As I was walking out the door of my office one day last week, it caught my attention - the date on my diploma. There it was, the date it all started - May 28, 1988. It hit me with resounding clarity. I laughed and shook my head as I closed the door. Time sure does go by fast.

It's hard to comprehend that I have been a physiotherapist for 25 years today. That's a quarter of a decade. No wonder there are days when I feel tired.

I was once told that a person goes through, on average, five career changes in their lives. I have yet to hit the first one. With all jokes aside, it has been a long journey filled with great experiences, amazing patients, inspiring clinicians, and more challenges than I care to imagine.

After some reflection on the past 25 years, here are 25 thoughts - in no particular order - of some things I have learned along the way.

Read more...

It would appear that the Republican Party has kinda-sorted agreed that Mitt Romney kinda-should maybe be their presidential candidate in the 2012 election. Maybe. Well maybe not. Today, definitely. Maybe.

But as I have always maintained, truth is stranger than fiction. It appears that the lead-up to the election is going to get more and more bizarre, which is more and more disconcerting for the well-being of this country.

In the meantime, there is more fresh rhubarb to discuss. This episode of the Rhubarb Report deals with cars, sports, and politics. How insanely original is that?

Read more...

Words are powerful. Language is everything. And if you are going to map out a vision statement, it better use the right words and the right language. Otherwise, the meaning and intent can change rapidly and may in fact be counter to your original goals.

Which brings me to Vision 2020 and the seemingly incessant debate over the importance of entry-level degree relative to the development of the profession and its brand - and all of the variants on that theme.

I am convinced more than ever that the professional brand is, without doubt, far more important than the degree that you have attained to be a part of that professional brand. But what became readily apparent to me today during one of these debates is that the mechanisms underlying it lie not in skill or experience or degree. The problem begins with Vision 2020 itself.

The vision has gone awry. We're all starting to feel the effects of 10 words that truly make a difference - in intent, and in action.

Read more...

Two lanes of asphalt stretched out before me. The sound of the rubber against the road. The gentle vibration of the car beneath me.

Peace. Tranquility. I am not sure you can describe it any better than that.

For years, writers and musicians have expressed their sentiments about the open road and our cultural fascination with the automobile and all that it represents. There is something tantalizing and adventurous about being out on the road. Maybe it is the freedom that it evokes within us. Maybe all roads lead to somewhere – and nowhere – at the same time. Maybe it reminds us that it is all about the journey, and not the destination.

For me, it is about the insight that springs forth when faced with a blue highway and nothing but time on my hands.

Read more...