We Should Watch (Read) Gretchen Reynolds
Who is Gretchen Reynolds, you may ask?
She's a columnist for The New York Times, and journalist for other publications as well, who writes about exercise and fitness.
She brings reports about studies on exercise, fitness and aging to the general public in a simple, easy-to-understand manner. She's not a physical therapist. The comments from readers after her columns are sometimes as interesting as the article itself. This week's comments come from a number of doctors.
Why should you care?
This is writing that could and should be done by a physical therapist. Is it any wonder that the public (and doctors!) don't associate physical therapy with many things we should be addressing, such as exercise and arthritis or weight loss? As a profession, we complain that other practitioners are pushing into "our" territory and infringing on what we do.
Small wonder that! How many times have we heard or told someone to not use "medical jargon?" We're so impressed with our body of knowledge that we use big words, words that have no meaning to the average consumer (yes, it's a business). But trainers speak the language people want to hear and are able to understand. They're accessible on paper, online and at most gyms.
What should we do?
Get out there! Approach your local paper about writing a column. Write a book. Give a seminar (to the public, not each other). Learn how to engage the public. Congratulations, most physical therapists have DPTs now. It's tragic that trainers may drive you into bankruptcy.