An Accidentally Academic Clinical Practice

In my experience in academia there is always a feeling that time is of the essence. This feeling can become pervasive as deadlines loom and time marches inevitably on. For some this produces a sense of urgency and the ability to respond to such pressure with action. For others, is can be crushing, resulting in what may or may not be catastrophic failure. Others still seem immune, almost as if operating in a parallel reality where they are only aware of the pressure yet are unaffected by the weight. Personally and professionally I tend to fall into the 1st category of response while wishing I existed in the parallel universe of the 3rd. However, in the past month I have come to understand how being process oriented in my clinical practice, and in life, has struck a balance between these two possible responses to the pressures of time in academia. This has produced what might be thought of as an accidentally academic clinical practice.

While at NWATA I attended a lecture titled Utilizing Functional Performance Tests to Identify Athletes at Risk for Injury. While listening to the researcher lecture about this topic, some of the tools that are often utilized in practice and the literature that both supports and refutes the efficacy of such tools under a variety of conditions, I simultaneously began to ask a number of questions both in my own mind and in discussion with peers and mentors realizing that I have a potential treasure trove of data waiting for me in my clinical practice. I have mentioned before that as part of my clinical practice I have collected pre-participation Functional Movement Screen (FMS) scores on every secondary school athlete under my care. These were intended, and have been used, as part of my return to play justification for patients who have suffered time loss injuries. However, I had tabled this idea as research as I have only had roughly three cases of time loss injury where the FMS has been used as part of a return to play justification. Yet with diligence and consistency in the collection of these pre-participation FMS scores, I returned to my office to find that I had 63 data points waiting for the proper inspiration and analysis. I found that I may have already collected the data to not only help draw clinically meaningful conclusions about my practice but to help me meet the requirements of the DAT. Being process oriented has potentially resolved one of the more pressing difficulties as a researcher, namely recruitment and data collection. While I still feel the weight of time pressing me into action, I can also see that zen like parallel universe, if only through the lens of process. I hope that this encourages my peers to look to their clinical practice. You may find it has become accidentally academic.