For our second interview of PT Month, we were able to sit down with Dr. Kevin Weaver, PT, DPT. Dr. Weaver is a Certified Orthopedic Specialist (OCS), as well as a master of ergonomics, certified by both the Board of Certified Professional Ergonomists (CEA) and the Oxford Research Institute of Ergonomics in Industrial Ergonomics (CIE). In addition to teaching classes in the DPT program at New York University, he is also the Director of the Clinical Residency in Orthopedic Physical Therapy at NYU.
We are so excited to share with you his journey to physical therapy, his passions, and his advice for future and practicing physical therapists!
Tell us about yourself (Specialties, Passions, etc)
I’d say PT was probably one of the two best decisions I ever made in my life. Choosing the profession was literally an epiphany moment at 17 years old. I was injured in football and my coach sent me to a PT practice. [At the time,] I had no idea what physical therapy was.
This was in 1984, and I knew I wanted to be in healthcare. I knew I wanted to help people. I didn’t like school to be quite honest, but once I came out of that practice I knew what I wanted to do, and set my sights on it then.
We had a different process back then. It was an undergrad program, so we were going through the Bachelors to Masters. I did my prerequisites in a SUNY School Stony Brook and then I applied and got into NYU and graduated in 1990 when it was a Bachelor’s program.
Why orthopedics? I rotated in Mount Sinai and found that [field] spoke to me. Not that I didn’t enjoy neurology or any other entities, but I flowed better with orthopedics, and it was easier for me to help people. That’s how I fell upon it and stayed with it since my second year of practice.
Why did you choose to go into PT? Why did you start? Has your why developed as you continued practicing?
It’s the question we always ask students during the interview. For me, it’s because you get to spend time with people. With other professions, the interactions are always so quick. In PT, you get to connect with people. We have the luxury of having the longest sessions with patients, so you can connect with them and help them understand why I’m doing what I’m doing, which makes the patient more agreeable to therapy, which produces better outcomes for them. That was really it. That was of utmost importance to me.
I did consider psychology for a bit though, but I’m glad I chose PT.
Can you share a bit about what ergonomics is? How did you find your passion for it?
It’s funny you say that. Ergonomics, in Latin, literally just means study of work. So ironically, during one of my last affiliations, one of my favorite faculty members when I was a student and I got to talking about the future. Believe it or not, at the time I was set on finishing school and never ever going back. The irony of me going back to school, getting two more graduated degrees, then teaching for 20-something years, is thick.
She brought up the Master’s program in Ergonomics and Biomechanics at the school. This sort of percolated in the back of my mind. During my second year practicing in orthopedics, I was running into frustration with worker’s compensation cases. These cases were difficult for many reasons.
I had asked myself, why not prevent them all together? That led me to go back to school and I started at an ergonomics program at Mount Sinai.
During that time, we worked with some of the employees, and it didn’t come to what I had in my mind’s eye. After a few years, I left out of frustration. But after that I went on to a position in New England where I did about 50% of ergonomics on site. We worked for an insurance company where they would send us out to employers to give them ergonomic consultations to manage a claim, which was ideal in my mind. Not every claim is ideal, but just the idea of having that big of an impact.
That’s where I cemented my ergonomics certification. I did 2 of the best certifying centers in the state. Since teaching at NYU, I still do some ergonomic work here and there, but here in New York City, it’s all office or computer stuff, which is pretty standard. It’s not as large of a portion of my practice. When I talk with my patients, if they have neck pain because computer use, [ergonomics] is always used.
As an educator, have you noticed any changes in how students are educated? How has that evolved into practice?
The amount of information you guys learn vs. what I learned that’s available now is tremendous. There are cameras now where things can be filmed. YouTube is at your disposal. Information is so quickly delivered to your phone, which is amazing. I used to go into the stacks down in the sub-basement of the medical center when I was in the program here in the late eighties to pull an article. The quickness and vast amount of available literature is tremendously different. You’ll always have resources you can go back to.
The objective of getting you that information has grown, which is great because it better serves patients by far. Programs switched to that doctorate-level to better prepare you guys for practice.
And it’s always changing. The idea of practicing as an ergonomist when I sat in this program was laughable, but I did it, 5 years later. You just listened to Michael D’Agati recently. He is the perfect example. Mike’s present position didn’t exist 5 years ago. And look at where he is.
Those examples are just two of many examples of how the area of practice has grown tremendously on many levels. When I first started, I think that might have been two or three PTs in Sloan-Kettering. Now I think it’s staff is close to 50. The value of outcomes that clientele is there, and physicians realize we are part of getting people a lot better.
The courses are different too. When I was in school, it was orthopedics, neurology, and cardiopulmonary. That’s it. We’ve grown so much as a profession. To think PT can be utilized in an oncological setting is outstanding. There’s a whole class of other systems available now to you.
What qualities do you think make a successful physical therapist or physical therapy student?
It’s the same qualities to me. You’re a teacher. People ask me all the time when’s the first time I taught and I say my first patient. That’s part of what we need to do.
Get good at listening. You need to do it both as a student and as a physical therapist. That is so necessary clinically, I cannot stress it to you enough. That’s why we have you do a lot of group work and problem-based learning here. When I’m with a patient, I soften my voice, but I don’t say much. I listen, and that’s key. That skill, I think, serves you in life and every role.
I see that challenged more with the increased prevalence of social media. It seems like it’s being pushed. I see that it can take away the student’s attention. It can get tough for you guys if your attention isn’t focused.
Any advice for aspiring and future physical therapists? Current physical therapists?
Lighten up. A lot of you get so caught up with grades here. My own grades actually sit someplace in a file cabinet on this floor. I was maybe a 3.4 student? At the time, I said to myself, the clinic is where I know I’m going to learn more. Not to dismiss the class, but I knew everything would come together. Light bulbs would go off in the clinic.
You’ve got to keep thinking that. Digest the information and think on how that is clinically applicable. You’ll learn something in class and go to the clinic and make that connection. That’s the beauty of it.
Always circle back to those clinical experiences because that’s what turns you from a novice to an expert. The information will come to you. Don’t worry about trying to be experts right away.
Lighting up and letting the information come to you will allow you to be a better listener and practitioner. That’s why my first rule is respect and safety-you’re never going to make a mistake you’ll regret.
You’ll make mistakes. You’re going to make them all the time. But it’s okay. Don’t take yourself so seriously.
To me, there is no better existence than to serve people.
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