Healthy Wealthy & Smart Ali Schoos: Leading the Way: Insights on Physical Therapy Leadership
In this episode of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart Podcast, host Karen Litzy welcomes back fellow physical therapist Ali Shoos to discuss leadership within the physical therapy profession. Allie, a dedicated volunteer leader since she began her career in 1982, shares her journey and experiences in fostering the potential of future leaders in the field. The conversation explores the importance of mentorship, the impact of involvement in professional organizations, and the role of the community in shaping effective leaders. Join Karen and Ali as they delve into the significance of leadership in physical therapy and how to empower the next generation of therapists.
Time Stamps:
[00:01:21] Leadership journey in physical therapy.
[00:04:11] Leadership and advocacy journey.
[00:10:05] Telehealth leadership during COVID.
[00:14:36] Giving back to the profession.
[00:17:30] Mentorship in professional growth.
[00:22:02] Integrity as a leadership quality.
[00:24:40] Vulnerability in leadership.
[00:28:12] Volunteer opportunities in APTA.
[00:34:55] Be bold and take risks.
[00:35:26] Boldness in leadership decisions.
More About Ali Schoos:
Ali Schoos, PT, graduated with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma WA in 1982. Between then and 2000 she worked in a private practice, managed a hospital based sports medicine clinic, opened a private practice in 1987, and worked for a national PT company for six years as their group director in the greater Seattle area. She then returned to private practice in 2000, after co-founding Peak Sports and Spine Physical Therapy with her husband, a group of 8 private practice clinics, practicing in Bellevue, WA. She has been a board certified orthopedic specialist from 1993-2023. She retains a small ownership in the clinics that have largely been sold to the partners she and her husband developed from their employees.
Ali has long been an active volunteer and advocate for the PT profession. She has been the secretary and chair for the Orthopedic Special Interest group, state insurance liaison for APTA Washington for nine years, a delegate to the HOD, past board member for Washington state PPSIG, served on the APTA Private Practice Section Board of Directors for six years, as well as the Covid advisory task force. She served on the APTA advisory group for primary care PT and the development of the APTA telehealth certification series. She currently serves on APTA PPS Nominating Committee, the telehealth subcommittee for APTA PPS payment policy committee, and is an APTA PAC Trustee. She is a key PT for APTA and APTA PPS and active in legislative advocacy in Washington state. She was awarded the Washington state PT of the Year in 1993 for her insurance advocacy and again in 2021 for her work on obtaining telehealth payment and delivery parity in Washington during the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. She also advocates for Alzheimers’ and ALS research, medication access, and patient resources. She has presented on numerous topics, most recently for APTA and APTA PPS webinars on telehealth, advocacy, and marketing, as well as developing and moderating “Chelan Chat” for the Washington State PPSIG annual meeting in 2022 and 2023. Ali has served her local community on the Alzheimers’ Regional Advisory Board, the Bellevue YMCA board, her parish council, fundraising efforts for her children’s school, and coaching her kids in soccer when they were young enough to not be too technical yet! She loves the physical therapy profession and is happy to serve in any way that facilitates our movement forward as a profession and helps us to better meet the needs of our patients, while keeping us financially viable as a profession.
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