The Be Better Club

Finale: Weight Gain - it's all about "bench, squat and deadlift"

In this episode, Austin and I talked about how do you "bulking". Austin shared his personal story about gaining weight. This episode is all more fun than serious. One word summary would be everything you want to accomplish in life takes consistent and disciplined. And in the Be Better Club, we believe "squat, bench and deadlift" are the superior lifting choice. Lastly, like our weight loss episode with Kevin, you will hit a wall and you have to use the extreme measure to get where you want to be. However, think about is that really what you want?

How Not to Be Complacent Working in Health Care – Erin Golec, PA

In this episode Erin and I talked about how is it like working in health care - how the medical model have evolved and how can we play as part of team. Erin has been a PA for 15 years and continue practice full time in the industry. We talk in depth about how to prolong our journey as health care professional. Erin shared about her personal story on feeling like a "hypocrite" and almost stopped her career. When we suggested things that we wouldn't do ourselves. We talked about how to become a team with our patients so we don't feel like we are doing everything on our own. We talked about when to ask for help when we feel the "burnout". I shared my own story and stories I learned from my mentors. Taking time off was a new concept for me. And I didn't understand it at all. Hopefully this episode will bring you some peace. "why do I get into that room? Because somebody inside that room is there for some reason"

Shoulder I go the ER? - Dr. Steven Scherr, MD

Hi Everyone, we have officially reached episode 5 of this season. This episode is dense and informative! It's got everything you need to know about the ED as a patient! We talked about Dr. Scherr's medical career, whom has worked at the ER for 30 years! He started off his career as nursing assistant at the surgical floor where he cleaned butts and giving baths. We talked about deaths, triage and ER culture: "the biggest fallacy in the medical worlds, it's that your medical records exist in the ether of space and ever medical provider can access it", "you don't want the ER doc standing right next to your bed all the time" - that means you are in trouble! Dr. Scherr shared his 3 tiers of ER: true emergency, semi-urgency and convenience care. This will tell you when to utilize the ER. In the end, we talked about pain medications, and really think about is "opioids" the devil of all! I call this episode the everything you need to know about the ER as a non-medical person!

Why should anyone pursue a residency after PT school? - Darren Jeffers, PT, DPT

Katie and Darren share their insights on the importance of ongoing learning and self-growth in the PT profession, the value of mentorship and support, and the need for PTs to be adaptable and flexible in their practice. They also discuss the benefits and challenges of VA residency programs and federal government jobs, including loan forgiveness and preferential hiring.The meeting participants highlight the importance of clear communication and collaboration in providing the best possible care for patients. They encourage listeners to take the initiative in communicating with physicians and emphasize the importance of overcoming self-perceived barriers. Katie shares her experience of advocating for a patient's care by requesting a cervical MRI, despite being an intern, and emphasizes the importance of having a solid reason behind decisions and being ready to get results.Darren and Katie delve into the benefits of doing a residency program, including direct one-on-one mentorship and the opportunity to develop medical cognition. They caution new grads and those looking for residencies to ask about the core focus of the program and note that some programs may be more focused on interventions rather than critical reasoning, which may not be as beneficial in the long run. They also discuss the importance of physical therapists thinking beyond interventions and prioritizing patient care, and offer advice for those considering residency programs.

EP 3: Let’s talk about body image, weight loss and fitness stigma– Kevin Ha

Warning: please do not take this as medical device or even health advices! Pure entertainment - our goal is to trigger a thought in your head! In this episode, I have my best friend in a long time, Kevin, on my show. We talked about body image and how it relates to his confidence. We talked about his journey of body transformation, his perspective on "lifting" when he was in high school - when most gymbro are considered as meat heads. We talk about stigma about lifting and weight training. In additional to lifting, we talk about nutrition, protein intake, supplements and dieting. He came in as a regular person perspective, he was able to learn and research on his own and mold into his own lifestyle. Finally, we talk about how to make a change about ourselves as well as the psychology behind on how to become better version of ourselves in the most realistic way possible.