Scott Webb (Host): If you're thinking about becoming a physical therapist or interested in working for Orthopedic Associates of Central Maryland, this is the podcast for you. I'm joined today by Russ Patti and Matt Masangcay, both of whom are Doctors of Physical Therapy, and Russ is also the Director of the Columbia OACM Center.

 Welcome to A Bone to Fix from Orthopedic Associates of Central Maryland Division. I'm Scott Webb, and I've got A Bone to Fix with you.

I want to thank you both for joining me today. We're going to talk through a bunch of stuff, right? About how to become a PT, how do you build your confidence, navigating the job market, fitting in at OACM and all sorts of good stuff. But Matt, I want to start with you and just give us a sense, like your introduction to the OACM therapy team. Like what was that like when you walked through the door?

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: I will say walking in there was a little bit intimidating knowing that I will be the youngest therapist and a new grad. The next youngest therapist is someone who's four pushing five years in. So the phenomenon, the imposter syndrome definitely kicked in because I felt like I was another student walking in.

But I had to remind myself that I am a therapist, that, you know, Russ brought me onto the team to be a treating therapist.

Host: Yeah.

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: Reminding myself that this is a good opportunity to be in because I can pick brains of other therapists who've been long in the game and sticking around and learning from that sense.

So that's why I chose this location was the biggest thing knowing that I am fresh outta school, there's a lot for me to learn. And why not learn from therapists who been in it longer than I have.

Host: Yeah, and I'm sure mentorship and teamwork is a big part of it. You know, part of the culture there at OACM, right?

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: Yeah, absolutely. A couple of therapists had pulled me to the side and said that it's okay for me to not know everything. What they told me, and it's true, is that when you are learning in PT school, they teach you how to pass the boards. It's only that the year and your clinicals, that's when you actually learn how to be a treating clinician.

And as a first year, I didn't have a lot of experience, obviously with being a treating clinician, so it's obvious for me to not know everything, and they allowed this environment for me to just ask as many questions as I can. Russ had the opportunity to block off my schedule to meet up once a week to talk about case studies and how to manage patients, and then gimme an opportunity to spend time with other therapists, who have different experiences and different facets, whether it's a different body part or they're experiencing, certain case studies, all that good stuff.

Host: That's great. Yeah. And you're talking about Russ and Russ is here. So Russ, let's bring you in and let's talk about the journey from graduation to practicing. I know you've been at it a little bit longer, obviously than Matt, but just give us a sense, take us through maybe the significance of clinical rotations and internships and all of that.

Like how do we get from graduation to practicing and working with patients or clients?

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: So my name is Russ Patti. I graduated from the University of St. Augustine eight years ago and took my first job here with OACM. And our mentorship and our new grad program has developed vastly along the way. Not that it was not there before, but you know, we refine things as years go on. So, you know, as Matt joined the team here, he's just surrounded by a lot of seasoned clinicians, that really were able to help form his skills, refine his skills, make him feel a little bit more confident.

 At OACM we've developed a specific mentorship program, where as Matt was alluding to, we block your schedule and we make sure you spend enough one-on-one time with each patient. Then you get a little bit of time afterwards to make sure you're doing your documentation correctly, make sure you're really thinking about your diagnosis.

Make sure that you're developing the right plan of care, because ultimately somebody's healthcare is in your hands. So, it can be a daunting task as a new graduate. And it's kind of the, the initial leap, the initial jump in that is always difficult. But just like anything else, as you get used to it, it becomes second nature and you're able to roll with it.

But I think you know what's really important here, you know, the sense of teamwork and culture, at our locations, at all eight locations at OACM have really helped foster a great environment for a new graduate. And you know, those are the types of things you want to look for when you're coming out of school.

Host: Right. Yeah. And Matt, Russ used the word daunting there, the daunting nature of what you do and walking into this situation and, working with people and developing plans and all of that stuff that you have to do.

I don't have to tell you what you have to do, you know, already know, but how do you build the confidence? Like where does that confidence come from?

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: I think a lot of it, I'm a spiritual guy, so you know, asking God, it is like, God help me through this, this eval like saying a small prayer is like, okay, I know what I'm doing, but at the same time I don't know what I'm doing. Please give me at least the confidence for me to portray what I know and, you know, the little experience I have to this patient.

 That first week, it was definitely daunting. But the biggest thing is repetition, repetition, repetition. So the amount of reps I got with the evals when I first started it, I was able to wean and build my confidence probably the first three months. Once I finished those first three months, I had a game plan, I was like, okay, I've seen it before.

This is a current plan of care that I have. This is the plan I have for this patient. And then also, I always like to be prepared. So if I see like I have an eval, try to spend time before my shift or like the day before to like really prep and really formulate a game plan when I see these patients. So I think preparation and repetition is the biggest thing to develop these plans.

Host: For sure. Yeah. And Russ, it really does seem like mentorship is so important, like a part of the fabric or the culture, if you will, at OACM. So let's talk then about the support system for new grads.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: So every clinician that joins the team as a new graduate, and really any clinician in general, but particularly our new graduates, you are linked with what we call a mentor. So you have one specific clinician, who is kind of your voice of reason or your soundboard that you can bounce some ideas off of.

When going through your first few months of working with the company, there's time blocked off on your schedule and your mentor's schedule, to where you can sit down and review the cases together, and they can lead you along the way and say, Hey, I, I think you're getting lost in the weeds.

I think you're overthinking this. Or you might want to do a little bit more research. You might want to think about this, or, based off of my clinical experience, here's what I think you should think about. And that will go on, you know, we have it scheduled and structured to go for about three months or so, where you're doing it more regularly, but then after a little while, you start to grow and spread your wings and it's not needed quite as frequently.

But we do ensure that you're meeting with your mentor throughout the entirety of your first year.

Host: Sure.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: While you have that one specific clinician with you, it doesn't stop there. I know with Matt's introduction and onboarding, we blocked off time with every single clinician that we have in here so that you can kind of pick the brains and see the different treatment and manual styles of different therapists.

So while he had me as his direct mentor, he also worked alongside with the other therapists as well.

Host: Right. Yeah. And Matt, my daughter's only 18. She's going to college next year. She wants to be a PT, so I'm a little free advice for dad here. Tell us about navigating the job market and how you got to OACM.

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: I tell people all the time when you're searching for a job, no job is ever going to be perfect. So my personal role is I made a checklist and if it checks 80% of what I want for a job, then that's the right job for me. My biggest thing for looking for a job is different than most people. My number one is the culture for it.

If you can find a group of like employees who you can get along with and you can be able to have fun, but also be professional at the same time, that's a big thing for me. Also another thing that was on my checklist is like how well the employers treat the employees. If I hear that a staff member, and this is for any job; if a staff member leaves after not even three months into the job, and it's a frequent thing, then that's one of my biggest red flags because I know there's something up with that job. That job doesn't have stability. When I first learned about this company and talking to Russ and other management about how they take pride in having their clinicians stick around for a long time, that was like a big green flag for me because as a person who is still new to the game, that's what I want is for someone to lean on and learn from for that. Obviously pay is up there too, but it's not the end all, be all. And this is what I've learned, if a company is offering you a sign on bonus, there is probably a reason why they want to hire you right away. And then once you learn about why they give you the sign on bonus and how management runs, you kind of think a lot about like, why they do it. So I tend to stay away from jobs that offer, sign on bonuses. Another thing that I was looking for in a job, especially for the PT, is that if they're willing to empower you, meaning that they encourage you to be a better therapist, where they encourage you to take these continuing education classes, get these letters under your name, stuff like that.

Always seen as a good job and encouraging people to, you know, push themselves to become better therapist, have those letters under their name, be certified, so you know, it builds a bigger market value for yourself.

Host: Right. Yeah. And Russ, let's talk about that. The letters under your name, You know, continuing ed, professional development. You know, Matt's pretty new to the game, but you've been at it a while, talk about the importance of that. Not just the letters of course, but the actual education and professional development.

The longer you're a PT and working with folks, the need for that.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: You know, you're never going to remember everything when you come out of school and at some point, the curriculums for PT schools in the United States has become so vast that you touch base on a lot of different things and there's no way to remember at all. So a lot of continuing education is kind of hitting the refresh button.

But there's a large part of it too that really is more so set on refining your exercise prescription, your manual skills. You know, if you're in the sports industry, I know the ACL is kind of the big hot topic. There's a lot of courses on that, so it's really quite important as you develop your skillset and navigate through your career and you find out what populations you want to work with or what skills you want to offer; that's what's going to kind of direct which continuing education courses to take.

You know, at OACM, I think something that we are lucky to have, as Matt was alluding to, was the clinicians that have been here for a while. So, the reason that's important in this situation is as we see our younger staff come on board and develop, we can start to see, hey, I think you might want to think about taking a course on ACL recovery, or I think you might wan to think about a course on manual skills.

Everybody comes outta school, better in some topics and need a little bit more skills in other topics. So with clinicians who are kind of able to oversee you, we can help guide you and let you know which course to take because otherwise you're just kind of holding your breath and hoping that this is the right course to take.

And it's a lot of money to spend when you're not certain about what you're doing.

Host: For sure. Yeah. Matt, let's talk a little bit more about the cultural fit, team integration, team dynamics, all of that, especially since you're, you know, so new there. And that was probably a, as you've outlined for us, you know, priorities for you, a place where you, it just felt right, where you felt like you fit all of that. So tell us more.

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: Yeah, I think personalities, I'm a pretty outgoing guy, so if I am able to like, get along with a person like swimmingly, like we became able to have like conversations back and forth, poke a little fun at each other type of thing. That was like the biggest thing for me because, you know, in this field, it can get a little serious, it can get a little heavy.

If we can, you know, share a laugh or two with like the other staff members, I think it lightens up the burden, so to speak. And, I will say this because of the personalities that we have here and everybody's approachable and outgoing and we care for each other, every day of, even though I'm tired, whether it's the night before doing documentation.

Or, you know, being burned out from working with patients all day. I'm always looking forward to coming to work every day because, I know that the staff members will always put a smile on my face that like, we can be able to still be professional, but have a good time and, have fun while we're, you know, busy in the trenches working with patients.

Host: Sure. Yeah. And Russ maybe, Matt's one of them. But I wanted to get a sense from you, like maybe have you share a success story or two, you know, current team members. So like, you know, how they went from grads to valued therapists and maybe your role in that, but just generally, a sense of that transition and you know how that all works.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: So under my management time on the last five years, I've brought on three new graduate staff members, Matt being one of them. Two of them at other locations. And what has been really great to see is day one, you can hear it in somebody's voice when they're talking to a patient. Again, it's daunting.

People are asking you questions about their health. Am I ever gonna get better? What's wrong? Is this something that needs fixed with surgery? So these are very heavy questions that can be difficult to answer and what has been spectacular from my end is having that blocked time to be able to prepare these therapists, but rather kind of listening to them become a little more comfortable in their own shoes.

And their responses are more thorough. They're more confident with their words that they're saying. So, the three new graduate staff members that I've brought on personally and are still with the company, it's been incredible to see them grow. And that's from a PT where they're doing evaluations PTA, where they're primarily focused on the follow-up appointments and working in, in conjunction with the PT.

So, that I think is probably part of the biggest success is just hearing these therapists and how confident they become, it's not only confidence in their words, but then watching their plans of care. You know, patients are now able to get out the door a few visits faster because they're now honing in on their craft.

Host: Right. Matt, here at the end, I just want to get some advice from you for future graduates. I know you're sort of like you say, new to the game and you know, a few years from now we'll probably have you back on and you'll be the old vet, you know, but right now, like advice for future grads, my daughter, other people's daughters and sons, what would be your best advice?

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: My biggest piece of advice is enjoy what you do. This is for not just for a physical therapist standpoint, but for any young adult that is still trying to navigate through school and through the professional world. It is like find something that you're very passionate about and go for it and then everything will all fall into place, and once you put in the work. It sounds very cliche, but that, that's like the my biggest advice. Second piece of advice, this is for specifically for the new grad therapist, is that never stop learning. I'm always continuing to keep learning and then 10 years, 15 years, 20 years go by, I go back on this podcast, I'm still going to be learning.

that's the biggest advice that I got from my clinicals is that physical therapy is always evolving. It's always changing, and part of our responsibility is be open-minded with the new things that are trending, whether it is dry needling or integrating AI into our documentation system. Other modalities that are are popular rising right now is to be open-minded, be willing to learn because, a therapist told me this, that if you have stopped learning, then why are you still practicing? You know, so yeah.

Host: Or it's like the human body doesn't seem to change, right? But our understanding of the body changes and how to help people get back to whatever it is, just get back to walking around the neighborhood or pickleball or whatever, right Matt?

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: Yeah, absolutely.

Host: That's awesome. Russ, give you a last word, if you will, here at the end. Just some closing thoughts and maybe some resources for future grads.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: I think a very important resource for new graduates is to use the school you come from. I can tell you as somebody who recruits and somebody who is always looking for a new therapist to join the team, I am forever and a day going to the career fairs, at the universities. I am reaching out to the clinical instructors and reaching out to the administration team at the local universities, to try to bring in a new therapist. Right? So, I mean, that's a, it's a great resource. It may seem kind of archaic and oh, you know, I'll, I'll go on LinkedIn or I'll go on Facebook and I'll see what I can find there and you know, absolutely you can do that.

LinkedIn, indeed, Those are great places. We are on those platforms, but I think what's better, is going to your university and using them as a resource, because I can tell you, for me, there are universities, we've gotten excellent therapists coming out of there. I'm going to go back to that source. I know the university puts out a good product.

So that's what we're looking to join the team. So I would highly encourage that. Encourage the job fairs, join the young professional groups where you live. I know here in Columbia, we have a pretty vast young professional group that I've reached out to a couple times to see if there are any PT or PTs in the group that are interested. But if not, you can still get involved in other forms. And I think one thing too, and, and this might be a word of advice for your daughter looking to get into it, you know, the mentorship opportunities don't just start with new graduates or therapists that are in school getting ready to graduate, it starts in high school and it starts in college.

You know, if you think this is something you're interested in, we have roles at OACM. Our technicians are typically college students who are kind of testing the waters to see if PT is right for them. So, you know, we offer mentorship there. We offer words of advice in the sense of these are the schools and the programs you want to consider.

You know, think about your debt to income ratio. So mentorship just doesn't come from a clinical perspective, but it also comes from a professional perspective.

Host: For sure. Yeah, you, that one's ringing in my ears, the debt to income ratio, but that's maybe a different podcast or when we get done with this one. I just want to thank you. Yeah. I just want to thank you both for being here today. I like this approach of speaking with a little bit more experienced, you know, PT who does some of the recruiting, training, hiring, mentoring, all of that.

And Matt, who's, you know, kind of recently through the door, and benefiting from all of that. So good stuff today. Thank you so much.

Matthew Masangcay, DPT: Thank you.

Russ Patti, DPT, MTC, CMTPT: Thank you.

Host: And to make a physical therapy appointment, call us directly at (443) 478-4449. And for everything else, please visit us at mdbonedocs.com.

Find out more about us online at mdbonedocs.com. And please remember to share and subscribe to this podcast. And that's all for today. I'm Scott Webb, and that was A Bone That's Fixed.