Meet the Physical Therapist – Sara Palinski
What was your “moment” where you realized you wanted to become a physical therapist?
I was in physical therapy as a patient after I had shoulder surgery. Later on in my rehab, the physical therapist that I worked with had me doing softball drills and throwing long toss in the parking lot and I thought, this seems like a pretty cool job that I would get to work with active minded people and not sit at a desk.
What kind of schooling did you go through to be a physical therapist? Where did you go to school?
I did some of my undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico and finished my bachelor’s in Exercises Science at Creighton University. I then went on for my doctoral degree in physical therapy from Creighton University as well.
Did you participate in sports growing up? What kinds of activities and hobbies do you enjoy now?
I played softball and basketball in high school, softball in college, and still play competitive slow-pitch softball, sand volleyball, and golf now.
What is your favorite thing about being a physical therapist?
I really enjoy the people with whom we get to work! I get to meet people from all different backgrounds and most seem to have the common mindset of getting back to the thing they are passionate about such as gardening, participating in a sport, or just being able to lift and play with their grand kids. People are pretty positive and motivated.
Why did you choose to work at OPTI?
I chose to work at OPTI for many reasons. The ethics and morals that everyone at OPTI upholds are very important to me and make me feel proud of what we represent. I’ve seen how some other clinics operate and there is such an emphasis on productivity or trying to see as many patients as you can and the patient’s quality of care suffered because of that. OPTI was the exact opposite and I found that the way we do things allows us to work one on one with the patient and provide quality care that I can be proud of.
What makes OPTI different from other physical therapy clinics?
We do things differently here and we don’t accept the reasoning of “well, it has always been done that way, so we are going to keep doing it just because.” We look for the science behind treatments and really focus in on patient education about the body and pain. We pride ourselves in being advocates for our patients and knowing how to be supportive in what the patient needs.