Conversations with Ashley Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Williams.

Hi Ashley, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona with my older sister and younger brother. My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. They did not save money for me to go to college nor was it a subject of conversation while I was growing up since no one in my family had attended college.

When I was 16 years old, I injured my right knee and ended up needing surgery followed by physical therapy. The process of recovery was grueling for me, but when I got better and back to dance and softball, I decided that I wanted to become a physical therapist and help other people too. I applied to ASU and was awarded a GPA-based scholarship.

Being the first one in my family to attend college, I felt I had a responsibility to focus on my academics as my priority. After I graduated from ASU in 2007 with an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology, I applied to and was accepted by the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Northern Arizona University.

Oh, and I got married in 2008 to my high school sweetheart (now husband of 13 years). After 3 more years of school, in 2011, I graduated with a doctoral degree at the age of 26 and started practicing PT right away. I worked at a busy clinic for 4 months before realizing that it was not the right fit for me due to the limited time I got to actually spend with my patients. I found a PT position at a privately owned clinic near my new home and helped patients there for 4 years.

I had my daughter is 2013 and my world changed completely. I mean, I still loved my career, but I realized that I wasn’t just working for myself anymore. I was working to provide for my family. So, my new challenge was managing this new “family life” of mine as a working mom. Fortunately, I was presented with an opportunity to help open up a new PT outpatient clinic down the road from my house.

I had my son in 2016 and dropped my work schedule to 4 days/week from 5 days/week to take care of my children. I loved working at this clinic; I loved my co-workers and my patients, but in the end, I still needed to be more autonomous and have more schedule flexibility due to the increasing needs of my young children. So, after 4 ½ years, I left that clinic to try something else.

Little did I know that my leaving this clinic synced up with the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Leaving a familiar and comfortable place was super scary. Nonetheless, I committed to working with a concierge physical therapy company called PT3. Even with the fears of COVID, most of my patients trusted me enough to come into their homes so that I could treat them. I traveled and treated patients in their homes fully for 1.5 years and then found a private treatment room on 32nd St and Campbell.

Now I am a hybrid model practitioner who does half in-home and half in-office PT treatments. Driving around town less has allowed me to treat more patients in a week and be more efficient with my time. I work between 7:00 or 8:00 am and 2:30 pm so that I can get my young kids from school every day, Monday-Friday. Having that time with them means the world to me. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Finally, after 10.5 years of practicing as a licensed physical therapist, I have finally found the perfect work, family, self-care, and social life balance. It has been an amazing journey getting here, and I can say that every schedule, patient, and employer has been an important stepping stone in getting me where I am today.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have had a few obstacles to overcome to get to where I am today. The first one was paying for college. I relied on scholarships and financial aid to complete my 7.5 years of college. I also worked part-time on weekends at a local restaurant and served as a resident assistant on ASU’s campus for a free dormitory stay.

Another difficult decision I had to make was to be separated from my husband for two years in order to complete NAU’s doctoral program. He stayed in Tempe with his parents to work and support me in graduate school.

When I graduated, my husband, our dog, and I continued to live with my in-laws until we finally bought our first home. My husband was a bartender working mostly nights 7:00 pm to 2:00 am while I was working 6:00 am-4:00 pm. Our schedules left little time for us to spend together, but we persevered.

I guess looking back over the past 10 years, another struggle for me was having my two kids in a working world where a new mother is expected to return to work full force and take care of patients as if she isn’t sleep deprived, emotionally exhausted, and physically worn out.

I tried my best, but when I attempted to pump breastmilk at work on my breaks, I had 2 half-hour time periods to sit down, prep to pump, pump, eat and document my daily notes, stop, clean the equipment, store breast milk and get back “on the floor” for the next patient.

I even pumped in my car while driving to pick my babies up from daycare. Not surprisingly, pumping didn’t last long because, with that kind of schedule, my milk production slowed down, and I eventually stopped breastfeeding after a few months. I feel great guilt and regret over that sacrifice.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I  have been practicing physical therapy for over 10  years in the Phoenix valley. I treat all ages (from 10 years old to 94 years old) and all injuries (from arthritic toes to low back pain to headaches). I have treated many acute injuries such as ankle sprains and muscle tears.

Many of my patients in the past have presented with inflammation and pain from orthopedic surgeries such as total hip and knee replacements or micro-discectomies. I thoroughly enjoy treating patients with these acute-type injuries because I can treat them 1-2 times per week for 3-8 weeks (depending on the severity of the injury) and then they discharge back to normal exercise routines (which is the ultimate goal)!

Helping patients recover from injury or surgery is extremely rewarding for me. I also have a very sweet spot in my heart for my geriatric patient population who I treat with more of a pain management goal for chronic conditions. I am known for my skilled hands-on manipulations and mobilizations. I spend much of my time doing soft tissue mobilizations, joint mobilizations, passive range of motion, and manual stretches.

I also utilize targeted vibration therapy, cupping, and dry needling in my practice for more aggressive but effective results and progress toward improved tissue health. I provide specific home exercise programs to my patients for progress as well and expect them to do their part in their health care. I can tell who does their exercises and who doesn’t, and I am good at calling them out! I let my patients know that I will do my part and give them 100% of my efforts to get them better, but they must do their part for it to be worth their time. I explain to my patients that as a Doctor of PT, I prescribe exercises like a Medical Doctor would prescribe an antibiotic medication for a bacterial infection.

You must take it to get better! Over the years, my patients have expressed to me that I am reliable, determined, caring, and compassionate. I really attempt to make every treatment count. My journey has been interesting though because I worked in the busy outpatient orthopedic clinic setting for 8.5 years then transitioned to Concierge PT where I now can spend 30-60 minutes with my patients every treatment.

I am such a one-on-one provider that I have found this setting to fit me very well. In the clinic, I would only get 15-30 minutes of manual therapy with patients and then they were assigned a technician to complete their exercises. The short time with patients was distracting, and I felt a lot of pressure to see more than 10-15 patients in a day. Now in the concierge setting, I spend quality time with only 5-6 patients each workday.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I love what I do. I cannot imagine being anything else but a physical therapist. The way I see it, I was placed on this earth to take care of my patients and my two children.

These past 2 years I have finally found the life balance I was seeking.

I compartmentalize well and learned to set boundaries. I can go from being a quiet, focused person at my healthclub 5:30-6:30 am, to a skilled, reliable physical therapist 8 am-2:30 pm, to an endearing, involved mother 3:00-8:00 pm, to a “leave me alone, I’m checked out” woman who needs to get some sleep!

I don’t want to make balancing work and family sound easy. My days are demanding and exhausting, but they are also joyful and rewarding. Therein is the balance.

Contact Info:

• Email: ashley@pt3az.com
• Instagram: pt3_concierge
• Website: www.pt3az.com
• Instagram: @pt3_concierge