Dana Strauss (00:13) Welcome to Future Proof PT. I'm Dana Strauss. I'm here with my co-host, Alex Bendersky. And today's conversation with Dr. Drew Contreras might just change how you see your career path forever. Dr. Drew Contreras received his Master of Physical Therapy from Gannon University and his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's also a board certified sports clinical specialist. Dr. Contreras is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, retired.

serving in a number of clinical settings and operational units throughout his military PT career before retiring in 2020. He spent his early career at Fort Benning, Georgia, working in a direct access primary musculoskeletal physical therapy setting, evaluating and treating basic trainee soldiers in the US Army Airborne School. In 2003, he moved on to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and his primary role was supporting the 82nd Airborne Division and various special ops units.

His skills were put to work extensively in 2006 to 2007 during a 15 month continuous deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was the first physical therapist to deploy with the 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. After returning, Drew moved to Washington, DC to work at the Pentagon Health Clinic, where he served as the Director of Wellness and Physical Therapy. During his time, he served as a consultant to the White House Medical Unit, and due to his successful integration of PT into the White House,

was chosen by President Barack Obama to serve as the first ever full-time physical therapist at the White House. There he served as the physical therapist to the White House Medical Unit and the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, from 2010 until the end of the administration in 2017.

During this time, he also worked with a wide range of government officials, as well as police and law enforcement agencies. He traveled the world with the patients he served and was able to help keep people functioning in their roles to serve the nation. He finished his career returning to Fort Bragg to work as the chief of the Physical Performance Service Line, Physical Therapy at WOMAC, the largest PT clinical setting in the Department of Defense. After retiring from the military, he continued clinical care in Washington, D.C., and then served as a consultant.

for the White House Medical Unit and physical therapist for the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden. He currently serves as a member of the senior leadership team of the American Physical Therapy Association as the vice president of strategic affairs. His portfolio includes strategic alliances and innovation, business development, and APTA meetings. There he works to enhance the service and scope of practice of physical therapy and establish alliances and partnerships.

to advance the physical therapy profession.

Physical therapy stands at a critical crossroads. While many of us feel stuck in what Dr. Contreras is going to talk about called the comfort crisis, complaining about what health care constraints are without taking action, today's episode is going to offer you bold, optimistic alternatives. Are physical therapists ready to step into primary care provider roles? According to Dr. Contreras' two decades of experience, some PTs may not feel ready, but we're already very equipped.

And we need to step into the shoes that belong to doctoring professionals. The question isn't about our capability, but about our willingness to evolve beyond traditional treatment approaches that many of us are so, used to. So we're going to explore the fundamental shift from fee for service to value-based care through Drew's brilliant tree cutting analogy. And it's not theory, it's really happening now with PTs adopting what he calls the Netflix model of

care in a positive light. So flexible, accessible, meeting patients wherever they are, even in outer space, which is a great little story about this. Definitely tune in. Drew insists that we must transition from skilled laborers to expert consultants who understand imaging labs and the full spectrum of patient management. We are licensed to do these things. Those who make this shift will thrive and lead in health care's transformation.

So whether you're a seasoned clinician, you're just starting your PT journey, the conversation is gonna offer you practical wisdom for claiming your rightful place in healthcare's future. So let's embrace the discomfort of growth together. See you inside.

Alex Bendersky (04:37) I want to welcome everyone to a 17th episode of Future Proof PT. And I want to welcome Dr. Drew Contreras to this episode, which is truly an honor and a pleasure, because I think in the last 10 years, I have yet to meet a person who is better informed, more knowledgeable, or more experienced in the field of allied health. today, and of course, my colleague and partner in crime, Dr. Dana Strauss, ⁓

Dana Strauss (05:01) You

Alex Bendersky (05:02) is here. So today we want to discuss three topics and I'm going to introduce the topics and then I'll let Drew introduce himself even further. We want to talk about PT as a PCP concept, PT as a primary care practitioner, old guard versus new guard in allied health leadership, and using priors to enhance the futures as a thought experiment of how do we learn from the past to actually have a better future in allied health. So without any further ado, Drew, welcome to our show.

Dr Drew Contreras (05:27) Thank you, thanks for having me guys, I'm really excited to be here today.

Alex Bendersky (05:30) Awesome, awesome. So let's take it just as a first step. And I think right before we went live, we were discussing this comfort crisis, right? So I have been a PT for 22, now almost 23 years. So I'm kind of like, I would be considered a dinosaur right? But I have seen this redundancy in that...

complaining about the things that are not going well, but not lot of action happening. So like how comfortable are we about being uncomfortable and how as a community comfortable are we about embracing this tension point and actually building from it instead of just complaining about it.

Dr Drew Contreras (06:04) Yeah, I mean, think there's a lot to unpack there, right? And part of that is kind of my past alludes to, right? I've spent some time with some influential political people. And one of the topics that I've talked about is that like, there's our current cohort of professionals, right? Hasn't really been super uncomfortable.

as far as the things that they needed to do professionally to move a profession forward. And that's, it's a point at which, right, to your point, Alex, right, like I've been practicing a long time too, like over 25 years, and the things that were required of me to come into the field are different than what's required of people now, right? And the pressures that people face now are different than the pressures that I faced. But it doesn't mean that, that,

There's not room to grow and to kind of meet those pressures. But to your point, we need to be all right being uncomfortable and putting ourselves in a position of vulnerability in order to move things forward. And that takes courage. That takes some grit and some wherewithal to be all right doing that. And that's not everybody's default setting. And to the point also, I will say that