Evangelists
In every industry there are individuals who do not work in the field, but play a critical role to the environment and progress of that industry. These people fall into 3 categories: Trolls, Non-vocals, and Evangelists. I will explain: these terms:
Trolls
These "creatures" were first described to me by author, speaker, and marketing guru Scott Stratten (@unmarketing) at the APTA Private Practice Section annual conference 2011. These are the world's a-holes who criticize everything. The people cannot be reasoned with and do not warrant consideration or efforts. Thankfully, trolls are not often encountered in Physical Therapy.
Non-vocals
Patients can be transitioned from non-vocal to either troll or evangelist, based on influence of interaction and experiences. These patients may understand the benefit of PT and have successful interactions with therapists, but are not sharing this with others.
Evangelists
The patients who have the best experiences with a Physical Therapist will often become evangelists. They don't just tell others, they proselytize! Like anyone who consistently finds value in a service or product, they are hell-bent to make sure others have the same experiences.
In my limited experience, PTs are too humble to take advantage of the many Evangelists we create. If a patient thinks a therapist is God's gift to those with LBP, this should not be discouraged. Cultivate the enthusiasm! We need the Evangelists if we are to change public perception.
Thanks for reading!
Please share your thoughts.
Good post, Dave. I agree and would add that generally speaking, PTs are too quick to discount their services and/or not take credit for positive patient outcomes. The more interesting thing, however, is that the same PTs often feel it is some fault of their own if a patient is not improving with therapy intervention. If we hope to move forward as a profession, it is important that we start taking credit for our work when it is due, and as you said, let the patient praise our work to anyone and everyone they so choose!
ReplyDeleteProsetylism eh? I was just having the discussion with my CI about how we need to better market our profession and all that we can do for people. Too often we are the "nice" people of the friend group. This leads us to not brag about our services, we don't want to come off pushy or like we are trying to scam people or sell to them. We do need to advocate more for our profession.
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