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What is your full name, title, and company name for your current, primary role?
Ashley Aliberti, PT, DPT. I’m a Therapist Network Specialist for Luna On-Demand Physical Therapy.
Where are you located?
Nashville, TN
Where did you go to PT school, and what year did you graduate?
Cleveland State University, and I graduated in December 2019.
What did you do when you first finished school, and for how long?
I worked in a private practice outpatient orthopedic clinic for a little over 1 year.
In what setting(s) did you work, and what types of patients did you treat?
I worked as a full time PT in a private practice clinic. I would mainly see patients with orthopedic conditions, but occasionally saw others such as neuro or post-COVID deficits. All ages from pediatrics (as young as 4 months) to geriatrics.
What did you enjoy about your early roles? What didn’t you enjoy?
I enjoyed building close relationships with my patients, getting to hear about their lives and seeing them progress.
However, I struggled to keep up with my documentation, often spending hours at home trying to get it all done. I also had little flexibility in my schedule, and flexibility is something that I value.
When and why did you decide to do something non-clinical?
I started to feel burnt out and wanted a change after my first year working as a PT.
It’s never too early to look for a non-clinical role! There is not a certain amount of time you have to spend working as a clinician first!
Ready to start your non-clinical career? Let Non-Clinical 101 be your guide!
Plus, you’ll get early access to curated non-clinical job listings and a bonus lesson on AI!
What are you doing these days?
Working as a full time recruiter for Luna On-Demand Physical Therapy. Luna is a physical therapy app that matches you with local patients to provide in-home outpatient physical therapy.
PTs make their own schedule, and document in minutes with voice based auto-charting. I am very passionate about what I do and think it offers such an amazing opportunity for PTs who are burnt out with typical patient care and want more flexibility and autonomy.
Are you still treating patients, or are you solely non-clinical?
My full-time recruiting role is 100% non-clinical. I do see patients occasionally through Luna as well, but that is not required as part of my role. I just do it here and there for fun and to keep my PT skills up!
How long have you been in your current role?
Just under a year and a half.
Did you get any special certifications or training along the way to help you get into your current role?
I read so many articles from The Non-Clinical PT that made me feel more hopeful and validated that there were many other PTs who wanted a change like myself, and were successfully finding non-clinical roles.
I did not have any training or experience in recruiting prior to getting my job, and all training was done on the job.
How did you find your job? Did you apply or find it through a connection?
I connected with someone from the company on LinkedIn, and asked if they were hiring–they were!
How have people reacted to you leaving patient care?
Many people are surprised that I chose to take a non-clinical role so early in my career, but once they see how much I am loving it they completely understand!
What’s a typical day or week in the life like for you? What types of tasks and responsibilities fill your time?
I work remotely which has been nice. My hours are flexible and variable because I make myself available when PTs are available to chat.
I get to talk with PTs all over the country and explain how Luna works, and help them decide if it could be a good fit for them! I get to hear so many great stories from PTs across the nation, which is pretty amazing!
What are some of the rewards of your role? What are the biggest challenges?
I love helping PTs who are burned out with typical patient care. Those who love being PTs, but feel bogged down with seeing too many patients, documentation and inflexible schedules.
Luna offers a solution for all of these things and can help PTs love being PTs again!
How did your clinical background prepare you for becoming a therapist network specialist?
A lot of my skills as a PT help me directly as a PT recruiter.
I know the struggles PTs face, and what they are looking for. I am also comfortable working with people of many different backgrounds and personalities, and adjusting my communication style accordingly.
Roughly speaking, how are the hours and pay compared to patient care?
The pay has been similar in my experience. The only difference is that a portion is commission, so you have to be okay with goal-setting.
This also offers a higher earning potential if you are really a go-getter!
What type of person do you think would do well as a therapist network specialist?
As a Therapist Network Specialist, you have to be motivated by setting goals and work hard to achieve them, looking at numbers to make sure you’re on-track.
You also have to get used to hearing no, or having people change their mind and not let it bother you.
Do you work remotely or onsite?
Remotely, with occasional travel a few times per year. We held an event in NYC which was amazing, and we were in San Antonio for CSM 2022.
Does Luna hire rehab professionals into non-clinical roles?
We mainly hire PTs for my particular role, but anticipate expanding to other disciplines. Luna as a whole also has a variety of non-clinical roles that anyone could apply to!
Editor’s Note: Check out this other spotlight we did on Melissa Erlandson, Network Development Specialist at Luna!
Did you read any books, take any courses, or do anything special overall to get you where you are today?
I was able to have the opportunity to prove myself prior to being offered the job. I worked for free to recruit a few PTs to show I could do it, despite not having recruiting experience. I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a recruiting role!
What is a typical career path for someone in your role?
Luna has grown exponentially in the past few years and will continue to do so! There are endless opportunities for career advancement.
What is next for you? What are your high-level career aspirations?
I am looking forward to continuing to grow alongside my team as we break records and change healthcare. I want to help as many burnt out PTs as I can to revive their passion for being a PT!
Anything else you’d recommend to someone who is considering a recruiting role like yours?
Make sure your LinkedIn is updated and clearly states what type of role you are looking for.
Make connections with people at companies you want to work for and ask if they are hiring. A lot of times the job you want won’t be posted on a job board and you have to build a connection and ask for it!
Great! Thank you for being such an inspiration!
Thank you, Leiba! I so appreciate that!
I get emails from Luna a lot, this sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I’m seeing patients with Luna currently, but this is literally the type of role I’m looking for! Thank you for sharing your story! I’d love to connect to hear more!