A Patient-Centered Care Bill of Rights/Responsibilities

Long-time readers of my blog have charted my course corrections over the years. When I began as a continuing educator in 2006, my presentation, and beliefs that supported those presentations, followed along the historical narrative taught in moist myofascial release (MFR) and craniosacral therapy (CST) curriculums. But after benefiting from a sound science spanking from some pretty smart people, my narrative evolved.

Incorporating more broadly accepted scientific narratives into my teachings does not negate the benefits of the work when practiced from those older narratives, but simply acknowledges the lack of a full understanding of the whole body’s contribution to pain, movement disorders, and the role we as manual therapists play. Granted, ALL models are incomplete, but incorporating a broader swath of anatomical and physiological science into education should be the goal.

With a broader understanding of the influences we may be making on soft tissue (less than most were taught) and contextual factors (much more than we were taught), my approach has shifted from myself being the governor of what is wrong and what must be done to correct thing into a model that requires a strong sense of negotiation between myself and my patient. I’ve written more on this process on other blog articles, as well as teach from this perspective in every one of my live seminars. But this shift in the traditional power balance of the therapeutic relationship takes some adaptation on the part of the patient. So much so that I’ve written it down, with the intention of sharing it not only with my patients at my PT practice in Rochester, NY, but also to allow you to share it with your patients. If you’ve never worked from this sort of patient-centered model, give it some time. Therapists often find it difficult to allow their unknowing to be known, but it can be quite freeing.

Here is the link to the handout, and I’d be happy to hear your thoughts! Walt Fritz, PT’s/The Foundations Approach to Evaluation and Treatment

Cheers,

Walt Fritz, PT

I am a proud member of the Medbridge Massage team of educators. I have 8 online courses, all presented from my updated, science-informed model of myofascial release. Take advantage of some pretty great discounts with a 12-month package of viewing, learning and CEUs with unlimited viewing of not only my (pretty great) courses but also over a dozen of the top educators in the massage profession. Approved for CEUs for all US MTs. Use the discount code FRITZmassage for the $49/year price by using this link: Medbridge Massage.

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Author: Walt Fritz