5 Pearls from APTA-CSM 2017

Well, it’s been a whirlwind two weeks since sunny San Antonio hosted the Annual Combined Sections Meeting for the American Physical Therapy Association.  I feel like I’m finally settling back into the daily grind and processing all that I learned from my second CSM experience.  With that said, there’s no way I can fit all my new knowledge and perspectives into this one blog post, so I’ll stick with these 5 pearls:

1.     Everyone is doing her (his) best. 

What a perfect way to start CSM 2017 – while this talk was directed specifically toward current/new/future moms and those who employ moms, I loved the application to everybody we encounter.  From a student perspective, it’s easy for me to get caught up in how I would do blah-blah differently when interacting with my colleagues.  However, each of my classmates brings a unique perspective to the table, from how they interact with patients, to how they structure their treatment, and so on.  I have so much to learn from the people I meet and even treat, and this mantra is exactly what I needed to shift my focus on to what’s really “best.”  Speaking of what’s really “best”…

2.     Don’t let perfect get in the way of good enough.

Let me offer a disclaimer: this is not saying stop doing your best or that you should only give half your effort when treating your patients, etc.  I heard this phrase throughout CSM, and it absolutely gave me pause for thought: last fall when I completed a clinical rotation in our school’s PT clinic, I put so much pressure on myself to create the perfect treatment with the perfect outcomes for my patients.  This obviously didn’t work out like I planned: my interventions to improve shoulder ROM in my patient post-stroke fell short of my ideal goals, but I successfully treated his BPPV, which made his mornings much more pleasant and functional.   After reflection, I know these imperfect gains didn’t live up to my standards, but I did my best to get my patient to where he wanted to be, and I really can’t ask any more of myself. 

3.     Comfort zones at conferences need to go.

Attention reader: interacting with so many people at lightning speed absolutely drains me.  HOWEVER, there are so many amazing people at CSM, that I couldn’t help but get swept up in the excitement of meeting so many people.  I had the amazing opportunity to talk with the Core Ambassadors from North Dakota and Washington D.C. – it was so interesting to hear all about what’s happening in our respective districts and discuss some issues we each face as Core Ambassadors in very different states.  Don’t be discouraged if you didn’t meet or interact with as many people you wanted – for the sheer number of people who attend CSM, we’ve only just begun to dip our toes into this professional pool, and there will be more chances throughout your career to make connections and friendships…and you can always take an annual post-CSM nap before classes begin again on Monday!

4.     #Mamacapemafia & Daddies on duty!

This particular point isn’t really related to one course or section in general, but rather my young SPT observations of how many parents with babies and even families I saw at CSM 2017 compared with last year in Anaheim.  I know PT is the greatest profession ever, but this totally blew me away – what an amazing culture we work in that embraces the working parent’s involvement and encourages participation in all stages of a PT/PTA’s life and career!  There’s still plenty of work to be done to make this a widespread reality, but it’s a start for sure.   

5.     It’s okay to fangirl at conferences.

So this wasn’t Comic Con or even a chance celebrity encounter at the airport, but there were still plenty of opportunities to snag a selfie with your professional role model or ogle over someone whose name you recognize from the gazillion publications they’ve authored.  And for those of you saying, “But Elise, I’ll look like a fool/goober/insert-phrase-of-choice-here and embarrass myself”: I’ve already done it for you, so let me comfort you with a quick personal experience.  I attended an oncology course that was just amazing, and after about 45 minutes of wide-mouth staring in wonder at this author, I finally realized that I did a presentation last semester over one of her articles.  Not giving myself the time to even get nervous, I marched right up to her after the presentation, introduced myself, and told her how much I loved her article.  She was incredibly gracious and thanked me for introducing myself – maybe I’ll never see her again, maybe I’ll co-author an article with her someday; the point is I made the effort to interact with the people I admire and want to learn more from, and I think that’s a huge part of what CSM is all about. 

I’d love to hear your own pearls of wisdom from CSM, so please feel free to reach out to me, and don’t forget to follow TSPTA on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

Elise K. Decker is a second-year DPT student at Texas State University and serves as the Core Ambassador for TSPTA.  She enjoys learning the art of hashtags and watching mystery shows on Netflix.