MEN WI N HEALTH HealthLinksSC.com | 53 Describe one good habit that has helped you navigate specific challenges in your career. Set regular time aside for yourself. As health care professionals, we’re always taking care of other people – we need that for ourselves. I recommend seeing a mental health professional to almost all my patients. Practicing what I preach has helped me tremendously. We deserve time dedicated to our well-being. If there has been a time when being a woman in health care offered an advantage? To me, health care is about having genuine relationships with our patients. Patients often find it easier to connect with female health care providers. We’re naturally empathetic, which helps us build a solid foundation of trust with our patients. What’s an obstacle you hope future women in health care never have to face? In our country, there is little support for pregnant and postpartum women when it comes to maternity leave. As a health care provider, 90% of our work is done in person, so it’s difficult for most women to find a balance between their career and their family. This unfortunately causes many women to leave the health care profession, delay their desire to have children or try to balance a career and being a mom – two full-time jobs. I dream of a day where we have more universal maternity leave and support covered by insurance, like pelvic floor therapy and postpartum care. How do you envision your practice in 10 years? I envision our practice evolving to a comprehensive health and wellness hub, going beyond traditional health care models, centered around giving people the space, tools and resources to prioritize their health. I’d love to give people more opportunities to take care of themselves before they experience pain, injury or a health setback. This looks like a bigger space with group fitness classes, wellness programs, community events and more online and remote care. Most importantly, I want to continue helping people reclaim their life after pain or injury, take ownership of their health and stay active and healthy for life. Discuss one common misconception about your profession that you would like to refute. Not all physical therapy is the same. Like a restaurant, you’re going to get a different experience depending on where you go. Many people think that physical therapy is simply a combination of “stretching, massage, heat/ice and exercises on a sheet of paper.” It’s not their fault – this is what PT used to be. What many do in traditional physical therapy doesn’t stimulate enough change, provide a comprehensive solution or give them the maximum long-term benefits. Physical therapy should be one-on-one, with individualized exercise prescriptions, training, volume and stress management, a whole health approach and new technologies. Instead of quick fixes and short-lived Band-Aids, we believe in providing long-term, lasting solutions. If you could give only one piece of advice to your patients in regard to their health, what would it be? The earlier you start, the better. Don’t get distracted by the misinformation out there – the simpler the better. Pick one small step and start there. When in doubt, stick to the five main pillars of health: sleep, nutrition, stress management, exercise/ movement and relationships. Hannah Breal, PT, DPT MADE 2 MOVE PHYSICAL THERAPY [email protected] 843-640-5244 made2movept.com Photo by Jenn Cady.
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