[00:00:01] Nick: On this episode of “In The RACK” podcast.
[00:00:03] Marissa: I started doing a little bit of PT on the side. And I loved it the days where I got to be in that setting. So I started thinking, why do I feel so differently when I'm going to work in my like 10-7pm clinic job and I'm jumping out of bed at 6am for a patient at the gym.
[00:00:29] PODCAST INTRO: Welcome to “In The RACK” podcast, where we provide you with the practical framework for breaking PRs in all facets of health and wellness. We are just a couple of bros giving you the simple house in a world of complex wants. No filters, no scripts, no rules, just straight talk, talk tune. Now, let's get into the rack with your hosts, Dr. Chad and Dr. Nick.
[00:00:55] Chad: Alright, everyone. Welcome to another episode of “In The RACK” podcast. I'm your host Chad and with me is my co-host and fellow physical therapist, Nick. Today we have actually another fellow physical therapist “In The Rack” and her name is Marissa. I always have to make sure. My batting average is pretty good. She's from “Magnify Physical Therapy”. She has two locations as far as I know, Dover and Portsmouth. So she's been here before. But we were like, man, we get to have you on the podcast because our models are very, very similar. So I know that a lot of the stuff that we're going to be talking about today is going to be very similar. There's gonna be a lot of crossover. So love to be able to get in the weeds with you today. So she is you're a CrossFitter too. That's like plenty of things. So she loves CrossFit. But she's also board certified neurological clinical specialist, NCS. She's the first NCS we've had on which is awesome which is really, really cool. So actually, probably the first neuro anything.
[00:02:08] Nick: Because you don't typically see the neuro specialists in outpatient.
[00:02:11] Chad: It's unique. Now, that's good.
[00:02:15] Marissa: I have a fun story about that.
[00:02:17] Chad: We literally just had a patient text me this morning and asked if we did BPPV treatments. And I was like, we do but we don't specialize. I actually have somebody coming on the podcast today and I gave her your name. So I'm sure she'll be reaching out. So I have sent a few other people there too, because we dabble but we know our limitations. So it is good to know other.
[00:02:44] Nick: I think I turned your head, right?
[00:02:47] Chad: Just finished right to finish left now. So that's why they're gonna go see Marissa. So Marissa, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, and “Magnify Physical Therapy” and all that?
[00:03:03] Marissa: Cool. Well, thank you so much, guys, for having me. Every time I walk in here, I'm like a kid mechanic. This is the dream. So it's really cool to have colleagues in the area. And I feel like I can look up to you guys and we can just chat about things. And so I really appreciate your time here.
[00:03:22] Chad: Absolutely. Thank you for coming.
[00:03:23] Marissa: Oh, love it. So I'll start a little bit about me. And then we'll kind of go into “Magnify PT”. So I had been a physical therapist for eight years. And I started mostly working in acute care in hospital setting cute rehab, really fell in love with the neuro population. It just struck me how people couldn't even do simple tasks, like standing up from a chair, things that I took for granted every single day, and did hundreds of times a day. And someone couldn't do that that really kind of struck my heart. So I'm like, “I want to help people who are the weakest of the week.” So a couple years into that field, I was feeling kind of stagnant. Everything was just kind of going through the motions wasn't really feeling challenged. And that's when I decided, why not? Let's go do a residency for Neuro. And it was totally crazy. I went to Jacksonville, Florida for a year and did my residency through Brooks’s rehab. And it was just incredible. I met so many great colleagues and PTs who were also wanting to be better and just not go with the norm and, and not just conform. So they asked a lot about, why do you do certain things? Why have you been treating people this way for three years? And I was like, “That's a good question. Because it kind of works.” So that was really cool. Just to learn a little bit more and explore and try different things. And one of the things that stuck with me the most when I was there was one of my instructors said, Marissa, we have all this great equipment here. But you should be able to do a quality physical therapy session, whether you have the high tech equipment, or whether you have a stick. And that really, that really drove it home for me of like, “Wow, I don't need to have all this fancy stuff.” And also we need to make this really meaningful and valuable. So after that came back home to New England, after that, you're down there in Florida. And I'm from New Hampshire, originally, my family's here. So I wanted to be back up in the Northeast, and got back into acute care, acute rehab, did a little bit of outpatient neuro, and then there was an opportunity where I was in a CrossFit gym, as an athlete, myself. And the owner there was like, “You're a PT, you should do PT here” and just kind of came up organically. I'll go back in a second to how CrossFit kind of got integrated. But from a timeline perspective, I started doing a little bit of PT on the side at the gym. I wasn't even charging people for it, just kind of like, “Hey, do you have some shoulder pain?” Let's go through and allow. Let's try this. And I loved it. The days where I got to be in that setting. I like jumped out of bed. I was so excited. And so I started thinking like, Hmm, this is this is interesting. Why do I feel so differently, when I'm going to work in my like 10-7pm clinic job and like, can't make it through the day. And I'm jumping out of bed at 6am for a patient at the gym. Like this is interesting. So there came an opportunity couple years ago for me to get out of that medical system. And it was one of those things where I'm like, “Alright, I guess this is the time we're jumping ship and starting the practice.” So that's where “Magnify Physical Therapy” came into fruition. I thought a lot about cash based system. And that had been a process for a couple years before I officially went full time. But I just love how I'm able to really give people the full value of not just getting good enough, insurance isn't cut you off when you're 70% better, just because you checked a little box on the outcome measure, we can get to that full 100% and really test the limits of your everyday life. So that's what I'm really passionate about.
[00:08:00] Chad: And you can do it your way, you are not going to do it their way, which can be on those gaps way.
[00:08:05] Marissa: For example, I started seeing someone for shoulder pain. But through the process, they're like, “I meant to tell you I'm also having hip pain and knee pain on the other side.” And I'm having some elbow stuff great. Let's look at everything because you’re a whole person.
[00:08:25] Nick: Absolutely, that's awesome. I love that from your story is that basically one piece of advice I actually heard from Nick St. Louis, who goes he's the foot collective. So he basically just said, find out what you love to do in life and find a way to make money doing that. And that's a really good advice and that's exactly what he did. You're like, “Man, I like this way more.” Not that you didn't like it. It kind of felt mundane, it felt like work. And then this other thing didn't and you're cool. I can figure out a way to make money off it. So that's awesome. But the neuro background is super interesting to me just because from the cultural PT perspective, you go into the hospital and you deal with people with strokes, that's just what you do. So you have this kind of unique lens that you can take, and because I'm sure going through that your residency, you dealt with a very different population than what you see on a day to day basis. So that lens you get is pretty cool that you can see that because I'm in chat and we see that, I go home and have conversations with my wife, she does pediatrics and she's telling me this stuff and I'm like, it's so different from my day, so we see a lot of the similar presentations. So having that that background probably gives you an added bonus when looking at these people all the stuff you're talking about that person who said like elbow, whatever. You're taking that that more neural approach which, which is super important in that regard if they're having all those things got it, though.
[00:10:06] Marissa: What I found so striking too is in the hospital, maybe you'd be working someone that had an acute spinal cord injury. But then at another part during that year in my residency, we would be seeing people in an outpatient setting, who were 10 years post stroke, and still making gains. And they had the ability to continue to get this intensive rehab. And that was so cool, because I'm such a nerd, and I'm like, “Wow, this doesn't have to stop, this healing doesn't have to stop and we can be persistent in that.” And my dream is to one day have more of that end of care. And I call it phase four of the rehab world, where let's say you have had a stroke, or you have had a spinal cord injury or brain injury, but you want to get back to doing things like you did before, whether that's recreationally or sports or being outside being active, that doesn't have to stop two, three years post injury, we can keep, keep pushing, keep training.
[00:11:13] Nick: We've asked the healthcare system a lot on this podcast. So we'll just go ahead and do it. Like, this was a big thing. So I went to Springfield College, and they have a stroke group there. And most of the people in that group are 10+ years outside of their stroke. So I had a good amount of experience through school, in that population, as well and it's just crazy. Because the healthcare system, once it hits that six month, it's like, “Nope, that's what you have gotten in the last six months, you're done”. Like, that's it, that's all we can give you. It's chronic now, and there's nothing else that can be done from, from a healthcare perspective. It's like, “Whoa, hold up, that's not the way it should be. But that's the way it is.” So things like that to help people continue to make strides is huge. And it's not just strokes, it's everything. Someone who has a knee injury, like your brain remembers that injury. So the chances of you have the biggest indicator for an injury is previous injury. So the chances of that knee flaring up again, at some point are high. And people will probably come across that at some point. So being able to have the tools and strategies and confidence to manage that, when that when that you do come face to face with that is super powerful. And that's kind of where we're to outperform, that's our market really, we don't do as much we used to do a ton of post op, a ton of acute injury, we don't do as much unless they're returning patient typically. So it's more so than the maintenance phase that phase four, like you were talking about.
[00:12:50] Chad: I think a lot of the postdocs that we see nowadays too, I guess you could say, “Phase 03” before they're in their “Phase 04”. Just like, I don't know what to do, I have nowhere else to go. I've tried everything. Now this is the last resort. So I feel like this is a fun step for a lot of these people. And it's not only gratifying, but it's also tough to write because like you're trying to fix a resort fix. We're trying to rehab somebody that has been in the system for so long. So now it's like there's this mental component in this physical component that we're challenged with. How many people do we get like that, “Wow, I can't believe this is what physical therapy actually is.” And that is the reason why we do what we do, that gets me up in the morning where I feel good about what I do, because everybody that comes in is amazing. Like, this is nothing, I've ever experienced. This is my drive.
[00:13:55] Marissa: And it's a shame that people are finding, finding out about that later, and we just had this great experience right at the beginning. Can you imagine how quickly you might have recovered or one thing that I do have to say, in general, the fitness community really is making strides at looking at this holistic wanting to have movement as medicine and even for the adaptive community, there are strides being taken for this. And at the same time, it's sad that our own medical professionals aren't being pioneers in this area. And I think that was one of the things that brought me to CrossFit. It was my one of my final clinical as a student and it was a manual therapy outpatient clinical, and my CI Steve Moran, he's a great guy owns CrossFit Crossroads physical therapy in Connecticut. And he has a CrossFit gym right across the driveway. And he said kind of jokingly, Marissa, in order to pass his clinical, you need to take CrossFit. Like, no excuses. It's right across the driveway. And he's like, “Haha, just kidding” but really go get your butt in the gym. And I grew up as a ballerina and a dancer for 16 years. So I had never, I never weighed trained, I never lifted. Even in PT school, we never learned how to properly do a squat or a push, or a pull up like, “Oh, don't get me on that so far.”
[00:15:34] Nick: You learn how to properly do external rotation.
[00:15:37] Marissa: That's cool. So that was honestly, an entire turning point in my journey, as a PT as an individual. I've learned how to move. And then that motivated me, I need to teach other people how to move well like this. So and it kind of snowballed from there.
[00:16:02] Chad: Nick, and I talk about that all the time. Like, it's very rare that we go to any PT conferences, now it's all Fitness based, or coach based, because it not only jives well with our model, but we have a better relationship with that type of model, if you will.
[00:16:21] Nick: And that type of person too I've got, I don't know about you guys. But I've gotten to the point where a lot of times I don't want to say I just assume that some of the strength coaches are a little bit more knowledgeable in the general movement realm than the actual physical therapist, but I'm close to it, where I'm talking to some people, and they're just concerned about how they're moving the leg. They're like, “Oh, should I go see, go to PT?” I'm like, get it, get a good trainer first, get a good strength coach. Like the PT will be there. But it's kind of bad that's where PT has gotten where, we're the “Movement Specialists”, and people really can't even let alone coach up the movement. They can't see, so it's bad.
[00:17:11] Chad: It's bad. I guess that's a good segue into this question which is, where do you see the field of physical therapy? And where do you see it going? Like, where is your vision for physical therapy? Where would you like to see it go? Like, do we feel like we're where we need to be?
[00:17:29] Marissa: That's a great question.
[00:17:30] Nick: Save the world right now.
[00:17:32] Chad: I only ask, somebody asked me that question. That's when I was like, that's a really good question.
[00:17:37] Marissa: I kind of see the field of physical therapy diverging into two different directions. The first thing that I thought of was the PT teams that I've worked with in the hospital setting in acute rehab, they are so knowledgeable, I've worked with incredible people who are so passionate about helping their patients get better, really providing quality interventions, I can see that on a daily basis in the acute care setting. Those people are trying to do the best that they can. And it's just the hospital and the medical system that kicks people out, and insurance doesn't cover it and that's a limiting factor. But in that, in that lens, I think we do still have a lot of work to do, as far as advocating for our patients in that setting, calling the doctors to task and saying, they can't go home, they're not safe, we need to do more digging as far as why their balance is off, they're not going to go home like this. And then in the outpatient world. The last time I was there, two and a half years ago, almost three years ago now. I was not happy with where the direction where it was going. Very cookie cutter based as PTs in that setting, we're so afraid to push our patients to challenge them, because they might be in pain, and then they might not show up. And that's not to say that we put our patients in order they're in pain, but I think there needs to be more conversations about holistic living and we're gonna zoom in on your knee pain and just for your knee. I feel like we need to do a lot better right now, the cash based solution gives us that ability to go outside the norm to not have any of those restrictions, how we need to treat patients. But I'd love to see that as the norm. For sure this nature needs to be the norm.
[00:19:51] Chad: And I always say too. I feel in the NFL. The nice thing about physical therapy is that we have a wide scope of press, this is like we can do pediatrics. We can do geriatrics, we can do neuro. Like, it's so cool. We have so much that we can do and it really disturbs me when people like really bash the professional PT sucks, PT is so cool. There's so much shit you can do like how many other professions can you have 50 different options. I don't absolutely off top my head. But I think that especially in our model. In the outpatient setting, I feel that it almost needs to go where and no disrespect to doctors. But I feel that we as doctors and physical therapy needs to become more of the primary care providers, not saying we're becoming the medical doctor, but we can be this wealth of resource for patients. Nick's got his functional medicine certification like badass, we can talk about nutrition, we can talk about sleep, we can talk about recovery, we can talk about physical therapy, but I think if you're just providing physical therapy, I think you're providing a disservice to the patient, because by just saying, my shoulder hurts, and then you do your banded external rotations for days. I think it's a complete disservice to the patient. There are so many other factors that play into that pain or into what's going on with that person that we can touch on.
[00:21:20] Marissa: Absolutely. It's crazy.
[00:21:22] Nick: I think it’s a disclaimer too. So, Chad, and I talked about the negatives of just the field of physical therapy a lot, we and we're primarily referring to outpatient care, what Marissa was describing about this unique group of individuals in patients that are helping people massively. It's almost like we should have a different name. It's inpatient, outpatient, but if we keep them the physical therapists, and then we make our name something. Because they do such very similar work, but in what they're doing, I couldn't do it. And I knew I couldn't do it just because it takes so much more mental fortitude I feel when you're in that type of a setting and I'm just weak minded.
[00:22:17] Marissa: It's super high risk. Now it's fast paced.
[00:22:19] Nick: But it's just very different. So we're not necessarily when we're bashing the field, it's more so about the outpatient specifically, just because of the things we were just talking about. But I think you're right, I think more of that primary care type role would be would be huge, you should probably work with a good physical therapist with some regularity, not just when something flares up. That's the big perception, I think we have to change. It's not like you don't just go to a physical therapist, because something hurts or something's broken, or something's torn, whatever you go because you have a relationship with them ongoing for the rest of your life. And they check in on things just as your PCP would and they check in on things from a different perspective.
[00:23:12] Marissa: Something that happened, as you're talking, it reminded me of a story. We have Facebook group for this CrossFit gym that I'm a part of, and people will post on there often like, how do you know if you have a shoulder injury, or who do I go to see for shoulder stuff? And they're asking for doctors. And my initial response is, “How dare you?” I'm right here, I'm one of your coaches, how do you not know, and then it hits me, they don't know that we can be, I can look at your shoulder, I can diagnose and treat come up with a plan. I don't need imaging for that. Great, sometimes imaging is helpful side note, but 90% of the time, based on what we know about the body about how we move, we can do that. That's part of our skill set. So having a better awareness in our individual communities, but then the community as a whole, call up your PT get in there that will be more effective and more efficient than going to see your PCP who's going to not understand all the complexities.
[00:24:27] Chad: And that's part of our job and that's our fault. As physical therapists, we didn't do a very good job at explaining what we can and can't do. We don't advocate well for ourselves. We don't and chiropractors do a great job at that, we don't and people will go, or everybody knows that if they go to a chiropractor because they have a spine issue. I was like, “Why do you think that is?” Because they do a really good job of marketing for spine and we don't, so we dropped the ball there, but you're right. It's us advocating in the community. It's us advocating to our current patients, it's spreading this awareness. So they're just like, “I don't have to see a doctor, I can see a physical therapist. There's direct access in my state. I don't even have to on the new script, I can just go walk right in.” So these patients don't know this. I literally just had that conversation with that patient the other day, I'm like, “You do know that you get to see us without a script.” He goes, “Really?” She goes, “Wow, I've worked.” She works in HR, where she actually does benefits for employees. And she goes, “Wow, I really had no idea about that. I'm so scared.” They just don't know. And I used to get upset about that too. But it's like, who should I really be upset at the wrong people.
[00:25:41] Marissa: Exactly. And sometimes it feels selfish. Like, I never want to be prideful and everyone needs to come see me because I'm the best but if we don't tell people were doing them a disservice. Like, it's not a pride thing.
[00:25:57] Chad: Exactly. And then once you get to the point where you're more recognized in your community, people are gonna start speaking for you, and I'm like, “Nah, just go to Magnify or go to ProForm. They'll take care of you instead of saying, go see Dr.” So that's when you start having your patients speak for you, you know you're there and it’s typical.
[00:26:21] Nick: And that's probably the way to change it on a cultural level, is everyone does their own job and their own little community, and then that carries over into the community and so on, we're not gonna go to knock on the doors in DC and we need to change this right now. Because listen to our podcast, we talked all about a great plan. It’s not gonna work. Now some change has to be made. And some of the onus is on the PT, some is on the consumer. We all have to do our due diligence. And, and I tell that to patients all the time, you need to take in as much information as you can about your particular situation. See, multiple specialists, see different people get different perspectives, research stuff on your own, ask other people if they've had this particular injury, or pain or whatever. And then you got all this information, and then you decide what's best for you in this moment with yourself, your family, your current situation, because it's different for everybody, for sure.
[00:27:23] Marissa: And developing a network and a team around you, I know what I can do as a PT. And I know there are things that I'm not going to give you a full hour massage, you need to go see someone else for that, let's work on different pieces. So I've been loved building my network, my dream team. And there are some really great personal trainers that what you're done with PT, I'm not loving, I'll do a little strength program for you, but for what you need, go see coach there, go see coach, like they will have you in good hands.
[00:28:02] Chad: So the patients will respect you for that as well. Like if there's something that's outside of the scope of your practice if somebody's, “Hey, do you treat vertigo?” you’ll be like, “No, but I know somebody that does,” they were the other day that somebody was like, “Hey, do you know of anyone that does massage?” So I gave them this massage. And we're like, “How about acupuncture?” I must gave out like five referrals. And I'm like, “No, I just have a good like you said network, or a good team.” Because but seriously, though, if you've developed that community in that network, it's super powerful. It's not only powerful for referral sources for you, when somebody has an issue that they need physical therapy, but also you are an ultimate resource for your patients for a multitude of things. I refer patients to psychology, I got two psychologists that refer to any mean, we've got a pharmacist that we refer to a dentist, do you like referred someone, see what I'm saying? But I know somebody that does play with mushrooms. That's your thing. So it's fun, and it's true. So you got to have a person for everything and it could seem so far out there and you can meet this person. I'm never gonna use this person. Somebody's gonna ask me about.
[00:29:32] Nick: That's actually been a great thing about this podcast is enhancing the network a little bit. Another good way our go to for dentistry done in Boston actually it's a previous podcast, but I'm a patient of his and that's how we started that network. So if you're dealing with issues, you can always go to trial someone out and test out some sample riders that way, create your network that way, but also just top whether it's a podcast form or whatever the case is and develop the network that way too.
[00:30:10] Chad: And it doesn't have to be competitive in any way. We're both physical therapists, we have trainers on the podcast all the time. Like, it's great to talk shop, but it's also like, we're not a great fit for everybody. So if somebody is on the podcast, like you know what versus seems really, really cool, those “ProForm” guys, I'm all set. So you never know. So it's nice in that fact to where we're promoting you and your business. But it's also a good way for us to get to know you better. And that was the whole purpose of this podcast. And everybody always asked me, they're like, “Ah, what are you gonna do with it?” It's like, admission is local. It's just local. We like to just establish relationships with it, we'd like to promote people, because that's what it is, we'd like to support people and we'd like everybody to have a resource and we want to see everybody succeed. So that's just the way it is.
[00:31:00] Marissa: It's so validating because right now, I'm only solo PT. And I miss working with a team. I miss bouncing ideas off of people across the clinic, I got so and so coming in, like, what would you recommend or super validating? I'm not crazy. Like, we're going into this different direction, uncharted territory, you guys are killing it so I look up to you guys.
[00:31:28] Chad: I know and I appreciate that.
[00:31:29] Nick: I appreciate that. And this is fun, this is just fine. That's what it is. And you got you got more of a team than you think, obviously. And then you're talking about like the immediate team. You'd be in that close to CrossFit, you got the coaches there, all that kind of stuff. And that's the beauty of social media nowadays is you can be in touch with someone like that, and someone that maybe you've never even met in person, which is a crazy concept. We take a step back and think about that is kind of crazy. You've never met someone in person across the world. And you have numerous conversations pretty in depth. And it's like, “Oh man, I really liked this person. You really have no idea who that person is.”
[00:32:10] Marissa: It's kind of literally happened to me. I had gone through a PT entrepreneur program when I first got started, and met some people virtually through that process. And then one of them ended up moving to Boston, and she has her cache practice in Boston. And she was up in like the seacoast area over Memorial Day. And she's like, “Hey, Marissa, I'm gonna be around, do you want to merge together?” So we actually like two years later, we actually get to meet in person that's cool. Work out together, die together.
[00:32:44] Chad: For sure. But I think that's also the tough part nowadays, with people wanting this instant gratification. It's all for the long term benefit. I met a coach at that raise the bar conference. And this guy, he's unbelievable. This guy is located in California. But he's already sent me three patient clients of his, one of which was my patient first, and then her husband came. And then now I got this other guy coming in a couple of weeks. It's so powerful. And people take it just like, “Ah, it's not gonna matter.” It's like, why do you want to throw some stuff everywhere? It's like, “Dude, I'm old brain.” If I didn't do that, that guy wouldn't know who I was. So I don't know, there are things that we've done, that are still taking place that could take another year. Do you know what I mean? So it's the long game, and you just have to just keep doing it. But the more that you do all these little incremental things over time, they're all just going to happen at once.
[00:33:53] Nick: Just compounds.
[00:33:54] Chad: Because it's the thing that we did three years ago, it's just happening now, I think we did a year ago is happening now. So it all just eventually just adds up to one.
[00:34:05] Marissa: That's not exactly what we tell our patients. I know, this doesn't make sense right now. But we're in it for the long game and it's tough when you know the end goal, you're gonna get there. But as that patient in the process, or as the business owner that's growing in the process, do we really know that this can work out? So many similarities with that.
[00:34:31] Chad: We have a lot of PTS that listen to this podcast to some of which own their own practices as well which is awesome to have. But with that being said, with your business, this is two years. So within those two years, what has been the most challenging part of being a quote unquote “Business Owner” and If there was anything that you could tell yourself two years ago, that would have helped you, whether avoid challenge or whatever it may be, what would that be?
[00:35:11] Marissa: Gosh, those are great questions.
[00:35:14] Chad: It's my podcast.
[00:35:16] Marissa: I love it. So I think honestly, the most challenging part, for me, has been all the little things that I do, if I stay up late to do that whole work life balance. At the beginning, it just seemed never ending. So I had a hard time with boundaries. And also, sometimes it was really challenging when my friends would be like, you want to do this or do that? And like, “No, I can't, I know, I have a flexible schedule” and these were healthcare providers, they just didn't get it. So that was tough to kind of weather the storm and I felt really alone.
[00:36:02] Chad: Gosh, you hit the rackets.
[00:36:08] Marissa: And I think what I would tell myself is keep believing. Don't give up on that dream. It does work out. This is what you're supposed to be doing. And I would just say that again. And again. Because it's so it's so different than anything else I've ever done. And the satisfaction I have, I really believe that it's a calling, it's not just a job. It's not just something that I'm doing to make, eventually, hundreds of 1000s of dollars. That's not the goal really, how I feel I can best help people. So don't let go of the dream.
[00:36:45] Chad: But you brought up a great point. Owning your business and being an entrepreneur is very lonely place to be, and that's why it's nice to have a network. And you almost have to constantly reevaluate your circle. Because if there are people in there that are holding you back, or always questioning what you're doing, and making you question yourself, then you have to question whether or not you want them in your circle. So because they don't get it and then they don't have. Nobody's saying they do. But unless you're actually there, you won't be able to fully understand right now. It's tough.
[00:37:25] Marissa: And then when you find people that get it, you're like, “Oh, we're keeping you around.”
[00:37:30] Chad: And that's very powerful to have. You need that for sure. You get it. So other than that, the only other thing that I the only other question that I had for you, because I know we're kind of running out of time. But the only other question I had for you was, you've gone through this whole clinical specialty. I know that there are probably people out there that are like, “I want to do a clinical specialty. Like, what's that process look like?” Because whether it's OCS or NCS or whatever, is that something that is a process where you have to fill out an application online? And then you have to do a residency within a certain network of places, how long does that take and what is that overall process look like for something like that?
[00:38:15] Marissa: Great question. And I don't know how this relates for OCS and different other specialties. So I can only comment on my experience. But I never thought I would do residency or a specialty. I'm like, “No, I don't need to do that, but here I am.” I loved it and it's a great decision. So there is an online application through and I'm gonna mess up the abbreviation I think it’s ABPTS. I can see it, but it just doesn't get that I got you. So there's an online application. And once you apply to that general program, you have an option of looking at several locations throughout the country. Every residency program has a different time commitment. Some of them you can do remotely, you don't need to be there in person, but they're always mentoring hours that you need to have someone being with you as you're treating. And then also continuing education hours, so many different requirements. So through my process that I went through at Brookes, there was an interview process, you really need to make sure that you fit in that environment and that they think you're a good fit as well. So that's super important too, because I was looking at going a couple different places. And this one really spoke to me. So making sure that that's a mutual fit. And then this program was a year’ long, and it was 40 hours a week you are working in some type of clinical setting. So we worked in the skilled nursing facility and we rotate like every couple months, all different documentation systems to that. She's skilled nursing facility, outpatient, and then there was inpatient neuro and brain injury floor, spinal cord injury floor stroke floor. So you got intensive time, 40 hours a week in that setting. We had classes at night. I honestly don't know how we did it all. But somehow it happened classes at night, we can see us, we had different projects. We had to create a couple of different case studies, case reports. I actually have one that is finally out for publication. I submitted it. So we'll see if it gets accepted. But that was four years ago, and it's coming back around. But the mentoring was absolutely incredible to have someone different than when I was a student with a clinical having someone ask you those questions, why are you doing that or also providing support? And you made the right decision. That was a really complex situation, and you did a great job of handling that. But just having that colleague as mentoring that was that was by far the best part of residency. And then also meeting other individuals. There were 20 different PTs and OTs doing a neuro program doing the GCS geriatric specialty, orthopediatrics, and really being surrounded by those individuals who wanted to be better and wanted to advance the profession.
[00:41:49] Chad: I love it, that's great.
[00:41:52] Nick: It almost sounds like we should do something like that for PCPs like for people, you had a great experience, you went through this interview process, all that kind of stuff. People get strung along, where through the healthcare system and I really like my PCP. If you don't resonate with that person, that person's literally overseeing your bodily health right now. And you don't connect with that person. That sounds problematic. We should have that with you. You should shop around for PT, all that kind of stuff. Just like you would shop around for a program like that. Because it's your health and your life you're talking about.
[00:42:27] Chad: I think a lot of people don't understand that they also have an option. I think that's the problem. There's not enough awareness like it can go anywhere? Well, obviously, if you have an HMO, PPO like fit that changes things, but you still have an option now for sure. If you have a list of doctors, you should probably go through the list and not just say this one is close. Because convenience is always the best option unless you're in Salisbury, and you live in an area.
[00:42:57] Nick: That's pretty good.
[00:43:00] Chad: I think that's a great point, for sure. So what does the vision of magnifier look like? Where are we headed next three to five years with this?
[00:43:13] Marissa: It gets me fired up. So right now, my two locations are nestled within a CrossFit gym, each of them, which is awesome, I feel like I have such great ability to interact with those members. They're the coaches, the staff, the team, super visible, and it just makes sense. You're having difficulty in that space. Let's rehab you in that space. But eventually, I'd love to have my own little safe place where anyone can access me, I do the dream. There we go again, the dream really is to be the CrossFit provider of choice for those athletes in the seacoast. So having a space where we will have a squat rack in in my location. But being able to also be accessible for people who have neurologic injuries for them to come in. And to help them get to be extraordinary, not just good enough, and to have a space for that. I'd love to grow and have another couple PTS, another admin, and just to be an incredible resource to that Seacoast community. So I love it. It's in there.
[00:44:33] Chad: I love it. It works. It'll happen. That's awesome. It took us five years to have our own standalone space. So it takes time. But it's all worth it and you can look back on it and be like, I remember when I was in that little office, little office chair. Nick and I were sharing 800 square foot. Like now how did we ever do that?
[00:44:57] Nick: That's crazy. What do you think back to it? I was doing agility drills in there.
[00:45:03] Chad: One treatment room with 4PTs.
[00:45:07] Marissa: Oh my gosh.
[00:45:10] Chad: But we made it work. And we're super grateful and appreciative for what we have now. So I think it was worth it to go through that. So if people are interested in working with you, Mercer, how can they find you? Whether it's Instagram or website?
[00:45:23] Marissa: Instagram, for sure. “Magnify Physical Therapy”, also my website, the best spot to go magnifypt.com I offer free phone consults. So if people just have questions, I'm struggling with some back pain. What do I do? I love having that interaction with people and pointing them in the right direction maybe this would be a good fit for you or maybe not. So on my website, there's a spot. I have an online calendar. You can see all the different types of individuals I work with. I am also on Facebook. I think it's very similar “Magnify Physical Therapy”, YouTube.
[00:46:08] Chad: And I'll make sure to take that in the show notes too, so that people can just click the button instead of having to listen to this. Anything you want to add? Like, is there anything you have coming up that you want to put out there?
[00:46:21] Marissa: Oh, that's actually a great idea. And I thought you guys are doing a breathwork workshop too. So that must be the vibe going on.
[00:46:28] Chad: Is that what you're doing?
[00:46:29] Marissa: Yeah.
[00:46:30] Chad: What do you do on yours?
[00:46:31] Marissa: August 2.
[00:46:36] Chad: August 2nd, so that's a Wednesday.
[00:46:40] Marissa: So I'm partnering with Heather. She's a breathwork coach. It's awesome. I'm just so excited. It’s so important. Just to have the time to talk about those things.
[00:46:50] Nick: Honestly, those workshops we've done like the breath related stuff, those are the big days.
[00:46:54] Chad: We do the biggest ones. You didn't want it to be? Because last year and that was huge. And then everybody ran in the ocean after it was. Now, that's awesome. Send me that information, and I'll put that out soon.
[00:47:14] Nick: We got that. One last question, what's one piece of health advice that you could offer listeners today that they can implement right away today?
[00:47:22] Marissa: First thing that comes to my mind, sleep, get your sleep. Just dial it in. That is where it starts. That's where your body does all the best recovery. And if you're having trouble with sleep, we can chat about that for sure. That's something that you've been designed with as your natural recovery. So start there, sleep is huge.
[00:47:48] Chad: Awesome. Great. Well, thank you, Marissa. Thanks coming on down. Look forward to all of your success and growth in the future.
[00:47:57] Marissa: Thank you.
[00:48:00] PODCAST OUTRO: Thank you for joining us “In The RACK” this week. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future episodes. You can also find us online at proformptma.com, or on social media at ProForm PTMA. And remember;
“If you train inside the rack, you better be thinking outside the rack”.
