Are you running your practice or is it running you?

My name is Katie Hohman and I live in Orlando, Florida with my amazing husband and 2 boys.  I graduated from PT school in 2006 from the University of Central Florida (go Knights)!  I wanted to take a minute and tell you a little bit about my story as a PT and a clinic owner.  

My Story

Two years out of PT school I found myself working in a hospital outpatient clinic.  After a year there I still felt out of my element; I loved my patients, got results and was a hardworking and dedicated therapist, but I felt like I didn’t fit in with the team or connect with my manager.  

My assumption was confirmed when my manager brought me in for my annual review and gave me a $0.33 raise.  (Keep in mind, her role in raises was to distribute a pot of money amongst the team and clearly, I wasn’t valued enough to get a bigger piece of that pie.).   I remember vividly going home upset and trying to figure out how I could get them to see my value and my worth as part of the team.  I stayed late to accommodate patients, I gave each visit my everything, I got results and patients came in just to see me.  Patients loved me.  But because I didn’t attend their Mary Kay parties and I didn’t connect as well to 40-50-year-old therapists that rolled around on their stools and pointed patients to the next exercise machine, I was isolated.  So, what did I do? I started baking cookies to bring into the office for these ladies.  And to my surprise (and hope), that was all it took to get a stellar review the next time around.  It was really sad.

Now working in a hospital-based system, my reviews weren’t the only thing that made me crazy.  It took an act of Congress to try to get a $30 dynadisc purchased to work with my higher-level neuro patients; and it never did happen.  That was really the last straw for me.  I knew I had to get out of there, and I knew I could do it better, even if I really wasn’t sure how. 

The Dream

I wanted to open my own practice where I could put the focus on the patient and not the bureaucracy of the hospital system.  I wanted a place where I could grow the culture of my team.  I wanted to be able to do it MY way.  And I opened my practice in 2009.

Check out my next blog post to see how I made my dream work….