Q&A with a PT regional director

Dan Baughan is a physical therapist and senior regional director for ATI, a physical therapy company with clinics in several U.S. states. 

CareerBuilder: How would you describe your job to someone you just met?

Dan Baughan: I'm what is called a senior regional director. I oversee the clinical operations for about 15 clinics. I stopped treating patients about a year and a half ago, but up until that point I was treating full time.

CB: What do you think is the most rewarding aspect of working in physical therapy?

DB: Obviously the biggest part from a reward standpoint is being able to change people's lives and qualities of their lives, to help them get back to doing a particular activity or job or sport. You feel like you made a difference in people's lives, and that's a pretty cool feeling. The situation I'm in now, because I oversee how the company has expanded, there's a pride that comes in delivering that service to communities that didn't have it before.

CB: What are some of the challenges of working in physical therapy?

DB: Challenges from a physical therapist standpoint would be time management and organization. The outpatient setting is a lot different from the inpatient or rehab setting, because you have to see multiple people at a time. You have to be able to multitask and keep your thoughts organized. And you have to be able to deliver a message to patients that can make them believe you have the skills to make them better. If you don't exude confidence, then that particular patient won't have confidence in themselves getting better. There are a lot of personal skills involved that they don't necessarily teach you.

CB: What do you look for when hiring physical therapists for ATI?

DB: I take a look at the affiliations they have from school. Most schools want you to do affiliations or internships in a variety of settings. We look for how they did in the outpatient setting, where was it, how does it compare to us? And then you're trying to surmise from that information what type of clinical skills they have. Then, through the interviewing process you're trying to

see what kind of personal skills they have, and if they have the customer service skills to provide the type of service we deliver.

CB: What kind of customer service skills do you look for?

DB: The biggest thing that I see is that physical therapists come out of school and think because they have a knowledge base they can just make a person better with the knowledge they have. There is so much more to physical therapy. You're spending time two to three times a week with this person, for about an hour a session. You have to get along and create a rapport with that person. Most people, if they put their mind to it, they can do that. Other people who might have a hard time with that need to be working on those skills as a volunteer prior to going to school.