Learning to Lead in Physical Therapy

A timely and essential book for physical therapist and physical therapist assistant students, faculty, and practitioners, as well as clinical educators, Learning to Lead in Physical Therapy provides information on identifying, developing, and demonstrating effective leadership skills for daily practice.

Drs. Jennifer Green-Wilson and Stacey Zeigler explain that in a health care field that’s constantly evolving, leadership skill development must be a high priority in physical therapy education and practice. Leadership skills are critical for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants throughout the course of their careers—in an informal leadership role with patients, in collaboration and advocacy for interdisciplinary care, and in formal leadership positions as they continually adapt to new expectations.

With an evidence-based framework, the authors incorporate a workbook-style text with written prompts, activities, tools, quotes, and personal vignettes from practicing clinicians to explore concepts including:

• Discovering your individual strengths, developing your leadership style, and learning to lead through mentorship and coaching
• Communicating effectively, incorporating teamwork and collaboration, becoming an inclusive leader, and leading through conflict
• Effecting change through leadership, ethical decision-making, and serving others

This book is easily incorporated within a single course or across multiple courses throughout a curriculum. Academic and clinical faculty and practitioners will also find this book easy to use for personal growth with its activity-based guidance through each chapter.

Instructors can visit www.efacultylounge.com for additional materials for use in the classroom or the clinic.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants have the unique opportunity to be leaders at all levels—in their practices, the health care system, and their communities at large. Learning to Lead in Physical Therapy is an essential text in preparing students, faculty, and practitioners of all levels for these crucial leadership roles and responsibilities.
 

Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Contributing Authors
Preface
Foreword by Geneva R. Johnson, PhD, DPT (Hon), FAPTA
Foreword by Beth Whitehead, PT, MPH

Unit 1: Leadership and Those Who Lead
Chapter 1: At the Core of Leadership: Your Authentic Self
Chapter 2: Discovering Your Influence and Capacity to Become an Effective Personal Leader
Chapter 3: Developing Your Leadership Style
Chapter 4: Learning to Lead Through Mentorship and Coaching

Unit 2: Leading Others as a Positive Influence
Chapter 5: Communicating Effectively – Using the Language of Leaders
Chapter 6: Teamwork and Collaboration: Sharing a Vision to Engage, Empower, and Energize Teams
Chapter 7: Leading Diversity: Becoming an Inclusive Leader
Chapter 8: Leading Through Conflict

Unit 3: Leading Change
Chapter 9: Leading Change
Chapter 10: Ethical Leadership and Decision-Making
Chapter 11: Leading by Serving

Financial Disclosures
Index

About the Editors

Jennifer E. Green-Wilson, PT, MBA, EdD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Care Studies at The College at Brockport. She is also the principal of the Institute for Business Literacy and Leadership (also known as the Leadership Institute). She is the former Director of the Institute for Leadership in Physical Therapy (LAMP) for HPA The Catalyst of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), and former member of the APTA Private Practice Section (PPS) Education Committee. She served as a Director on the Board of Directors of the APTA from 2011 to 2014. Jennifer speaks nationally and internationally on topics related to leadership, business literacy, and management in health care; has been invited to submit short articles for APTA’s “Business Sense: section of PT in Motion; and was awarded a national research grant from the HPA Section in 2009. Additionally, she was awarded HPA The Catalyst’s LAMPLighter Leadership Award in February 2014, the Rochester Hearing and Speech Center’s James DeCaro Leadership Award in 2017, and the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia’s (PTAG) R. M. Barney Poole Leadership Academy Award for Excellence in Leadership and Education in 2019.

Dr. Green-Wilson works with doctor of physical therapy programs and diverse health care organizations across the country, helping strengthen the development of practice management, business literacy, and leadership skills at entry-level and in contemporary practice. Dr. Green-Wilson holds an EdD degree in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York; an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology; and a BS in physical therapy from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Stacey Zeigler, PT, DPT, MS is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. She is also the founder and owner of Fun in Aging Physical Therapy, PC, a physical therapy private practice focusing on in-home wellness and fitness for older adults. She has been a faculty member for HPA The Catalyst of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) LAMP programs since 2001, and has held elected and volunteer positions at the district, chapter, and national levels of the APTA. She speaks nationally and internationally on topics related to leadership, patient autonomy, and health promotion with an emphasis on the application of these topics to the clinical practice of physical therapists. Dr. Zeigler was awarded HPA The Catalyst’s LAMPLighter Leadership Award in February 2016, Jefferson Community College’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2013, HPA The Catalyst’s Outstanding Service Award in 2012, and the Dr. Marilyn Moffat Distinguished Service Award from the New York Physical Therapy Association in 2011.

Dr. Zeigler has held formal and informal leadership roles within and outside of the profession of physical therapy and currently focuses her efforts on inspiring the leaders of tomorrow at the grassroots level through education and mentorship. Dr. Zeigler earned her DPT from Simmons College in 2005, an MS in Community Health Administration and Wellness Promotion from California College for Health Sciences in 2001, and a BS in physical therapy from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, in 1994.