We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Nikki Berner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Nikki below.

Dr. Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

The decision to start my own practice did not happen over night. In fact, from idea conception to my doors being open took about 16 months. I was working in a different speciality of physical therapy and kept feeling a push for change and growth. I had been looking for areas of growth in that job for several years, however each perceived opportunity kept coming to a dead end. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being pulled towards something else- something bigger. I felt a strong desire to focus on Women’s Health, pelvic health specifically, and saw an opportunity to apply my current clinical skillset to another underserved population. I saw a huge gap in the treatment model in my local community and felt that I had an opportunity to serve the women of my community and help change the narrative on Women’s Health.

After sitting with the idea for months, taking courses, listening to podcasts, speaking to various mentors, I began taking the next steps in to learning about entrepreneurship. I wanted to be sure that I understood what I was getting in to and I took time to soul search and understand the “why” behind my desire to start my own practice. It was important to me to define what I wanted this business to look like for me and my family as well as my patients. I knew that I was in a unique position to strategically create a business model that balanced work and family life better than my current position.

One of the biggest challenges that I faced starting up (and still struggle with), is the feeling that everything has to be perfect from the very beginning. I got very hung up on creating the perfect clinic space, the perfect paper work, the perfect logo, etc that it really delayed getting started. I now know that people don’t care if things aren’t perfect, they care whether or not you can help them.

My advice for someone who is considering starting their own practice would be to take time to know your “why”. When things get hard (and they will), if you can cling to the core reason of why you wanted to do this in the first place, it makes it easier to hang on. I would also advise people to have a solid foundation of your business values. Your values can be a guiding light to situations/opportunities that will arise that you may not know the best way to handle. When you are committed to your values, it makes it easier to see if those opportunities are a good fit for you and your business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am the owner and founder of The Fem Method Pelvic Health. We help women find lasting relief to pelvic pain, pre and post natal issues, sexual dysfunction, urinary and bowel conditions to optimize their pelvic health through all phases of life. I am a board-certified, licensed, practicing physical therapist with extensive clinical experience in a variety of settings such as pediatric neuro-rehab, adult home health, and chronic pain management. Aside from my clinical experience, my personal experience with pelvic health issues as well as being a collegiate athlete gives me a different set of lenses in to finding the “why” behind musculoskeletal problems. I specialize in creating a treatment plan based on return to function and helping women return to activities that they stopped participating in because of their symptoms.

Although it is becoming more of a household name, pelvic floor physical therapy is still very much an unknown speciality. There has been this narrative that things like bladder leakage when laughing, sneezing, jumping are just normal after childbirth, or that sometimes sex is just painful, and that is simply not the case. Common, yes. Normal, no. It is so important that we spread news that women do not have to live with these issues, there are people out there who can help.

Given the sensitive nature of my speciality, my goal when a patient enters my clinic is to make them feel safe and supported and when they leave, they should feel hopeful and informed on their plan of care. My treatment philosophy is wholistic in nature, as the human body is an intrically designed set of parts that make a whole. Treating single body parts in isolation would be doing a huge disservice and truly limit the ability for complete healing. I do this by treating for full hour sessions through a one on one, hands on approach mixed with exercise and a few laughs. Each session is specifically tailored to the patient and their goals, which we have established together.

I love being able to show my patients that physical therapy can really improve their quality of life. I have had several patients who no longer needed to have surgery because they were able to conservatively manage their symptoms, which to me is the ultimate win. One of my biggest joys of treating is when I can see the light click on in my patient’s head, they realize the puzzle is falling in to place, and their commitment to their health is paying off-that’s when the real recovery begins!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

By offering an elevated level of care for women’s health and pelvic floor conditions, my patients get better faster than in a traditional outpatient physical therapy setting and word of mouth has been the most effective strategy for growing my clientele. I believe that by being clear in my business values with the care I provide and knowing who I best serve and who would be better served elsewhere, the women who are coming to me are a good fit, they are successful, and they spread the word to others who may need help. I also believe that it is important to be active in my local community. I believe that having a presence among my local community and showing that I am steward of the community, builds trust over time and creates lasting relationships.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe that you have to have a genuine desire to help others and the determination to provide the best care possible for everyone who walks through your doors. You can have all of the book knowledge in the world, but if you cannot connect with your patients and apply your knowledge in a kind, purposeful manner then you will be lacking the emotional connection and clinical buy-in from your patients. Difficult times will come and go when running your practice, but if you stay true to the value of serving others and work steadfast towards your goals, success will come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thefemmethod.com
• Instagram: @thefemmethod
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefemmethodpt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fem-method-pelvic-health/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-fem-method-pelvic-health-aledo?osq=the+fem+method+pelvic+health
• Other: TikTok: @drnikkibpt; email [email protected]

Image Credits
Nikki Caviness Photography