physical therapist

SPEAR Physical Therapy

As a healthcare professional, I have had the pleasure of working at spear, and I can say with confidence that this is a company that truly values its employees. One of the things that sets spear apart is their flexibility, which allowed me to work around a recent personal commitment and a last minute family responsibility. This has made it possible for me to provide the best care possible for my patients while still maintaining a healthy life balance.

At spear, there is a strong emphasis on learning and professional development. As healthcare professionals, we need to stay up-to-date on the latest medical advancements, and spear provides us with ample opportunities to do so. From continuing education courses to mentorship programs and access to industry events, the company is committed to helping us grow and develop as professionals.

The management team at is incredibly supportive and invested in their employees' success and growth. They understand the unique challenges that healthcare professionals face and are always available to answer questions, provide guidance, and offer constructive feedback. I feel like I have a great relationship with my manager and trust that they have my best interests at heart.

Finally, the work culture at is truly amazing. There is a strong sense of camaraderie and teamwork, and everyone works together to achieve our common goal of providing the best possible care for our patients. We are encouraged to collaborate and share ideas, which has helped me grow both personally and professionally.

Overall, I am proud to be part of the spear team and feel that this is a company that truly cares about its employees and the work we do. If you are looking for a healthcare company that values its employees and provides a supportive, engaging work environment, I would highly recommend spear!

You work 40 hours/week with additional unpaid lunch breaks which typically get cut short due to patients running late or documentation.
This is a good place to build career and learn especially as a new grad or foreign trained PT.
Each location gives a lot of freedom to their CDs on how they run the clinic. 
PTs also have a lot of freedom on how they plan on treating and scheduling. The only con is overbooking and burnout and they prioritise patients for “5 star services” so say if a patient runs late by 20 min - you are still expected to see them or instead of having them cancel, reschedule them where you can accommodate. So that can lead to overlapping appointments and overtime work without compensation. 
The most enjoyable part is the freedom and the beautiful connections you make with patients which is rewarding.
The tough part is meeting the “KPI” weekly and hitting goals and expected to treat patients even when they run into your lunch time.  Those goals also include non clinical roles like calling/ emailing patients, Authorizations, Emailing Physicians and no extra time is provided for all that so either you stay late, come in early or use your downtime for that.
The other thing is they have biases - a new grad maybe promoted way quicker if they are in good terms with leaders versus a hard working deserving candidate even when been in the company for years may not. So if you are an introvert and have a hard time networking, then you’d be stuck in the same role with a very little raise.


Working here has shown me a lot about the company in terms of how they handle the workload for each role, as well as how much they actually value their workers. 

As a Care Coordinator, (in my opinion) you are not paid nearly enough for the amount of work you are responsible for each day, an the lack of pay will go on as long as you allow it.  Managing the caseload of the therapists, daily chart audits, tasks, and whatever else they randomly decide you need to do from then on will be your mandatory responsibility every day. You may have the chance of being micromanaged by higher ups. Some managers are cool, others seem more loyal to the company’s productivity numbers rather than the mental health and safety of their employees.

Therapists also seem to be worked to the bone in my opinion. They often see about 15 or more patients a day, and are expected to juggle 2-3 patients at a time. I often see the therapists I work with highly overwhelmed and burnt out. 

I personally haven’t really seen much Black therapists compared to the amount of Black and Brown Care Coordinators and Therapy Techs (which are more lesser roles in the company…) Perhaps I need to branch out more, but it still strikes me as a bit strange.

All in all, if you plan to work here, do not stay long. The only positive thing about being here is the flexibility with your schedule, paid benefits, and the connections you can build with your peers (they are fairly positive here compared to other places… just excluding management, sadly.) Everything else does not balance out the “pros” of working here. 

I worked here and honestly everywhere else I have worked after is just not even in comparison. They treat their employees so well at SPEAR. The 2 founders of this company are stand-up gentlemen and have really built a fantastic work culture. You can't beat it. You will learn an incredible amount - in any position. 

Corporate is actively engaged in making sure everyone is growing both individually and collectively within the company and their specific clinic. They provide workshops, recreational activities ... they even have an employee Olympics in Central Park and it is hysterical and so much fun. Every Friday is a themed Friday where you wear silly coordinated outfits. It is still a very professional and productive environment, but it never gets dull.

If you have a question, don't know what to do, or are just stuck... you can literally call or e-mail anyone at any location at SPEAR and they will be so happy to just help you. Everyone is so positive and kind. It is infectious.

The company parties are great and well thought out. Everyone who works here is awesome, you get to meet and interact with so many people. The patients are great too. There is so much done by this company to ensure your happiness at work. If you're thinking about it, apply right now. 

Thanks for everything, SPEAR!

SPEAR Physical and Occupational Therapy is a company that with excellent work culture and leadership.

I cannot give enough positive feedback about the support and mentorship I received as a new grad physical therapist throughout the last two years that helped me grow to a clinical director position. The team members are knowledgeable, skilled, and dedicated to providing the high quality care to patients. They work collaboratively to ensure that all patients receive comprehensive and personalized treatment plans.

What sets SPEAR apart is the company's emphasis on work culture and leadership. The management team is supportive and encourages employees to grow and develop professionally. They provide internal continuing education opportunities, mentorship programs, and constructive feedback to help employees succeed and thrive in their roles.

Overall, working at SPEAR has been a rewarding experience, and I am grateful to be part of such a positive and supportive team.

In the clinic there are many cliques/groups who gossip, especially about you if they dislike you. There is definitely favoritism and usually new workers are micro aggressed. Some techs and physical therapist are very nice, genuine and actually care about you and your time at work. Others talk behind your back, try to get you in trouble and don't give you a chance to really understand and get to know you as a worker or even as a Human at that. The manager has monthly follow ups with you and informs you on what your doing right or wrong but in actuality, they just go based off others opinions on you. The culture they try to promote is very misleading. If you don't  fit in based off other employees perspectives of you, you are speaking to deaf ears and you feel as an outsider. You are not really heard like the other employees who been there much longer. Many physical therapist and mangers don't take full accountability of the internal issues that are happening within the employees and protect those who been there much longer who get away with certain behaviors that others wouldn't.

In my experience, working here made it very clear how the company handles workload and expectations. As a Care Coordinator, the amount of responsibility expected daily does not match the pay.
A typical day involves answering phones, greeting patients, managing scheduling, and handling multiple responsibilities at once while still being expected to deliver “5-star” customer service. The workload is constant, and it often feels like more is expected of you over time beyond your original role.
Management expectations can be intense depending on the clinic. There is a strong focus on performance and patient interactions, and it can feel like your work is closely monitored and critiqued frequently. At times, it feels like maintaining metrics is prioritized over how realistic the workload actually is.
The role can be draining, especially when you are expected to handle difficult patient interactions while maintaining a positive attitude throughout the day. Combined with the workload and expectations, it can feel overwhelming and difficult to sustain long term.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The Team-Oriented Environment is hard to find and I was very fotunate with the great co-workers I had. The facility was up to date with everything and I just liked going to work everyday knoqing that all my coworkers had my back.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Although you have a lot of helping hands, when it gets busy it can be overwhelming if not used to the fast work pace.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
All Spears are different, but the one I was a part of (East 56th Street) had a comfting work environment where the coworkers felt like family. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There are 3 different shifts one could work as an aide. 

7-4, 9-6, 11-8 

All shifts varied, but I usually worked 11-8 and it was very chill usually getting in at the peak of the day in terms of patients being seen, but as it got later it would mellow out. I'd help roughly about 20/25 patients throughout the day and clean/organzie when I had more down time.

What is the best part of working at the company?
- Variety  in caseload (whole upper extremity) 
- mentorship and guidance for new grads 
- Splinting workshops for beginners 
- friendly work culture 
- many opportunities for growth and continuing education


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
- Work/ life balance is challenged especially with swinging morning to then evening shifts, requesting change in hours may take longer than expected. 
- Most clinics you are the only OT in the clinic and when needing assistance/ guidance it can be inconsistent and you need to advocate for yourself.  
- Seeing a high volume of patients can lead to burn out over time when trying to meet productivity standards and completing notes on time. 
- Therapy techs may be understaffed which can be stressful when you are juggling multiple patients. 
- Productivity and going above and beyond work duties is highly prioritized and adored. It also impacts how well you do in reviews and growth.

Very Low pay with cult like values. Acts likes it values there employees with incentives and weird activities.  Basically forces employees to attend team events and holiday parties because you have to request time off if you don’t want to attend. Also they ask that you be “10 mins earlier” for your shift but have NO grace period for lateness in their policy, you are not allowed to be even 1 min late in any circumstance. 

Workload can be a lot depending. They are CONSTANTLY changing systems and clinic procedures and it can be hard to keep up. It seems as if they are winging it sometimes as a company. 

Overall all I would not recommend working at Spear in any position. Therapist constantly had complaints, Techs and well as Care Coordinators. I do not recommend as it is very low paying and expects a lot from employees. 

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