While the world has made great progress in business and technology, healthcare is still lagging behind other major sectors. There are a lot of factors that cause stigma in this space, and the marginalization of people with pain is still rampant. In this episode, Alicia Emerson, PT, DPT, MS, OCS, FAAOMPT of High Point University joins Dr. Joe Tatta to discuss the attitudes, beliefs, and biases that contribute to the shortcomings of the healthcare industry. She explains the impact of sociopolitical factors on the perceptions of healthcare providers that make it harder for the vulnerable to get access to appropriate care. Dr. Emerson also presents the best ways to overcome these barriers and create a more inclusive and supportive environment for people with pain. Whether you are a healthcare provider, a caregiver, or someone who lives with pain, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tips for navigating the complex landscape of pain management.

Pain is one of the most common reasons for people to seek medical help. It's also one of the most difficult things to study. There's no clear way to measure it, and it can vary from person to person. But there are ways we can collect data on pain so that researchers can better understand how patients feel pain and what treatments work best for them. In this episode, Joletta Belton discusses how to integrate the lived experience of pain into treatment and research. Joletta explains how chronic pain affects people's lives, and how it can be used as a tool to help them heal. Joletta also talks about how you can use your own personal experience with pain to make better treatment decisions for other patients. Tune in now and learn what role you can play to help people in pain.

Chronic pain cannot be treated by simply focusing on its symptoms and root cause. Beyond these things are social determinants that directly impact health and disease. Most of the time, these can go back even from a person’s childhood. Dr. Joe Tatta is joined by Laura E. Keyser, PT, DPT, MPH to discuss how to embed such factors into the PT practice and education to vastly improve health treatment and patient experience. Laura explains how clinicians, educators, and research should focus on interdisciplinary collaboration and the impact of different social determinants in an individual’s lived experience. She also shares how PT practitioners can engage with the government and large corporations to provide better services by sharing all about her consulting firm, Mama, LLC.

We always hear the old adage, “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” This is especially true when you look at how we grow students to become practitioners. Before they can take care of and make a good impact on their patients and clients’ lives, they first need to take care of themselves. Tessa Wells, PT, DPT and Betsy Becker, PT, DPT, PhD from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Division of Physical Therapy Education have been implementing this. In this episode, they join Dr. Joe Tatta to discuss all about how they promote student wellness during their professional formation towards becoming DPTs. They talk about curricular interventions using a lifestyle medicine approach, taking wellness from the self to others to the community. Hear about their great program and how they impact the students of the profession and society at large. Tune in to this conversation to not miss out!