In this podcast episode, Melanie Hamilton-Basich of Rehab Management and Physical Therapy Products talks with Mike Studer, PT, DPT, MHS, NCS, CEEAA, CWT, CSST, FAPTA, and co-founder and co-owner of Spark Rehabilitation and Wellness in Bend, Ore, about his experience attending a transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy program and why obtaining a transitional DPT degree was the right choice for him.

Podcast Transcript

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
This is Melanie Hamilton-Basich, chief editor of Rehab Management and Physical Therapy Products. For today’s podcast episode, I’m happy to be here with Mike Studer, a long time PT who now has a doctor of physical therapy degree in addition to many other degrees and certifications, and is the co-founder and co-owner of Spark Rehabilitation and Wellness in Bend, Oregon. We will be discussing Mike’s experience attending an online transitional doctor of physical therapy program and what insights he has for other PTs who might be interested in obtaining this degree.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
Mike, you started a transitional doctor physical therapy program to obtain this advanced degree after you’d already established your career as a physical therapist and business owner and made a name for yourself in the field. Why was it important to take this on?

Mike Studer:
Yeah, Melanie, that’s a great question. I think for me, I am never really done learning. I always have had a passion for it. I was looking for another opportunity to kind of shore up some of the areas that I felt were deficient or less than my standards for my educational preparation since I graduated back in 1991 from PT school. Specifically, I felt that I had room in my life right now to be able to improve in my capacity to read diagnostic imaging, perform differential diagnoses in areas outside of my specialty sector, to be able to analyze the literature better and to be able to understand pharmacology. So I’m never done learning. This was a perfect time for me to do this exact program right now and I’m so pleased that I did it.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
Who can benefit from this type of program, do you think?

Mike Studer:
Yeah, I think there is a diverse group of individuals that can benefit. Obviously, myself and my colleagues that graduated with a bachelor’s in physical therapy would be first and foremost. Additionally, those of us in my profession that graduated with a master’s in physical therapy would be the second most likely group to benefit. The education is formidable and it’s comprehensive, so there may even be individuals that would want to partake this in their effort to reenter into the field of physical therapy after some time away.

Mike Studer:
I will also tell you, it was very intriguing, enlightening and enriching for me to be able to be a colleague with, or a classmate even with several individuals at the same time that were taking this so that they could obtain licensure in the United States. So I had the benefit of also participating in these classes with other individuals that have physical therapy backgrounds that are foreign trained as well. So I think you’ve got three major sectors, bachelors, masters and foreign trained, and then another sector of individuals that have been away from the profession looking to get back in.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
Can you share some insight into how your approach to the transitional DPT program shaped your experience, and whether your approach or perspective changed over the course of your studies?

Mike Studer:
Yeah, that’s a really good question. So my approach was I felt like I recognized the arenas of physical therapy healthcare that I wanted to improve. I saw in the program that I chose, The College of St. Scholastica, an opportunity to specifically shore up those exact areas and I’ve named a couple of those already. What I realized after I got into the program, and a few assignments helped me to understand this, is that two things. Number one, I didn’t know how much I didn’t know and that’s in terms of specifically statistics and pharmacology and less so in differential diagnoses, but I didn’t even realize how much I didn’t know. Then so that helped to reshape my approach a little bit as well.

Mike Studer:
Then the second thing that was very transformational is to get a deeper dive into the American Physical Therapy Association’s vision for the profession, Vision 2020, and now even extending beyond, so that I could actually work to prepare myself to be a better first line primary care provider and to be a comprehensive service for an individual throughout their lifespan. Now, I’ve always held that notion, but I was really able to shape that and into a true image much better than ever before.

Mike Studer:
So your question was what was your approach into the program, and my approach was to go learn didactic information, figure out how I could translate it. But as I got into the program, I was able to appreciate this broader umbrella of my role in healthcare as a provider. I feel like I’ve been able to translate now that end as a clinician through some of the projects that I did in the program, and truly I’m going to be able to effect that change over the individuals that look to me as a mentor. So I’ll be able to actually effect more than just a change on myself now. That changed throughout the program as well.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
So considering your experience, what tips or advice do you have for people themselves considering a transitional DPT program? What do you suggest they’d be looking for to find a good fit for them?

Mike Studer:
Yeah. One of the things that I really appreciated in my program, and I think this will be true for most individuals but not all, is that I was able to participate in a core set of classes and I was able to bring my area of interest and expertise, neurology and geriatrics, and I was able to kind of breathe my area into those classes. Having that permission to stay somewhat neurologically and geriatrically focused gave me, an individual that’s been out of school for decades, a little bit of peace, autonomy, agency so that I could accomplish this.

Mike Studer:
Once I got in to the program and knew that I had that permission to stay in my lane, I had then the comfort and the experience with a few weeks under my belt to start broadening my horizons, looking into pediatrics, orthopedics, women’s health, injury prevention, health, wellness, many of those areas that are well outside of my lane. So really my advice would be find a program that allows you to be yourself and then give yourself the permission to extend beyond yourself once you have that comfort of academia again. I feel like that was probably the best singular piece of advice that I looked back on and could probably pass forward to other individuals.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
Many new physical therapists are starting out as DPTs now. How does becoming a DPT benefit a physical therapist today in your opinion?

Mike Studer:
Good question. So there’s probably three different answers to that. First and foremost, I had the peace and comfort that I felt like I had shored up those main areas of concern that were insufficiently prepared in my mind for my status as a physical therapist in this day and age. So having the DPT, I could tell myself, “I’m continuing to learn, I’m continuing to try to improve and I’m doing my part for my patients.” So that’s one thing.

Mike Studer:
Second thing is to relatively level that playing field of what is expected of a physical therapist. I knew that I was not someone that was not quite meeting standards in some areas. So to have all of us doctorally prepared I believe is important so that when a referral provider or an insurance authorization, decision maker, payer, reviewer looks to a physical therapist, they can understand and know for certain that this level of preparation is uniform times all persons. I think that’s very helpful as well.

Mike Studer:
Then the third thing really is kind of that global architecture of being able to be a provider of choice that can be serving individuals in a primary care role, and really to be proficient in differential diagnosis, includes understanding pharmacology, diagnostic imaging, health wellness, and someone that can actually continuously participate in reviewing the literature and can critically analyze it.

Mike Studer:
So I’m preparing myself in that third rail, if you will, that third principle, I’m preparing myself to not only be that frontline provider for my patients right now, but I’m also preparing myself to stay up to date with critically analyzing the literature so that I can continue to be the best provider possible for my patients on going into the future. So I think those are the three main areas that I would speak to that question.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
Thank you. Is there anything else that you’d like to add about how the degree that is required or expected of a physical therapist has changed over time and how the DPT fits into that?

Mike Studer:
Yeah, that’s truly comes I think straightforward back to the Vision 2020 and where we expect ourselves to be within the communities that we live. The physical therapist needs to be the movement scientist and the movement scientist that can analyze movement, create a hypotheses, decide how to examine and further delineate what is happening with this individual biomechanically, pathophysiologically, dissect impairments, treat impairments, examine an individual and understand how they’re doing, not only physically but also psychologically and cognitively.

Mike Studer:
So really, that role of the physical therapist is the primary key there. Can you be a comprehensive total provider for movement sciences? We understand how movement affects all of the body systems. In that, you have to know exactly what you can treat, what is in your sector, scope of practice is included in that, but also to be so proficient that you can recognize what’s out of your sector and whom to refer to. So now the role of the physical therapist truly in 2022, and we’re almost at 2023, to be that comprehensive provider, a doctoral training I believe strongly is necessary because otherwise, again, I found myself two years ago as that provider that could provide great care for you if you were referred to me with an appropriate diagnosis that was accurate and in my sector.

Mike Studer:
Now, I feel like with this training, I can be a great gatekeeper for you. I can confirm that I can help you and I can better position myself to help you find another practitioner and identify what’s wrong with you, even if it’s something that I cannot treat. That’s so important because truly there’s a lot of waste of healthcare dollars that goes into all sorts of practices, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, rehabilitation providers alike, if we don’t get the diagnosis right, if we are not proficient in our differential diagnostics and we are treating without the ability to do two things, confirm the condition or measure the outcome, is this individual improving?

Mike Studer:
Now I feel like I am firmly in a position to be able to do that, and I’m confident that that’s the case. Truly, that’s why physical therapists need to be doctorally trained so that, again, we don’t waste healthcare dollars and we’re helping people in a very efficient manner to be able to achieve the potential that they have.

Melanie Hamilton-Basich:
That’s all the time we have for today. Thank you Mike for sharing your experience and insights with us. Thank you to our listeners. You can read more about Mike Studer’s experience obtaining his transitional doctor of physical therapy degree in his article Why a DPT Degree, Why Now on rehabpub.com. For more great content from Physical Therapy Products and Rehab Management, visit us online at ptproductsonline.com and rehabpub.com. While you’re there, subscribe to the publications and to our newsletters. Also be sure to check out more podcast episodes from Rehab Management, Physical Therapy Products, and the rest of the Med Core podcast network.

Mike Studer:
Melanie, thanks so much for the time, and I really appreciate the opportunity to share this with your listeners today.

Mike Studer, PT, DPT, MHS, NCS, CEEAA, CWT, CSST, FAPTA, has been a PT since 1991, board certified in neurologic PT in 1995, and a private practice owner since 2005. He has been an invited speaker covering 50 states, 10 countries, and 4 continents speaking on topics ranging from cognition and psychology in rehabilitation to aging, stroke, motor learning, motivation in rehabilitation, balance, dizziness, neuropathy, and Parkinson Disease. Dr. Studer is a co-founder and co-owner of Spark Rehabilitation and Wellness, a multidisciplinary Healthy Aging and Neurology rehabilitation clinic, in Bend, Oregon. He is an adjunct professor at Oregon State University’s DPT program, where he leads the coursework on motor control and assists the national network of neurologic PT residencies (Neuroconsortium) as well. 

In 2011, Mike was recognized as Clinician of the Year in the Neurologic and (in 2014) the Geriatric Academies of the APTA. He received the highest honor available in physical therapy in 2020, being distinguished as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA, joining a group of under 300 persons at the time for the history of the profession. Mike’s honors additionally reflect his service, including his vice presidency of the Academy of Neurologic PT and the Mercedes Weiss award for service to the Oregon chapter of APTA. He holds a trademark in dual task rehabilitation and has a patent pending on it. 

Over his career, Mike has authored over 35 articles and 6 book chapters, and routinely has clinical research projects in affiliation with one of many universities. He is also a consultant to Major League Baseball on the motor control of pitching and hitting. As a very fun and lighthearted note, Mike is the four-time and current world record holder for the fastest underwater treadmill marathon, a mark that was set most recently in January 2022 at 3:29:41 seconds.

Read Mike Studer’s article “Why a t-DPT? Why Now?”

https://rehabpub.com/clinic-management/continuing-education/why-a-t-dpt-degree/

Listen to a previous podcast episode featuring Mike Studer:

Dual Task in Return to Sport After Concussion

https://ptproductsonline.com/neurological/dual-task-in-return-to-sport-after-concussion/

Read more articles by Mike Studer here:

Rehab Management:

Physical Therapy Products:

Post-Stroke Dual Task Rehabilitation

https://ptproductsonline.com/neurological/strokes/post-stroke-dual-task-rehabilitation/