The Forgotten Duty (that everyone should do)
The forgotten duty is something that actually occurs every day. It’s happening behind the scenes at all hours of the day. It never sleeps. For if it were to rest, it would lose ground. Losing ground could ultimately lead to death.
Not only is it always happening, but it’s also everywhere. Where can you find this duty? It’s right in front of us every day. Some of us notice it, while others don’t.
It’s so engrained in the culture that it’s invisible. Unless you are on the frontlines of it.
What is this forgotten duty?
Advocacy
The Forgotten Duty
What is advocacy?
The dictionary definition is “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal”
It’s easy to understand that you are supporting something when advocating. But what is the act or process? That’s pretty vague, right?
I have a much better understanding of that process after years of advocating for the physical therapy profession at local, state, and national levels. This is the best I have in describing that process.
The advocacy process is educating people on your cause with the goal of creating awareness of it or shifting an existing perspective that previously contrasted the cause, which leads them into a path of agreement. This path of agreement is not always achieved or sometimes takes years for it to happen.
I know that was a mouthful. But I think that’s as simple as I can put it. Read it a couple of times to understand so that way we don’t have to waste time talking about it here. Talking about advocacy is boring. So let’s get to the meat and potatoes of why you need to be doing it.
That’s Not My Job
I think the biggest argument against advocacy is that people don’t feel like it’s there job. I’ll let someone else handle it. Unfortunately, if you aren’t doing it, then who is?
That answer is two-fold.
Well, first and foremost, your opposition is doing it. That’s how that world works. There is always the opposite of what you believe. That opposite feels just as strongly as you do about their opposing cause.
The second part is if not you, then who? Exactly, that’s the problem. Usually, the people advocating for a cause is a small percentage of the people who actually believe in it. That’s the sad truth. There is strength in numbers, but the numbers are usually lacking when it comes to advocacy.
The Importance of The Duty
The main reason advocacy is important is because people need to know what you do. No profession or cause is exempt from this. If people don’t know then it will ultimately lead to the death of the cause.
In physical therapy, this is something we do every day primarily out of survival. We are a fairly new specialty as compared to history of other medical professions. Also, we are fairly low in the medical hierarchy with doctors and other specialties dominating the medical space.
Without advocacy, physical therapy likely wouldn’t exist.
We are advocating for our profession at all levels from the treatment room to the national level on Capitol Hill. Let’s break these arenas down.
Capitol Hill
Do you know everything about everything? No, of course not.
Well, neither do politicians. You’d be surprised how uninformed they are about your cause. Many of these individuals have no clue what physical therapy is. Yet, they are voting on things that directly impact our profession. That’s a scary proposition.
A recent example is an 8% cut on Medicare spending for physical therapy services. How does that benefit the elderly population? It doesn’t.
In addition to not knowing your cause, these politicians might be better informed on the opposing cause. How could that happen? Well, the opposer could have set up their relationship first. Or they have more money to throw at their cause than you, which better informs these politicians.
This is where strength in numbers matters. You need manpower or money. Preferably both. That’s how the game works.
The Clinic
A large number of patients come into the clinic with no idea what physical therapy is. As physical therapists, it’s our job to advocate for our profession to every patient. This advocacy work includes educating them on the process and what the profession represents.
The profession of physical therapy is a profession of movement experts specializing in helping you to restore function, decrease/eliminate pain, and improve your overall quality of movement and life.
You see. I’m advocating for the profession right now to you. Advocacy can be as simple as having a conversation.
In fact, that’s where most of the power is. It’s at the grassroots level. The people who have the most authority on Capitol Hill are not physical therapists. It’s our patients. The ones who share their stories of how physical therapy saved their life. The stories are what move people to take a different course of action.
Also, these patients might go out and advocate on our behalf to their family and friends. This is furthering the support for our profession. While it might seem small, it adds up over time.
The Duty Pays Well
An extra benefit of all this is the connections you make.
When advocating at the state level, I was mixing and talking with the thought leaders of my profession who lived in my state. That’s how I was able to land my dream job coming out of grad school.
At the national level, I was networking with the thought leaders of the entire profession of physical therapy. These people changed my perspective on life and my career.
Why wouldn’t you want to do that? Doesn’t it make sense from a career standpoint to go where there is a high concentration of people that are influencers? You never know, these people might turn into mentors and completely transform your career in ways you didn’t imagine.
I know it did for me in numerous ways. And while I didn’t get paid upfront for my work, it translated to my downstream salary and the opportunities that were available to me.
If you still need a little incentive to advocate, I recommend reading the article I wrote, “On Fire: The 3 Pillars of Rejuvenation and Growth.” This might help shift your perspective on why it’s a necessary duty for your own well-being.
Ok… So How Do I Do It?
Maybe at this point, you are seeing some of the benefits of getting involved. But what’s the next step?
Below are some of the activities that I’ve done to advocate for my profession. This might get the wheels rolling on how you can get involved in a way that is specific to your profession or cause.
Another suggestion is to seek out your local organization or associate that represents your cause. In my case, it’s the American Physical Therapy Association. Give them a call and tell them you want to get involved. Just like any organization or association of that nature, they’ll need the help.
See what they say and take action on it. Explore all avenues as it might open up other doors that you were unaware of.
This same process can be down for the national level too.
In Closing
Regardless of what you have done, or haven’t done, get involved today. Start having conversations with the people around you. Get comfortable talking about your advocacy efforts to others. Friends. Family. Strangers. Whoever.
Remember that you aren’t shouting at people to get them to believe you. You aren’t arguing with people. But rather, enacting an education process that’s creating awareness around something they might not be aware of.
Hold the positive space within the conversation. Be understanding of their perspective and beliefs. And continue to do the work. Because if not you, then who.
Until Next Time,
Dr. Craig Bowen
