Today we’d like to introduce you to Gail Bachman.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It’s honestly hard for me to pinpoint exactly where my story “started” because when I look back, my life feels less like a straight path and more like a collection of amazing people, opportunities, adventures, and challenges that have shaped who I am today.
I give a lot of credit to my parents. Both had incredibly strong work ethics in their respective professions, my mom a food scientist and my dad a veterinarian, but they also made time for family, friends, and giving back to their community. From them, I learned that having a strong sense of purpose matters, but sharing your time, talents, and purpose with others is the ultimate goal. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted it to feel meaningful.
After graduating from SDSU with my Bachelor’s in Kinesiology, I joined the Peace Corps and spent three years in Ethiopia working in the health sector. I joined because for the opportunity to help others and for a bit an adventure. I certainly got the adventure, but my understanding of “helping” changed tremendously while I was there.
I learned that showing up with good intentions and a list of things you think should be done isn’t necessarily helpful. Some of my Western ideas fell completely flat because I didn’t yet understand the people, culture, or community well enough. Ethiopia taught me the importance of listening first, building relationships, and taking the time to understand where someone is coming from. I learned that meaningful change takes time. Sometimes you may just help to lay a foundation without ever getting to see the finished product and that’s okay. Meaningful work isn’t always measured by an immediate outcome. Sometimes the growth comes from challenging yourself and those around you, planting seeds that may have an impact long after you’ve moved on.
When I returned home, I decided to pursue a career in physical therapy and joined the first cohort of SDSU’s new Doctor of Physical Therapy program—another adventure, although a very different kind! After three years where life in Ethiopia could be incredibly unpredictable, suddenly my days were filled with lectures, labs, reading, homework, and exams. It was challenging, but I tried to continue making room for the things that reminded me of my “why”: volunteering with local nonprofits, getting outside with friends, and spending time with family.
My first job as a physical therapist was at Casa Colina, a large inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Pomona. It was an incredible place to begin my career and completely intimidating. I was so nervous in the first few weeks I felt like I might throw up driving to work! But curiosity has always been a big driver for me. I wanted to understand the ins and outs of neurological rehabilitation and I wanted to become better for my patients. I was fortunate to be surrounded by incredible mentors, fellow healthcare providers and my patients themselves.
Only about six months after becoming a licensed PT, I began assisting in SDSU’s DPT neurological rehabilitation lab. I initially thought being in the classroom would simply help me become a better neuro PT, but teaching opened an entirely new door for me. I discovered how much I loved helping students connect what they were learning in the classroom to the very human experience of caring for another person.
After several years in the neuro lab at SDSU, I transitioned to a full-time faculty position in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at San Diego Mesa College, teaching courses and guiding students through their clinical education journey. It was another new challenge and another adventure—and another opportunity to learn what it really means to help others. Working with students from diverse backgrounds in such a challenging and intensive program pushed me to grow tremendously as an educator. I learned that teaching, much like patient care, isn’t about having one approach that works for everyone. It requires listening, adapting, meeting people where they are, and sometimes recognizing strengths in someone before they recognize those strengths in themselves. Once again, I was incredibly grateful for my mentors along the way—both my colleagues and, very often, my students.
Today, I’m the Director of Clinical Education for SDSU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program, while continuing to practice physical therapy through per-diem at Sharp Hospitals and pro bono work in San Diego and Mexico. In many ways, my current role brings together lessons I picked up in places that once seemed completely unrelated. I wouldn’t describe my career as a carefully mapped-out path, it’s been anything but that! It has been much more about following curiosity, saying yes to opportunities that feel meaningful, learning from the people around me, and being willing to be uncomfortable along the way.
My dad would regularly ask people, regardless of their age, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized he wasn’t necessarily asking what job or career they wanted to have, but something bigger: Who do you want to be in the world? I can happily say that I’m still not entirely sure what I want to be when I grow up—and I think that’s part of the adventure!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t know that I would call it a smooth road, but many of the challenges I’ve faced professionally have been somewhat self-inflicted! I have a tendency to step into roles or opportunities before I truly feel ready and then force myself to rise to the challenge. That can be exciting, but also uncomfortable and, at times, overwhelming. There have definitely been moments of wondering, “What did I get myself into?” Fortunately, I’ve had so many people throughout my career who believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself, and who pushed and supported me along the way.
And while I’ve had a good amount of success in my career it initially cam on the heels of rejection. After the Peace Corps, I applied to several different graduate programs because I wasn’t completely sure which direction I wanted to go, I was fortunate to be accepted into several Master’s programs in public health and education. Then I received a rejection from the physical therapy program at Sacramento State University, and apparently rejection is a great motivator for me! It lit a fire under me. I love a good challenge, and there is something about being told I can’t do something that makes me want to figure out how I can. Ultimately, I realized that by becoming a physical therapist I could have a career which included clinical work, public health initiatives, and education. So, I suppose I owe Sacramento State a thank-you for helping me find my direction, even if their contribution was telling me “no!”
Like many, I’ve also faced personal challenges that have painfully shaped who I am today. While in PT school, I lost my younger sister, and during my first year at Mesa College, I lost my dad. Navigating grief while continuing to show up in other parts of my life was incredibly difficult, and it put professional challenges into a very different perspective. I was extremely fortunate to have an amazing network of family, friends, colleagues, and mentors who supported me through those losses. While I don’t think we are ever fully prepared to lose those closest to us, those experiences reinforced for me just how important the connections we make are and how meaningful the time we get to spend with one another really is.
So no, overall the road hasn’t always been smooth. Some challenges I’ve willingly walked, or maybe run, into, and others I never would have chosen. I certainly haven’t handled every one of them perfectly, but each has taught me something valuable and I try to use my tough lessons learned to now help student physical therapist and physical therapist assistants navigate their own path.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Today, most of my professional time is spent in education as the Director of Clinical Education for the School of Physical Therapy at San Diego State University. In that role, I help bridge the gap between what our students learn in the classroom and where so much of their growth happens, in the clinic, working with real patients. I have the privilege of helping students navigate that transition from learning how to be a physical therapist to actually becoming one which is very rewarding.
Clinically, I am a Board Certified Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy, an area of practice that I have loved throughout my career. Working with individuals with neurological conditions taught me early on how complex and personal rehabilitation can be. No two patients, injuries, goals, or circumstances are exactly alike, and being a good clinician requires curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to really listen to the person in front of you. Although education is now my primary role, continuing to practice through per-diem and pro bono work is still important to me. It keeps me connected to the ever changing healthcare environment and to the realities of the profession I am preparing students to enter.
I’ve also been an active member of my professional association throughout my career at the local, state, and federal level. Advocacy has become an increasingly important part of what I do whether I am advocating for an individual patient, student, or advocating for the physical therapy profession as a whole.
When I think about what I’m most proud of, it isn’t necessarily one position, credential, or accomplishment. I’m proud that I regularly get to work across all of those spaces. On any given day, I might be helping a student work through a difficult situation, collaborating with a clinical partner or colleague, treating a patient in the hospital, or advocating for changes that could benefit our profession and the people we serve. Each requires a slightly different version of me, but they are all connected by the same goal: helping people move forward.
I’m not sure what sets me apart but I do have a genuine curiosity about people and I am always willing to get involved. I ask a lot of questions, I like solving problems, and when I see an opportunity to make something better, I have a hard time sitting on the sidelines.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Healthcare is constantly evolving, but unfortunately one trend I think most healthcare providers are experiencing is being asked to “do more with less.” That isn’t sustainable. It hurts our patients, contributes to provider burnout, and ultimately harms our entire healthcare system.
For physical therapy specifically, the cost of providing care has risen dramatically, while reimbursement from health insurance for PT services has remained stagnant or, in many cases, decreased. At the same time, the cost of becoming a physical therapist continues to rise. If that trajectory continues, something has to give. Providers will be expected to see more patients in less time, which means less individualized care and greater burnout. We may also see continued growth in cash-pay physical therapy, which I think is a great model, however specifically thinking about my patient’s with chronic neurological conditions we need a healthcare system that provides access to excellent physical therapy for everyone, not just those who have the ability to pay out of pocket.
Over the next 5–10 years, I hope we see a real push toward removing unnecessary barriers between patients and the care they need. Physical therapists are highly educated healthcare professionals, and we need to modernize our laws and healthcare systems so PT and PTAs can practice at the top of their license. I recently helped advocate for legislation in California that would modernize our state’s Physical Therapy Practice Act. The bill did not make it through the legislature this year, but that doesn’t mean the work stops. We learn, regroup, and keep advocating!
I also hope healthcare as a whole becomes much better at prevention instead of waiting for something to go wrong. Physical therapists improve the way people move, and movement impacts nearly every aspect of our health and independence. A patient should be able to see a PT to improve their balance and reduce their risk of falling, rather than first reaching us for rehabilitation after a fall and a hip fracture. Keeping someone healthy, mobile, and independent should be valued just as much as helping them recover after something has already happened.
If we get this right, I hope that by 2036 a patient in any of the 50 states can directly access a physical therapist without unnecessary red tape or burdensome authorization requirements. Insurance should cover the care that is clinically necessary rather than imposing arbitrary reauthorization requirements that can delay or interrupt treatment. And physical therapists should continue working collaboratively with physicians and other healthcare professionals, with each provider able to contribute their expertise to truly patient-centered care.
Ultimately, I hope the future of physical therapy is actually pretty simple: give patients access to the right provider at the right time, allow providers to use the full extent of their education and training, and build a sustainable system that focuses not only on helping people recover, but on helping them stay healthy, independent, and moving well throughout their lives.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gail.bachman.35/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gailbachmanptdpt/
