Alphabet Soup: Does My Therapist’s Credentials Matter?

When seeking care for injuries or functional limitations, patients want to find the best physician or healthcare provider to support them through rehabilitation. When choosing the right doctor to help, it would seem essential that the doctor is competent, skilled and will be a good fit for that individual.

The letters after a doctor's name can give patients confidence that their healthcare provider is qualified in what they do. However, is this the only thing to look for? Are there other things to be considered?

Certifications, continuing education courses, and graduate programs are significant in helping improve a physician's thinking and leadership throughout care. In addition, they provide a closer look at how they oversee the care of individuals with specific issues or functional limitations. Clinicians take advantage of these educational offerings because they are self-taught and want to improve their abilities to provide exceptional patient care. Nevertheless, there are other things to consider when choosing the right doctor.

What are patients looking for in a healthcare provider:

When being treated, it is vital that the patient's belief systems, values ​​and expectations are heard so that the therapist can better understand and respect what the patient is undergoing. The treatment plan should be the result of joint efforts and the use of shared decision-making throughout the process.

A doctor must know how to use their background and certifications to help manage the patient's present situation. Unfortunately, even doctors can sometimes get lost in their own "alphabet soup." It becomes a question of why these credentials are necessary and who they are really for. While credentials and continuous educations are important, much more goes into a patient's successful outcome. 

So let's ask ourselves again - Do therapists' credentials matter? It truly depends.