Episode 65 – Boyd Etter, Part 2: Clinical Growth Post-Diploma Program

Boyd Etter PT, Dip MDT, OCS

Mr. Boyd Etter is originally from Minnesota in the USA and is now in Reno, Nevada. He’s a graduate of the College of St. Scholastica with a bachelors in Physical Therapy and a Diploma in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy  from the University of Otago, New Zealand. He is also a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist.  He has specific interest in spine care and has been heavily involved in the Nevada Physical Therapy Association and the American Physical Therapy Association.  He and his wife have 3 children.

Show Notes

Patient Analogy

Boyd uses the rubber band analogy to help patients understand why pain can increase in the process of treating and improving it.  He also uses the analogy of hands becoming painful while thawing after they’ve been numb from the cold.

Best advice

The best advice Boyd has had has been from his patients.  He believes they want to help him out.  They’ve said, “Just relax” or  “It’s okay, I’ll get better.” So to Boyd it’s about not taking himself too serious. 

Doing Differently Now

Being more systematic in test-retest and having more confidence in identifying outliers.  Being more sure of the diagnosis and making quicker decisions but also not being afraid to miss something and be wrong.

Resource

Pubmed and even science magazines, for instance, Scientific America to learn about physics and thermodynamics just to relate and connect with patients when educating them.

Studies

The tissue origin of low back pain and sciatica: a report of pain response to tissue stimulation during operations on the lumbar spine using local anesthesia.  Kuslich et.al.  Orthop Clin North Am. 1991 Apr;22(2):181-7.

Surgical vs nonoperative treatment for lumbar disk herniation: the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT) observational cohort. Weinsein et. al. JAMA. 2006 Nov 22;296(20):2451-9.

Interexaminer reliability of lumbar segmental mobility tests.Johansson F. Man Ther. 2006 Nov;11(4):331-6.

Personal Habit Contributing to Success

His fascination with the human condition and hearing patients’ stories. He listens for who his patient is and what makes them click. 

Parting Piece of Advice

Continue to listen to your patients and hone your interviewing skills.  Also he encourages us to connect with your patients because the patient will tell you what’s wrong.

Final Thoughts

Boyd proposes that MDT clinicians consider working together in an effort to monetize our efforts and position us together to negotiate collectively possibly as a managed service organization. 

Additionally Boyd sees MDT beneficial for less commonly discussed areas like vestibular disorders and women’s health issues. 

To reach Boyd you an email him at:

betterpt@ptpnv.com

To contribute:

Thanks for your support!