This week’s spotlight is on Allison Lepkowski, PTA, a non-clinical physical therapist assistant who is now Customer Support Representative for ECP!
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What is your full name, title, and company name for your current, primary role?
Allison Lepkowski, PTA — Customer Support Representative for ECP
Where are you located?
Hales Corners, WI.
Where did you go to PTA school, and what year did you graduate?
Milwaukee Area Technical College, 2012.
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What did you do when you first finished school, and for how long?
I was a PTA in a SNF/ALF for eight years.
In what setting(s) did you work, and what types of patients did you treat?
I worked in post-acute rehab and home health, for example in resident apartments and some outpatient, with a primarily geriatric population.
What did you enjoy about your early roles? What didn’t you enjoy?
I loved the patient care and care-focused treatment when I first started. I initially sought to work in peds but fell in love with the geriatric clientele.
What else have you done since then, prior to your current role?
When the company sold, they did not rehire most therapy staff (while I was four months pregnant). I continued PRN until I was eight months pregnant, then took four years at home to raise my two children.
When and why did you decide to do something non-clinical?
I got burned out with patient care during and post pandemic. After the sale of the company, I had kind of a sour taste in my mouth with the corporate aspect. I wanted to use my clinical skills in the healthcare technology industry.
What are you doing these days?
I just started a remote job as a customer support representative, supporting clinicians using ALF software. I’m currently in orientation and learning about the product and our users’ needs.
Are you still treating patients, or are you solely non-clinical?
I’m solely non-clinical but remain licensed.
How long have you been in your current role?
Since June 2025.
What do you wish you would’ve known before going into this role?
I wish I had more tech experience in that time I took to raise my family. I went in a little rusty.
Did you get any special certifications or training along the way to help you get into your current role?
I did not.
How did you find your job? Did you apply or find it through a connection?
On job sites, I had as many notifications as allowed related to all things:
- Therapy
- EMR
- Clinical application
- SNF
- ALF
- Geriatric
- Healthcare
Did you do anything special to your resume and cover letter to land the job?
I began to tailor each cover letter to each specific job and implored reviewers not to overlook a skilled clinician based on my decision to raise my children.
What was the interview like for the role?
I had a three-part interview: first with HR, then with my boss (support team manager) and finally the VP of pharmacy who I’d be working closely with. Thankfully, I had many practice interviews with other companies.
What’s a typical day or week in the life like for you? What types of tasks and responsibilities fill your time?
I start my day at my computer at 9:30. I’m currently in orientation, but when I’m fully in, I will be responding to user calls/emails/request forms to help them troubleshoot their assistance needed with our EMR.
What are some of the rewards of your customer support representative role?
I get to have my mornings with my children and work from home. The staff is amazingly helpful and welcoming.
How did your clinical background prepare you for this role? Which skills transferred?
I worked with a much more complicated EMR software in my previous role, so this one was much easier to learn and teach.
Roughly speaking, how are the hours and pay compared to patient care?
The hours fit my family schedule much better. I’m making roughly 95% of what I made clinically, but the potential advancement and resume experience is worth the pay cut.
What type of person do you think would do well in your customer support representative role?
A person who would do well in this type of role is:
- Tech savvy or able to learn and adapt quickly
- Clinically minded (it’s a role helping our prior coworkers)
- Passionate about helping people who help people
Do you work remotely or onsite?
Does your organization hire PT, OT, or SLP professionals into non-clinical roles? If so, what type of roles?
I’m the only person with a therapy background, but a therapist with ALF experience would fit well in the company.
Did you read any books, take any courses, or do anything special overall to get you where you are today?
I job searched as if it were a full-time job, but I did not take any courses.
What is a typical career path for someone in your customer support representative role?
My company has quadrupled its impact within the past few years. 20+ new roles were created in the last year. I could progress to a position that doesn’t even exist yet within a company that really helps promote their staff to where they want to be.
What is next for you? What are your high-level career aspirations?
I would love to become a VP in my company or use my acquired knowledge and SaaS experience gained to get a high-paying job in a therapy-specific healthcare technology role.
What would you recommend to someone who is considering going into a role like yours? Do you have any special words of wisdom for the readers?
If you’re burned out with patient care, as much as we all love it, it is hard to maintain a passion for it. I would implore you to seek out a role in healthcare technology.
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What career advice would you give yourself that you wish you had during school?
If I knew what I know now, I may not have pursued patient care. I wouldn’t change my experience, though. I loved my job. I loved my patients.
Now, I am loving expanding what I thought was possible with my experience.
What would you teach to today’s graduate students in your profession, if you had the opportunity?
People need skilled therapists, and it is a wonderful job to have. Do what you want. Change facilities. Change levels of care. Try home health. Expand to non-clinical roles after you’ve gained some experience and would like a change of pace. Or don’t. Find a setting that you love and work there.
Do you have any special advice for others who want to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t give up on the non-clinical job search. I applied to, I want to say, 300+ jobs in six months.
I learned exactly what I didn’t want pretty quickly and was able to pursue what I really did. I also got some practice interviews with those jobs I didn’t want.
