Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How a Physical Therapist Returned to Practice After a Five-Year Gap
Transcript
- Lucas: Last year, nearly one in five physical therapists in the U.S. had taken a career break of at least twelve months. And when they wanted to come back, the biggest hurdle wasn't finding an open position—it was recertification and confidence. Luna: I've heard that from a few healthcare professionals. The license doesn't just sit there waiting for you, does it? Lucas: Right. Most state licensing boards require that you've practiced a minimum number of hours within a renewal period—usually two thousand hours over two years. And if you've been out longer than that, the requirements can be daunting. Luna: So what did Jessica do? She was a physical therapist at a hospital before staying home with her kids for five years. Lucas: She started by contacting her state board. They told her she needed to complete forty continuing education units—that's CEUs—and pass a jurisprudence exam on state laws. But the real challenge was clinical competency. She hadn't touched a patient in half a decade. Luna: And during that time, the field changed. New techniques, new equipment, changes to insurance billing. Lucas: Exactly. For example, the use of dry needling and instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization became mainstream while she was gone. She had to learn those from scratch. But she didn't just jump into a full-time job. She found a part-time 'bridge role' at a small private practice that specifically hired returners. Luna: A bridge role—so a temporary position with training built in? Lucas: Yes. She pitched it to the clinic's owner: she'd work three days a week at a reduced rate for the first three months, with a mentor shadowing her for the first two weeks. In exchange, they'd cover her malpractice insurance and let her access their online training portal. The owner agreed because he'd had trouble finding full-time staff. Luna: That's a smart negotiation. She basically created her own reentry program. Lucas: And it worked. After the three months, she moved to a standard part-time schedule. Within a year, she was back to full-time. But the key was that she didn't try to hide the gap—she framed it as an advantage. She said being a mom taught her to multitask and listen more carefully to patients. Luna: I love that. And speaking of advantages—if this episode is helping you think through your own reentry strategy, it's worth knowing that the show stays ad-free thanks to listener support. That support comes from people like you at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate that. It lets us keep digging into these specific stories without any sponsor interruptions. Luna: So what about the financial side? Did Jessica have to take a pay cut initially? Lucas: She did. She went from earning about $85,000 in her last job before the gap to a bridge role paying $40,000 for three days a week. But she had a partner who worked, so they could absorb that. After a year, she was back to $75,000 equivalent, and she's now at $90,000, which is above the national median for physical therapists. Luna: That's a great outcome. But what about someone who doesn't have a partner's income to lean on? How do they manage the gap? Lucas: That's a real concern. Some hospitals have formal return to work programs. For example, the Mayo Clinic offers a twelve-week 'preceptorship' for nurses and allied health professionals who've been out more than five years. They pay a stipend, and you're guaranteed an interview at the end. Not every hospital does that, but it's worth searching for 'reentry programs' online. Luna: And what about the confidence gap? Jessica mentioned she felt like a fraud walking into the clinic the first day. Lucas: She did. She said she spent the first week second-guessing every manual therapy technique. But the mentor she shadowed told her something that stuck: 'You haven't forgotten how to think like a PT, you just need to update the database.' That helped her treat it as a learning curve, not a deficiency. Luna: That's a good framing. So what was the biggest surprise when she came back? Lucas: The administrative burden. Insurance approvals and electronic health records had gotten more complex. She spent about two hours per day just on documentation, which she said was way more than before her gap. That's actually a common complaint across healthcare. Luna: So she had to learn new software too. Did the clinic offer training on that? Lucas: Not formal training, but they gave her a login to their online system a week before she started, and she spent evenings clicking around. She also found a YouTube channel from a PT who walked through the most common documentation templates. That prep made her first week less overwhelming. Luna: That's a good tip for anyone returning: use free resources to get ahead of the technology. Lucas: Absolutely. And Jessica said the biggest lesson was to start the process early—it took her six months from initial license check to her first day of work. She recommends giving yourself at least that long if you're in a regulated profession. Luna: Six months sounds about right. Let's talk about networking—did she use her old contacts? Lucas: She did. She reached out to her former supervisor, who had moved to a different clinic. That supervisor didn't have an opening but introduced her to the owner of the practice where she eventually worked. That warm introduction made the cold call feel less cold. Luna: So the advice is: dust off your LinkedIn, reconnect with people you worked with, even if they're in different roles now. Lucas: Exactly. And when you do that, don't ask for a job immediately. Say something like, 'I'm planning to return to practice in six months and would love your advice on how to get up to speed.' That's less pressure and more likely to get helpful responses. Luna: I think that's a great takeaway. For anyone listening who's a physical therapist—or any healthcare professional—consider a bridge role, start early, and leverage your network. Lucas: And if you have a success story of your own, we'd love to hear it. For now, thanks for joining us on The Comeback Career Podcast.