Hand Therapy Secrets | Helping Occupational Therapist Become Experts

You have the tools and you know the mechanics, but your shoulder patients still aren't getting better. In this episode, I break down how to analyze your own treatment approach, manage patient expectations, and finally get unstuck with stubborn shoulder cases.

School didn't teach you hand therapy, and that's fine — I graduated from a top program and we barely touched on it. Your degree is a ticket, not a finish line; you don't need to know everything to start treating.

You don't need to know everything about shoulders to start treating them. I share my framework using modalities, manual therapy, and basic exercises that work — no matter what setting you're in.

If you’re wondering if you should learn how to treat the spine, here are a couple questions you should ask yourself as a practicing therapist.

Shoulder injuries don't have to be intimidating. I share a simple framework to help you treat bone, tendon, and ligament problems — plus why understanding protocols makes surgical cases easier than you think.

Most therapists fail the CHT exam not because they don't know enough, but because they never spend time on what they don't know. Let's break down exactly how to organize your studying so you actually cover everything.

You can't treat lateral epicondylitis with a one-size-fits-all approach. Phase, body type, and the order of your exercises all matter — and if you're still doing wrist curls for a patient who's 80% better, you might be the reason they're stuck. Let's talk about it.

Hospital systems, clinics, or acute care — which is right for you? I break down the best places to start your hand therapy career and where you should think twice.

Stop overcomplicating elbow fractures. The CHT exam doesn't care if you can name every crevice. It cares if you can integrate anatomy, protocols, and treatment. Let's discuss.

You can be so excited to finally get your foot in the door that you forget to ask the important questions. Don't let that be you — here are the questions you need to ask before you accept that hand therapy job.

If your patient isn't progressing, check yourself before you check them. You can't control what they do, but you can control what YOU do.

Your first year in hand therapy will feel hard — but that's normal. Let's break down what you should expect and what you should be doing.

Your textbook doesn't teach you everything. Oftentimes, you'll end up learning on the job. That's why I decided to break down exactly what school didn't teach you about lateral epicondylitis.

You don't need to wait for an offer to get started on learning hand therapy, let me tell you how you can get started.

Splinting doesn't need to be hard all the time... so how can you get it to be easier? Here are some tips.

How do you know if you're studying for the CHT exam correctly? I'll break down how you should be studying so you can make sure you pass.

Orthosis is an important skill to have as a therapist, so let's discuss why.

Being smart doesn't give you a guaranteed pass on the CHT exam. Let's talk about the 3 things I keep seeing, that causes therapists to fail the exam.

Your rates are your rates, here's what you can say in response to someone who is trying to negotiate your therapy prices.

How do you know when someone needs surgery and when someone can do therapy? Let's talk about it.

What am I ACTUALLY doing on my day-to-day basis as a clinic owner?

Your hands shouldn't be hurting after working with your patients. Here are a couple tips on how to better your techniques so you can sustainably do therapy.

Growing my clinic is not easy, but the payoff is worth it in the end. Here are some things I've learned while running my clinic, and how I'm building up my team.

What to look at and think about when working with post-fracture thumb stiffness.

Bringing your idea to life doesn't mean that it'll start off perfect. Once you get it going, you'll be able to improve from there. Here's my journey on how I started teaching my courses.

How long it takes to study for the CHT exam will always depend on the individual. Let's go through some factors that you need to consider when you start studying.

When working with patients with CMC arthritis, there are different ways to approaching rehabilitation. I'll go over what has worked and doesn't work so you can decide what you want to do with your patients.

Hiring a therapist is a lengthy process, especially if you want to find the right one. Here are a couple things I look for when hiring for my clinic.

What to do from acute to functional in thumb ligament injuries.

With how prevalent social media is, you can use that to your advantage to gain your patients' trust.

How I diagnosed and treated a PIP contracture.

2016 was the year I decided to change the trajectory of my clinic.

Let's address what you may be doing wrong when it comes to trigger fingers, and how we can fix it so you can be a better therapist.

If you're feeling invisible with your clinic, it's not that you're not good, but it might be how you're marketing yourself. Here are a couple tips to improve your visibility!

Understanding why finger fractures are frustrating for your patients can help your patients do better with you.

When you're getting calls about your clinic, you want to be able to have patients trust you and do business with you. Therefore, the words you say affects how potential patients can choose your practice.

Struggling with treating hand fractures? It's probably not because you don't know what to do, but with your understanding of anatomy. Here's how I go over it.

Marketing vs. Sales? Wrong! It's marketing AND sales. Both of these go hand-in-hand in order to grow your therapy clinic. Let's discuss why.

Let’s discuss conservative treatment for a finger fracture case.

The real reason you're not getting clients? It's not your skills... it's your messaging. Let's talk about it.

Most therapists get this wrong when studying for the CHT exam.

Overwhelmed by marketing for your new clinic? You're not alone. Let's break down a simple but powerful marketing concept that will show you exactly where to focus your energy first.

Don't discount yourself from getting the CHT and start studying! Here are 5 tips for you to start studying without feeling overwhelmed.

I've had my own clinic for about 12 years, and I've learned... a LOT. In this video I wanted to share a couple things on what I wish I did and what I'm currently doing now in my clinic.