If we had just walked to the garage and grabbed another ball, we’d still have been able to play-- Instead, we had a broken bat and some explaining to do. So many times, in my physical therapy career I observed similar happenings. Watching as physical therapists tried to make do with what they have instead of taking a moment to utilize additional resources.
Growing up, my friend Sam lived down the street by the Little Calumet River on the southeast side of Chicago. He had a great big backyard that sloped gently away from his house toward the water. The back of his garage was solid tan brick it worked perfectly as a backstop for playing homerun derby.
One glorious day after several days of rain, we reignited our friendly competition. Amid our trash talk, we found a ball and strolled around to the back of the house. That the days off did not sit well with my arm, my first pitch was fortunate to not get evaporated by Sam’s bat. It went right past his wild swing for a strike. The second pitch was thrown just as accurately and just as hard. However, this time the swing was not wild —it connected perfectly. Greg Luzinski would have been proud.
The homerun cleared the evergreen hedge and took two giant hops before rolling into the river. It was the deepest home run either of us had ever hit, but it also cost us our only baseball. The game ended in a first-inning walk-off.
However, we were resourceful kids there was no need for us to go buy another ball from the store. It didn’t take long for us to find the gravel at the river’s edge-- We realized we could hit these rocks almost as easily as we could hit any ball. Soon the rocks got bigger and shortly after that, the bat broke.
As a physical therapist , I observed similar happenings. We start with resources that serve us well, but then something happens. Whether it’s continuing education, mentorship, online tools or even equipment--we start to make do with what we have instead of being committed to using additional resources.
As our clinic begins to wear down and our equipment is no longer suited for optimal care we just roll with it instead of repairing it. How many PT clinics have you seen that have broken equipment or continue to use tables with cuts in the fabric? Or that have adjustable pieces of equipment don’t adjust anymore?
I had a multitude of assumptions when I was treating in the clinic about resource scarcity. Most of those were false stories I was telling myself. I thought I was helping by NOT spending money, in reality I was failing to invest in places where Alliance was eager to help.
We convince ourselves that we must make things work in their inferior state. We fall into the trap that there is humility and resourcefulness in making do with the resources we have. of Whether we think it’s cost savings or convenience, it’s not okay. Complacency is a killer and the patients are the ones who end up paying for our mistake.
The commitment to providing excellence in the delivery of care includes being committed to making sure we are not allowing bad habits to take root out of convenience. Controlling costs does not mean cutting corners.
Having a partner like Alliance can help you not only identify things you’ve stopped seeing but also help you prioritize getting back on track.
Don’t accept less. Stop hitting rocks with a stick—take the time to go back and get a ball