10 Year Anniversary Comes Full Circle
With sincere elation and gratitude we thank our patients for trusting us with their care, and for being our ardent supporters, and loyalists, as we celebrate our 10 year anniversary at Ascent.
Ascent Physical Therapy Ribbon Cutting Ceremony - Nov 2012
This past week I spent 5 glorious days in beautiful San Diego, attending the annual conference of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT). The timing could not have been more ordained. 2022 marks exactly 10 years since I started Ascent, and almost 20 years since I started my journey towards becoming an Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapist (OMPT) specialist, and a Fellow with the academy.
We all love origin stories and I would love to share a big part of mine (I promise to keep it short :))
Dr. Shankar L Krishnan
PT, DPT, MBA, FAAOMPT
I hail from Delhi, India and started working as a PT in the United States in the year 1998. I had a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Therapy and those days that was your entry point to getting a PT license and start practicing. My primary motive coming in was to advance my professional education. Having a keen interest in orthopedics and specifically the treatment of painful conditions I chose to finish a residency and fellowship in OMPT starting 2003 and finally finishing in 2008. All this while still practicing as a PT so I was easily able to transition what I learnt in class to help my patients in the clinic.
During that journey I was helped and supported by several professors, such as Dr. Peiter Kroon DPT, founder and owner of the Manual Therapy Institute, who taught our cohort how to think outside the box and to never give up on a patient’s condition, followed by many mentors who shaped and honed our skills. Along the way, we learnt and read the works of stalwarts of our profession. Like our living legend Professor Laurie Hartman out of the British School of Osteopathy.
Dr. Pieter Kroon, my professor, mentor and idol (seeing him after 15 years).
Professor Laurie Hartman (center)
This past week in San Diego it all came full circle for me. Not only was I able to see and meet, in person, all my idols and the greats in our profession, I finally got a chance to hear them speak and interact with them and ask them questions. It was, in a word, candyland for the nerdy part of my therapist brain.
Dr. Cameron MacDonald, boss, mentor, dear friend.
I also got a chance to meet my first boss from 25 years ago, Dr. Cameron W. Macdonald DPT, without whom I truly might not be here. I met my professors and mentors I hadn’t seen in 15 years, and I got to do what I love the most in these conferences, interact with peers from around the world and exchange ideas and techniques, and share clinical pearls, and making some great friends along the way.
The conference also serves to fulfill all of our Continuing Ed requirements with seminars on latest research and treatments and we had loads of that. That is why even though I spent 5 days in San Diego, I was ensconced in my hotel compound and happily oblivious to the beautiful harbor and the Gaslamp district.
As I get ready to start my work day and a new work month, I can’t wait to get back and do what I love to do and am passionate about, helping people relieve their pain and return to doing the things they love to do, the Ascent way!
Yours Truly,
Dr. Shankar Krishnan PT, DPT, FAAOMPT
