Continuing Education: The Complete Guide to Mastery

75 That’s my number. No, not that number.   75 is the number of continuing education classes, conferences, home studies, etc that I’ve completed since physical therapy school. Though the courses are many, it was probably too much in a short period of time. When quantity is pursued, quality suffers. Sadly, I didn’t figure out how to get the most out of each class until the latter end of my career. Two classes in particular stand out: Mobilisation of the Nervous System by the NOI Group, and ART lower extremity. Yes, the content was great, but these classes stood out for a different reason. You see, instead of just doing a little bit of prep work, I kicked it up a notch. I extensively reviewed supportive material, took impeccable notes, and hit all the other essentials needed to effectively learn. I was prepared, and because I was prepared I got so much more out of these classes than my typical fair.  The lessons learned in those courses stick with me to this day. For the stuff you really want to learn, I’ll encourage you to do the same. Here is the way to get the most out of your continuing education. By the time you are done reading this post, you’ll understand why I now recommend a more focused learning approach and fewer courses. Let’s see how to do it.  

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Why Everything Works (and Doesn’t Work)

A Great Place to Be I was recently at my home away from home, IFAST. Every time I go here the following occurs: I have an amazing time with amazing people. I learn a ton and realize how little I really know. Prolific discussions are had. I end up purchasing WAY too many books as soon as I get home. As many of you know, Bill Hartman and I appreciate a PRI philosophy. When I go to IFAST, we inevitably experiment with many different things. This weekend, Bill and I were playing with how many different ways we could achieve full right shoulder internal rotation on my good friend Lance and the lovely IFAST intern Liz. Here was everything that gave these people full motion. Soft tissue mobilization to the infraspinatus. Manually assisted breathing. Tickling the right side of the face. Tapping the left hamstring. Smacking the right glute max (yes, I spanked someone). Having someone think about contracting their right glute max as hard as possible. Having someone watch me breathe with a left sidebend. Reflex locomotion. Now of course, that does not mean you should be spanking your patients and clients with shoulder issues (but if you do make sure it is the right glute), but we have to ask why did all of these different techniques–even the weird ones– achieve the same outcome we wanted? Why Things Work Joseph Brence, a gentleman whose material I enjoy, recently posted a blog showing several different techniques and polling his

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