“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
One of the most common questions we field from clinicians of a variety of backgrounds (Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Nurses, Massage Therapists, Counselors, and many, many others) who attend the CWC certification is “What is the best way to integrate wellness into our practice (or facility)?” While we rarely quote Dr. Seuss as a response, the good Doctor’s above advice actually fits quite well. Your practice, your facility, your team, your community, your goals are unique. The options on how best to integrate wellness and wellness coaching into your practice are practically endless – and YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.
However, while “endless” is a nice word that highlights the number of options you have available to you, it can be nice to have a list that lays out specific ideas on how you might start down that wide open path. This month, we wanted to provide you with a “Top 10” list of ideas that may help get you started. The following list is far from complete, but our hope is that one or more grab your attention as a good starting point in your career wellness journey…
- Expand offerings to include Wellness Coaching, Massage Therapy, Pilates and other cash-pay options to compliment your current offerings
- Launch a walking, running, cycling, hiking, etc group from facility
- Open up facility gym post-discharge for a standard monthly rate
- Start a monthly weight management accountability group for those patients who want to move beyond “back where I was (pre-injury or pre-diagnosis)” to ” better than I was.” Reflect on how the outcomes of many (most?) of the diagnoses we treat would be enhanced if patients were to improve BMI levels
- Offer personalized wellness coaching in tandem with any/all of the above
- Provide initial wellness coaching session as a standard part of the discharge process, with opportunity to continue the coaching with you or one of your staff members who is trained in coaching for a nominal monthly rate
- Combine wellness coaching with performance coaching for cyclists, triathletes, runners and others
- Offer an employee wellness program for businesses in your area (there’s a big need for this among companies with < 100 employees)
- Partner with area Physicians to provide wellness coaching for their patients
- Start your own, independent wellness coaching business on the side. This can provide some extra income but also may enhance future career choices
What other ways have you integrated wellness into your practice? We’d love to hear from you. Please tweet us @OptiCoaching
