What exactly is a Clinical Champion? Infinity Rehab, a therapy services company, offers an extensive line of professional development opportunities for their therapists. The Clinical Champions Program focuses on identifying and developing the clinical behaviors essential for effective clinical practice at Infinity Rehab.
Level 1 behaviors are considered essential actions for producing outstanding patient care outcomes and required for all Infinity Rehab clinicians. Level 2 & Level 3 are voluntary, designed to be challenging and paired with increased incentives and opportunities.
Meet level 3 Clinical Champion Natalie Johnson
Natalie Johnson, a speech-language pathologist at Avamere Rehabilitation of Beaverton in Beaverton, Oregon, first got involved with the Clinical Champions program when she applied for level 2 Clinical Champion status back in the summer of 2019. It was a decision primarily driven by her faith, as she sees the high level of care she provides for her patients as an act of worship to God. As a result of this, she views her profession as a gift.
Natalie reflected on her experience in the program by noting: “For me, this program gives me a great roadmap to follow, showing me ways in which I can provide the highest quality of care. It is a barometer that I can measure my performance against and holds me accountable to growing in my clinical skills.”
Attaining Clinical Champion level 3 status
To attain level 3 Clinical Champion status, Natalie really wanted to focus on ways in which she could share the new skills and information she was learning with other employees. This came in the way of sharing information with her director of rehab (DOR), who is also an SLP and shares the caseload with Natalie at her building.
Natalie left no stone unturned while in the program when she took some paid time off (PTO): “I made sure to share the new techniques I was learning with those covering my caseload while I was gone, providing them with links to resources and step-by-step instructions. In my application, I submitted a couple case studies showing how I implemented the techniques I learned in CEUs and showed the objective improvement my patients made.”
What’s so great about level 3?
For Natalie, level 3 Clinical Champion status opens up different opportunities for leadership and new initiatives. So, this level still provides a tremendous amount of growth within your therapy career.
Natalie notes: “I am in the process of working on a project with HR and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) team that I am excited about. I also feel more known and supported by corporate. The additional PTO for CEU courses and extra reimbursement for professional expenses is an added bonus since there are some certifications I’ve been wanting to pursue.”
Advice for fellow employees and new team members
The healthcare and therapy industry is still feeling some pain and fallout post-pandemic. Many therapists are still suffering burnout and feeling stagnant in their career.
But Natalie has some sage advice: “At the end of the day, I think it’s important to remember that if your loved ones were patients, you’d want them to have therapists who were actively pursuing clinical growth and innovation, providing the highest quality care. This program has helped keep me from feeling stagnant in my growth and has provided inspiration for new ways in which I can better my clinical skills.”
Infinity Rehab has a long history of providing mentorship and professional development opportunities for their therapists. You can find out more about these programs here.
