The 3As of being a Health Practitioner

Before I started The Physicaltherapy Centre, I spoke to one of my mentors seeking advice. Starting any business involves a certain amount of risk and an enormous amount of confidence in yourself and your skills. I felt I needed a push from someone who had taken their own leap of faith, someone who could provide me with some words of wisdom in starting and sustaining a business venture and in being a successful Health Practitioner.

This mentor of mine is a pathologist who started one of the largest
pathology franchises in South Africa. Aside from the day-to-day
challenges of running a business, he felt every health practitioner should remind themselves of each day in
practice.

The 3As

1. Ability.This is where it should start for every
health practitioner – you have to be good at what you do. It is vital
that a health practitioner add to his or her skill set each year. A
practitioner will become more and more experienced every successive year
in practice, but this is not enough to remain at the top of your game.
There are hundreds of treatment modalities, medicines and research
journals available to study. It is important to engage in further
readings and extra study so that you may continue to offer the best
available treatment to your patients.

For me, working in health is a passion of mine, and living a healthy
life has been something Ive practiced since a young age. In my opinion,
unless youre passionate about helping others, you are starting on the
wrong foot. It is also important to lead by example. If you are not
living by the ways you advise your patients to, you are not doing your
job. As an example, my own experience in practice and competing in high
level sporting events, has enabled me to fine tune my skills to offer
patients a refined and effective brand of physical therapy.

2. Affability.If you hope to make a living through
caring for others, it should go without saying that one needs to show
warmth and friendliness. One of the things I love most about my
profession is the chance to learn about and interact with the range of
wonderful personalities that flow through my practice.

For some people, seeing a health practitioner can be an uncomfortable
experience. This may not necessarily be restricted to the nature of
their complaint, but also because they may simply dislike the process of
having a full history, examination and treatment carried out on them by
a stranger. The ability of that practitioner to make their patient feel
comfortable and trusting of them will facilitate better communication
between the two, and thus hope to see a quicker resolution of the
presenting complaint.

Today, I feel privileged to have formed many strong, yet
professional, relationships with my patients. I enjoy the fact that I
can walk around my local area and have some of my patients come up to me
with a friendly greeting.

3. Availability.Another great benefit to being a
health practitioner is, to some degree, having the ability to pick and
choose your own working hours. The challenge here for practitioners is
finding the balance between how often and how little to work.
Essentially, if your patients always find it tough to make an
appointment with you, no matter how good you may be at your craft, they
will find someone else who is prepared to treat them.

I am certainly guilty of working long hours, but as I consider it
something I love to do, I get through these hours with relative ease.
Fortunately for my patients, this has meant they can often expect to see
me on days like Christmas or New Years Eve. I also happily receive
regular emails from my patients where I can often troubleshoot their
complaints through cyberspace.

Of course, not everyone is expected to go this extra mile. The point
is that if your patients know you are available to them most of the
time, they are more likely to find you a reliable source of help and
demonstrate longevity as patients.

Clearly, there are many other facets to running a successful health
practice, but from a practitioner point of view, I try to keep the 3As
at the forefront of my mind. When I am in consultation with my patients I
try to deliver the best possible treatment I can for that person at
that particular time present time consciousness. Once they leave the
practice, I urge them to contact me if they have any concerns between
appointments, and endeavour to respond to their inquiries the first
chance I get.

It is these minor extensions of oneself which I feel attracts more people to a health practitioner. I look forward to building stronger and more rewarding relationships with both my current and future patients.

Tom has been a member of the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) and Chiropractic Australia in the past.

If you are interested in coming in for a consult give us a call on 02 9922 6116 or book online with us on our website.

EXCELLENT

Based on 464 reviews

Michelle Drake

Tom is amazing! He really takes the time to evaluate your entire chain of movement and makes a plan that works for you and your goals. I had been dealing with lower back pain for a few years and had seen physios in the past with no relief and I finally found that with Tom, helping to push my training further. Whether you’re going for an injury or prevention, he is great.

D. Amland

Recently trialled the Novothor red light therapy bed at The Physical Therapy Center in North Sydney. The Center was flexible with the timing and helpful with the explanation of the potential benefits of the system. There are few robust red light therapy systems in Sydney and the Novothor machine appears to be at the high end of those systems. So if you are interested in the red light treatment modality, this center was conveniently located with a machine grade mostly likely to result in a benefit.

Steven Capp

Tom Cartwright would be the best holistic, caring and supportive chiropractor I have seen. His ability to understand misalignment of the body is exceptional. After every session, I feel the benefits immediately. Thanks for everything, Tom!

I have been using the Novothor machine. I’ve done 9 sessions and seen really good results (decrease in pain, overall sense of calm). Tom is so lovely. He makes you feel very welcome and explains everything you need to know. Very clean space. Would highly recommend. -Emma

Grant Gill

Highly recommended. I went to Tom when I had a lot of pain from a bulging disk in my lower back. He was able to get to the root of the problem and had me back to normal in good time. Bookings are easy to make via the website and he always runs on time. It's terrific to have a great chiropractor in North Sydney.

Michael Mastrodimos

A recent ankle injury brought me to Tom at The Physicaltherapy Centre. I cannot overstate how thorough his attention and care to both my overall wellbeing and injury was. Within the first consult I felt I was in very safe and experienced hands. Tom has a wide breadth of experience across both physio and chiro practices and I absolutely recommend him for any physical concerns.

Marissa Saba

Had a really great experience using the NovoTHOR red light therapy here. It’s a small, private, safe space focused specifically on the technology rather than a big commercial studio, which I actually loved. The environment feels calm, personal, and very intentional. Tom is incredibly knowledgeable and takes the time to explain how everything works, which made me feel comfortable straight away. I came through the intro offer and ended up returning multiple times because the sessions were relaxing and easy to fit into my routine. Definitely recommend if you’re curious about NovoTHOR and want a more one-on-one experience.

Cynthia Krishna

I tried the NovoThor red light therapy for 2 weeks. It was fantastic. Felt the results weeks later in ways unexpected. It was a head to toe, overall improvement in muscles, general wellbeing. I did it at a particularly stressful time, and I think somehow this therapy carried me through with recovery physically. Slept better, coped better.

Eric Eigner

I used the The Physicaltherapy Centre for their NovoTHOR session and the whole experience was smooth. Tom was professional, skilled, explained everything clearly, didn’t oversell, and the clinic felt clean and well-run. Booking was easy, and I walked out feeling noticeably looser and less beat up than when I went in.

Ricknee Sim

Enjoyed a very welcoming and calming experience while using the Novothor red light bed. Everything was clearly explained, easy booking system, and the team made sure I felt confident and relaxed throughout the session. The space itself is calm, clean, and well set up! I'll be booking in more sessions to come. Thanks for bringing red light therapy to North Sydney, as it's so hard to find!

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