Be A Better PT

Welcome to the Be A Better PT Podcast! The podcast where we deep-dive into what it takes - and what it means - to be a great PT. I’ve spent my professional career obsessing over how I can truly help people while feeling fulfilled. This has led me to the highest levels of formal training and a diverse array of knowledge and practices that I want to share with you. Together, we will journey through the depths of PT practice, cursing and laughing our way there and back. I look forward to traveling with you! Reach out and connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @AndrewHammondPT, or learn more about me and my services at www.AndrewHammondPT.com

Managing Acute Pain with Rebekah Griffith 07/18/2022

Avoiding Burnout with Sandy Hilton 05/02/2022

Playing Within the Constraints with Donald Mull 04/11/2022

Connecting with our Patients with Terry McGee 03/28/2022

A Journey of Pain & Yoga with Scott White, Part II 03/14/2022

A Journey of Pain & Yoga with Scott White, Part I 02/28/2022

Finding Safety with Renee Ostertag 02/07/2022

Finding Fulfillment with Tom Jesson 01/24/2022

Pain & Pathoanatomy with Ron Kochevar 01/10/2022

Enactivism & Pain-Related Suffering with Peter Stilwell, Part II 12/27/2021

Enactivism & Pain-Related Suffering with Peter Stilwell, Part I 12/13/2021

Being Curious, not Judgmental with Andrew Kunin 11/30/2021

Mind, Body, Breath with Justin Ternes 11/15/2021

The Philosophy of Helping 10/18/2021

The Problem With Goals 10/04/2021

Motivational Interviewing, Part II 09/20/2021

Motivational Interviewing, Part II In Part II of this two-part episode on the powerful tool that is MI, we’ll talk through the remaining 2 of the 4 core skills of MI and the 4 MI processes. As in the previous episode, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list). You can find the episode in blog form at You can find the intention-setting infographic at If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via: : : : : If you’re interested in learning more about my mentorship program, visit EXERCISES: Exercise 4: Reflective Listening Use 1-2 reflective statements with each patient the next time you’re in clinic. You could reflect: the meaning of what the person said, the associated feelings, or what may be said next. Remember, just make one guess and keep it simple. *Notice how the person responds* Exercise 5: Summarization Use one summary with each patient the next time you’re in clinic. You could link past and present information, you could summarize their aggs and eases during history-taking, you could summarize salient exam findings as they accumulate, or you could summarize someone’s ambivalence as it relates to a behavior they want to change. *Notice what happens after the summary* Exercise 6: Engaging Think about your patients on your caseload right now. Ask yourself, “Are there any that I need to re-engage with the next time they come in?” Whoever comes to mind, ask yourself: “How is my rapport?” & “Do I have a clear understanding of the help that they seek?” & “Do I have a clear understanding of their hopes & expectations?” Whichever area(s) seems deficient, spend a little extra energy on that at the next visit. *Notice how the session goes* Exercise 7: Focusing Think about your patients on your caseload right now. Ask yourself, “Are there any that I need to re-focus with the next time they come in?” Whoever comes to mind, ask yourself: “Do we have a shared sense of direction?” & “Do we both agree on their goals?” Whichever area(s) seems deficient, spend a little extra energy on that at the next visit. *Notice how the session goes* Exercise 8: Evoking Think about someone on your caseload right now who hasn’t been very committed to the process so far, despite having clear goals. At your next visit with this person: ask for change talk, using open-ended questions; reflect change talk; affirm change talk; or summarize change talk. *Notice what happens next* Exercise 9: Planning Think about someone on your caseload right now who hasn’t followed through with the plan despite vocalizing commitment to the plan. At your next visit with this person, get more specific with aspects of the change plan: time, place; where it fits into daily routines; how they will remember; dosage; and identifying (& solving) potential barriers. *Notice what happens next visit* /episode/index/show/betterpt/id/20460842

Motivational Interviewing, Part I 09/06/2021

Motivational Interviewing, Part I During residency, I was exposed to the communication style known as Motivational Interviewing. Prior to this, I hadn’t realized that there are ways of talking with people that can help them get unstuck. This was a huge realization for me. After this course, I fully nerded-out on MI for many years and had the privilege of teaching the MI content to the residents during their didactic modules in a nice full-circle manner before I left Baltimore. I want to share with you the gift of MI, while also helping you to avoid some of the ways that I’ve misunderstood, misinterpreted, and all-out fucked up when trying to implement MI in the clinic. In this two-part episode, we’ll talk through the philosophical background of motivational interviewing and behavior change, the mindset behind MI, the 4 core skills of MI, and the 4 MI processes. Along the way, I provide exercises to help you integrate and implement this information into the clinic (see below for a full list). You can find the episode in blog form at You can find the intention-setting infographic at If you enjoy this episode, share the love! When you share this episode with your friends, throw me a tag so we can connect! I’m ALWAYS looking for fellow PTs to nerd out with. You can connect with me via: : : : : If you’re interested in bringing your practice to the level that you know it can reach, check out my Physical Therapy Mentorship program at EXERCISES: Exercise 1: The Spirit of MI Think of someone right now who you find difficult to work with. Someone who you get a pit in your stomach when you see them on your schedule (we all have people like this). Now ask yourself: “How is my partnership with this person? Am I collaborating with this person as an equal?” “How is my acceptance of this person? Am I honoring and respecting their freedom to make their own decisions?” “How compassionate am I with this person? Am I giving priority to their needs during our time together?” & finally, “Do I believe that this person has within them already what they need to succeed?” Exercise 2: Open-Ended Questions Start to pay attention to how many open-ended vs. closed-ended questions you ask. Notice the difference in the other person’s response when you ask an open vs. a closed-ended question. Exercise 3: Affirmations Give each patient you work with the next time you’re in clinic one affirmation. Make sure it’s genuine and starts with “You,” not “I.” Notice how the person responds. /episode/index/show/betterpt/id/20369993