Do PTs get paid enough? That question is seemingly always up for debate. In the latest video, Jenna and Phil have a frank discussion about PT salaries and how they compare to other professions.

Dear New Grad PTs and PT Students,

I sat across from the owner of the company and he asked what I was expecting for a salary. The interview had gone well up until this point, but now I froze. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t expect to discuss salary, let alone have to give a number I wanted.

I thought about it and gave a number that I thought was way higher than the typical offer. The next day I was offered the job and the salary I requested. We hadn’t negotiated or anything, I had just thrown out a number and they honored it.

I didn’t take the job, but I still wonder how much I left on the table by going first. When you are in an interview or a negotiation, you want to avoid going first. Here are ways to answer the “What kind of salary are you looking for?” question.

• I know you have a much better idea of the role and the expectations and I trust you will come up with a fair salary.
• I know that a lot more goes into the overall salary and I...

When discussing our careers, we often only focus on big picture things and achieving huge goals. It's important to focus on the small wins we experience daily and weekly, too. After all, big goals are made up of small steps.

Dear New Grad PTs and PT Students,

When you get to the end of your first (and every other) interview, the company is going to ask you if you have any questions. If you’re me, then you’ll scramble to ask a superficial question that you probably could’ve figured out from the company website. Then you’ll go home and think of endless meaningful questions that you could’ve asked instead.

You won’t do that. Instead, you’ll refer back to these three questions:

1.  How do you measure success in this role?

This question does way more than just give you an idea of the expectations for the role. It can help you clue into what the company values. Do they mention the number of patients per day? Do they mention your influence in the community? Do they discuss patient interaction? Do they have a clear answer or not?

2.  What do you do really well? What could you do better?

Ask this question to multiple different people throughout the day. This...

It's important to take time to identify proud moments in your career. 

This was the simple question I was asked before I started working for RPI. I remember thinking to myself, “What a nice perk.”  I didn’t think much of it and chose a PC (the wrong decision, according to most of my co-workers). 

Yet over the last year, I realized that question wasn’t a nice perk at all. It was something so much more significant.

That question represents a core part of RPI’s culture. We are individuals. We have preferences and want different things from life and our careers.

We are unified in our desire to build healthier and happier communities, our quest for clinical excellence, and our support for each other. Yet we are individuals, and how we accomplish that, looks different from person to person.  

Some want a variety of patients, some want to treat all endurance athletes, some want to see the aging population, and others want to treat specific conditions.

Some want to work long days and have a day off, others want...

People often wonder why we're so excited to go to work everyday. Is it the paycheck? Is it the variety in what we get to do? Or, is it something else?

Do you have this key thing in your PT career?

How do you become a continuing education instructor? This is the second video in a 2-part series where we explore the steps necessary to becoming a continuing education instructor.

Dear PT Students,

Can we pause?

I know it is getting to the end of the semester, and the deadlines, exams, practicals, and stress are all starting to pile up. For the third-year students, there is finally the finish line ahead.

But, can we pause?

Wherever you are in your education, you are on your way to getting your doctorate of physical therapy. You were accepted into a PT program, and you’ve been working hard the entire time. That is no small thing.

A few weeks back, I saw a prospective PT student walking around the campus with his family. They stopped at multiple places taking pictures. He stood proudly in front of the school insignia.

I think many of you have that feeling at some point. But then you get tunnel vision for graduation and forget to stop and be proud of everything you’ve accomplished to get where you are.

While PT school is a means to an end in some respects, it is something to be celebrated.

You got here and you’ve got this.

Break Barriers,

Jenna...