without that DPT behind their name they may not be as marketable as a physical therapist with that clinical doctorate. This is one of the reasons I went back to get my doctorate, because I knew it would be another way for the system to weed out physical therapists, especially those of color and I wasn't about to let that happen.
My parents have sacrificed too much for me to allow the system to hold me back, along with my love for what I do. With my DPT behind my name I now split my time between treating in the hospital and building my private practice clients at my new company BOSS Physical Therapy LLC. I am here to provide physical therapy for all of my clients. One of my emphasis is on showing patients of color that there are physical therapists of color ready to help them today before they lose their mobility and quality of function physically. Physical Therapy is not a luxury it is essential to maintaining good health and mobility long into your senior years. Let me answer my own question, Yes, color and culture do matter in physical therapy the same way location and services matter when deciding on what equipment is needed in your business to be successful. Contact us to learn more about our unique approach and therapeutic services we offer at www.bossphysicaltherapy.com
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