E23 - Conversation with New EPSIG President Cole Meadows

We talk with Cole Meadows, the new EPSIG president, about how early-career PTs and PTAs in Nebraska can find mentors, build community, and grow into confident clinicians. We also share an easy way to connect in person and why simply showing up can change your first five years of practice. 

• New EPSIG leadership and what the executive team is focused on
• Why early professionals benefit from networking across Nebraska
• Mentorship that can be formal or casual based on your schedule
• How Cole uses mentors beyond outpatient orthopedics to stay sharp across settings
• Recruitment of more mentors in central and western Nebraska
• Leadership development as the next area of growth
• Community as an antidote to burnout and isolation in healthcare

Contact Information:

EPSIG Email Address:  neapta.epsig@gmail.com

EPSIG Webpage: Nebraska Physical Therapy Association - Early Professional SIG

Network Night:

Who: EPSIG members, graduating students, and EPSIG mentors
When: Thursday April 30th 7:00–8:30 PM
Where: Sonny’s 1905 S 67th St, Omaha, NE

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the APTA Nebraska Podcast, where we dive into the stories, challenges, and innovations shaping physical therapy in our state. We're here to advance, promote, and protect the practice of physical therapy, optimizing the health and quality of life for all Nebraskans. Join us as we connect with experts, share insights, and build community throughout our profession. All right, well, welcome back to the APTA Nebraska podcast. My name is Brad Dexter, your host, and I have Cole Meadows here with me today. Cole is the new president of EPSIG, the early professional special interest group of APTA Nebraska. Cole, welcome back to the conversation. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:43

I'm doing well, Brad. Thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Yeah, we were we were talking a little bit before we started recording here, and and you said you just couldn't turn down another opportunity to be on the podcast after last year, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Absolutely. It was a great experience last time around. And I thought, hey, why not? Let's go for it for round two.

New EPSIG Leaders And What’s Next

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Um, well, yeah, thanks. Thanks again for joining. Um, this is the time of year that we have new graduates getting ready. Uh, well, not quite new graduates, but uh students finishing up their last year of PT school, getting ready to graduate, getting ready to enter the workforce, getting ready to take um uh their NPTE. Uh so really exciting time. That also means that as they're leaving school and entering the workforce, uh we want to find opportunities for new graduates and um early professional PTs to get engaged with APTA Nebraska. So you were the perfect person to talk to. Um I want to start off with the fact we just had some new elections. So we have we have some new people in positions, namely you're our new president, but can you kind of fill us in on uh who the rest of the leadership for EPSIG is right now?

SPEAKER_00 1:59

Yeah, absolutely. So I, prior to this in the last year, I served in our vice president role. So I am just moving on from that and stepping into uh replace Kirsten Wagner as president, who did a wonderful job over the past year. Um, in addition to that, we also have elected a new vice president to take my place as long as well as treasurer. So Kobe Bonner, uh, who is with uh Go Physical Therapy in Grand Island, is taking my position of vice president and will be supporting me over the next 12 months. And then Jack Larson will be our new treasurer, um taking place for Tara Leadbetter. So he is stepping into that role as well. Um Kobe is already working out with go physical therapy, and Jack is coming up here on graduating from uh University of Nebraska Medical Center. Uh we're both we're really excited to have both the both of them um as a part of the executive team and really excited to see what uh the two of them are going to contribute to over the next 12 months.

April 30 Social At Sunny’s

SPEAKER_01 2:54

Yeah, well, I'm just gonna give a shout out to them. Um thankful for them stepping up and serving and and uh grateful for those that have been uh in leadership that are stepping out at this time too. So um really appreciate you guys making this thing go um and and serving the organization, serving younger professionals within physical therapy too. So I want to highlight this a couple times in the conversation. We'll highlight it up front, we'll highlight it again at the end. But uh there's a gathering happening on April 30th at Sunny's for uh early professional, early career PTs. Uh why don't you go ahead and let our audience know some of the details of that so that we can uh we can get that information out here a couple times within the podcast?

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Absolutely. So, like Brad said, April 30th, we will be having a very casual uh pub night social um at Sunny's in the Zarbon area in Omaha. Um so that'll start about 7 p.m. and that will go to about 8, 8:30. It's kind of just come and go as you want. Like again, it like I said, it's really just casual. Why don't you just come show up, talk with people? Um, free to attend. You can come and go as you really want. Really don't no registration required at all. Um, I will throw this out there too. There will be free pizza, so that's always a popular, popular thing. As long as you're an APTA member, you are more than welcome to show up. Uh, really encouraging anyone that is in their last semester of PT school, PTA school to attend, and anyone uh within their first five years of practice to show up to network, connect, um, have some conversations about any mentoring uh that people want. Um, we are also inviting any potential mentors or current mentors to join us as well uh to meet with some of the early professionals in their first five years. And uh again, there's no pressure, there's really nothing on the agenda with this. It's just about getting people together to network, connect, uh, and see what opportunities may come up.

Why EPSIG Matters For New Clinicians

SPEAKER_01 4:45

Hey, you had me at pizza. I think I'm gonna have to show up just to get some pizza. That sounds great. Um, all right. So if I'm uh if I'm uh soon to be graduating physical therapist or um physical therapist assistant, uh why should I care about EPSIG? Uh why should I want to get involved? Go.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Absolutely. That's a that's a great question. I I mean, I'll say this, Brad. I asked myself that from the very get-go when I got asked to be a part of EPSIG. Um, one, it was a very chaotic time in life, you know, finishing up school, getting out into the profession. I thought, gosh, this is one more thing on top of that. And I'll be honest, I was very wrong about that in thinking this is just another thing. Um EPSIG exists to make people in their first five years of practice feel very welcome into the profession, uh, to make them feel like they can be supported, mentored, um, and put on a path to grow into the clinician and person that they want to be. Um, really, our goal in this is to take you know the goals and aspirations that people have that they've spent years and years of um through schooling, um, volunteer work and their time. We want to pour more into them and set them up into their careers to help others and serve pupils in the way that they they do want to serve. Um, we have a lot of opportunities for that. We have our networking, like we said, getting to connect with others. Um, that's a huge part of this, continuing to lean on others. PT is a really small community. When we boil it down in the state of Nebraska, it's really important to know who you work alongside with, and especially as challenges arise within our community uh and within our state, it's important to be able to connect with others in that. Another part of that too is mentoring, realizing that you do not know everything, especially those in the first five years that are finishing up school. You're gonna get out and feel like, gosh, I thought I learned a lot, and yet there's still so much more to know, which should be an opportunity. Now, that's something we can do is pair you with a mentor to help you with that, you know, at the discretion of frequency that you want. You get to spend time with them, talk with them, connect, and just pick their brains and say, hey, what can I do to help uh help myself grow in this, to help become a better clinician and thus better serve the people in our community?

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Uh well said. Uh I'm I'm wondering a little bit, do you have any personal stories um or uh personal experience with the mentoring and how has that been helpful to you, if so?

SPEAKER_00 7:11

I I have. It's been it's been really nice. You know, like I said, there's a many ways you can utilize that. It can be more formal, it can be more casual. I opted for the more casual route. I was very lucky to step into a um company in a role that was already um very good about preaching mentorship and providing those opportunities. Um I had a really great in-house mentoring program for the company that I currently work for and have thoroughly enjoyed it. But on top of that, I wanted to branch out a little bit more. Uh, I currently work in outpatient orthopedics, and of course, any of my mentoring centered around that, but I still have very much enjoyed um the full scope or practice of what I can do with inpatient, home health, and SNF. And I really wanted to make sure that I stayed up to date on some of those skills and some of that knowledge. So that's where I've been able to talk with uh a couple different mentors within within Omaha that have been lucky enough to lend their hand towards uh EPSIG and just pick their brains here or there. Like I said, it's been over copy once, over the phone, more of just a call and saying, hey, I just really want to hear your thoughts about this. Awesome, great, let's set up a time and do it. So I like I said, there's many ways you can utilize the mentoring within this. It's really just what people want from us. So I I would say just let me kind of be a conduit in that way. If people want to connect, reach out. I'm more than happy to facilitate that and help people get mentoring set up to really what fits them, their schedule and their desires.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Uh so speaking of that, what's the best way to connect with Cole Meadows if people are interested?

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Uh so getting a hold of me is pretty, pretty easy. Um, either through the APTA EPSEG email uh that is on our socials as well as on the APTA website. That's probably the easiest way to get a hold of me with any EPSIG related questions. The social media itself is another wonderful way as well. And then two, on the APTA website will have some of my contact information as well to locate me and um use my business email as well and uh to get connected.

Growing Mentors Networking And Leadership

SPEAKER_01 9:09

And we'll make sure that we uh link all of those things down in the show notes for our listeners as well. Um, so what what kind of things, Cole, are you guys working on to grow EPSIG a little bit more? Um, what kind of maybe problems are you facing right now? And how are you starting to address those things?

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Uh Brad, that's a great question. You know, we really want to go grow in three areas, and that's you know, our networking, our mentorship, and our leadership development. So, really with the mentoring, we're really looking right now to grow uh our collection of mentors uh all across Nebraska, not just in eastern Nebraska, where we have quite a bit. We're really wanting to grow our amount of mentors that are willing to step up in the central and western Nebraska region to provide that mentorship to early professionals in their first five years. In terms of our networking, really what I my big ask from people is this is that if you're part of EPSIG or you've been to our events and have enjoyed, great, that's awesome. Uh, very happy that you're willing to join and take the time and effort to come to that. Keep coming, keep showing up. We're hoping to put out some more regular events, more social, more casual pub nights, um, other events like that, networking events to help people connect. I would just applaud you um for one coming, but then two encourage you to keep showing up and um at the same time, bring a friend with you. If you know someone that's also in the profession, um, another colleague in your clinic, uh in your setting that you're in, uh grab them, tell them about it. So, word of mouth is huge for us, and we would love to see those that have benefited from it. Um, just share that with others.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

So I'm hearing uh a need for engagement across the board, whether that's uh you've been in practice for a little while and you want to be a mentor, we could use you. Uh and I'm also hearing engagement like, hey, if you've been engaged before, grab a friend. If you haven't been engaged, um come. You're welcome. Uh am I getting that correct?

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yes. Yeah, I I would say and I would add to that too, um, something that you know Brad and I had talked about prior to the the show was talking about our leadership development and you know, curating a better environment for that. You know, right now we've been really focused on our networking and mentorship, which is has been an incredible effort and we'll continue to do that. But I think we'd like to expand and maybe find ways to um help out with leadership development, getting people um involved in some kind of capacity to lead others to um take on those opportunities as well as provide people with those skills and maybe some potential training to help people feel more comfortable stepping into those roles and taking some of those opportunities that may arise in those first couple of years as you're getting out into your practice and um starting to grow within whatever setting you're in.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Hey, I love it. Um I want to loop back around. I said we would start with this and we'll we'll finish with it as well. Um, but in the case that you skipped over it at the beginning, there's a way to connect uh coming up on April 30th at Sunny's Free Pizza, bring a friend. If you haven't come before, come. Um and hey, if you like mentoring people and you might want to get connected with Epsig as a mentor, might be a great time to get connected as well. So I know that's on our socials for APT in Nebraska. Um and uh Cold, before before I I end us with a new segment on the podcast, do you have anything else that you would like to say to our audience?

SPEAKER_00 12:38

Uh I would just like to say thank you to everyone that's listening, um, everyone that's you know in the in this profession and continuing to serve others. I would just applaud those that continue to work uh tirelessly to serve the communities around them and try and better them. Um I would just also like to add those as people are getting out to the depression in their first five years, it's a very hectic first five years. Uh I would encourage you just to write uh ride through the highs and lows of that and continue to call on others uh for support. Um, like I said, we're here as well to provide that support, help people network and grow. Um just feel like just know that you're in this uh to grow as a person and as a clinician, and that is not an easy task. So take everything with a grain of salt, continue to be optimistically curious about everything and find ways to get involved.

Community Burnout And Showing Up

Rapid Fire Questions And Closing

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Hey, really well said. And now I have to add something to what to what you just said too, uh, because you made me think about this. Uh, you know, our c our entire country is in a loneliness epidemic. And uh, you know, we know that burnout is prevalent within healthcare professions, too. And I love that you're talking about kind of this togetherness um and uh that that togetherness being an opportunity to serve people around us. Um you can't have that sense of community without intentionally connecting with other people, intentionally showing up, uh, intentionally reaching out. And there's so much of that happening. Uh, I've been amazed. My eyes have been opened as I've gotten more involved with APTA Nebraska. Uh, and I'll bet more people's eyes would be opened and it would be refreshing uh if if you take the opportunity to uh to show up at the events to get engaged. Uh it really is pretty cool. So um sorry, I had to add to what you said. That was so great. I really didn't need to add anything at all, but uh I did have to say something. So um, Cole, this is great. Thank you for the conversation. Um now I did mention I've got a new segment on the podcast. Um I don't even know what I'm gonna call it yet. I'm working this out a little bit, but you are trial run number one. And I hope this is just a little bit fun, but we're gonna wrap things up with some rapid fire questions, okay? Let's do it. All right, Cole, here we go. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Oh, I am definitely a morning person. I like to rise up early. Um, I am definitely not a fan of hitting the snooze button. I like to get up, get the day going, get a cup of coffee, um, or two, or three, and kind of attack the day.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

All right. What's your favorite way to unwind?

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Um, probably uh I would say probably spending time with my wife, getting out and going for walks. We live in a really, really good part of Omaha that has access to a lot of trails, uh, a lot of nice, nice walking paths. So I would say getting out into nature, spending a little bit less time inside, looking at a computer screen, staring at documentation, and more time outside, um, just enjoying what everything that's around us.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

Would you say you're more of an introvert or an extrovert?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Uh I would say I am a well-trained introvert. I thoroughly enjoy my my own time and um you know my passions in pursuing that. But at the same time, I feel like I've have really stepped up into the role where I will sometimes come off as an extrovert, um, especially in the clinic and around others. I enjoy connecting and socializing others, uh socializing with others, but I thoroughly do enjoy uh my own time and my my uh my own uh hobbies as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Well said. What's your go-to pump-up song?

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Oh, geez. Um I don't know if I would say I have a song off the top of my head. A little ACDC in the morning always can always get you going. Uh we play a lot of a lot of classic rock in in the clinic, and I will say that has grown on me quite a bit. So I grew up on a lot of 90s, 2000s, and um throwing it back to the 70s, 80s has been a really nice way to get the day rolling.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Okay, I like it. Uh Beach or Mountains?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Ooh, beach. My wife and I just uh honeymooned in Mexico. Uh we just got married here recently, back in August, and I got to honeymoon uh down in Mexico, and that was incredible. I would say like a little bit of both, but uh nothing beats uh a beach beach um in the sun with no clouds.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Uh podcast or music?

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Podcast. Always wanting to, always wanting to learn, always wanting to grow. Uh I have a variety of podcasts I listen to, so I've never really funneled it on one thing. I somehow have a have a really fancy way of uh balancing three or four different podcast episodes all at once.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Uh okay. Most useless talent you have.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Oh, useless talent. Uh I would say I am really good at flipping about uh five or six eggs in a pan uh at once without dropping anything, has no benefit, doesn't make anything taste better at all, and definitely looks messier on the plate afterwards, but it is fun to do.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Um flipping a lot of eggs in a pan, that's impressive. It really is.

unknown 17:39

All right.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Last last one here for you. What would your 10-year-old self think of you now?

SPEAKER_00 17:46

I think my 10-year-old self would look at me and be like, holy smokes, you are doing all this already at this point. Um either that or probably the more 10-year-old answer is why are you not playing shortstop for the New York Yankees at this point? That would probably that would probably be the more accurate uh question at that point.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

Hey, why aren't you playing shortstop for the New York Yankees?

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Well, I did this little thing called PT uh back in high school for a NAG game baseball injury, and that somehow turned into a career. So here I am.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Uh good story. Um Cole, thank you again for joining the podcast. And listeners, I hope that this was uh uh informative and encouraging, um, and hopefully a little bit of fun too. Uh, if you have questions, you want to get engaged with Epstein in some way, shape, or form. You want to show up and get some free pizza at Sunnies on April 30th. Uh, you can find more details about that in the show notes. And Cole's information will be there uh for you as well to reach out to him if you have any further questions. Uh thanks again for listening, and Cole, thanks for joining the show.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Thanks, Brad. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 18:52

You bet. Thanks for tuning in to the APTA Nebraska podcast. Stay connected with us for more conversations to elevate our profession and improve the lives of Nebraskans. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and join the discussion because together we're driving the future of physical therapy forward.