Why In-Person Education Still Wins
I’ll be the first to admit it. When I’m looking for continuing education, my initial filter is usually the same as everyone else’s.
Do they offer a virtual option?
Is it self paced?
Do I not have to travel or take a vacation day?
And to be fair, virtual education has its place. It’s convenient. It’s accessible. It fits nicely into a busy life.
But if I’m being honest with myself, the courses that actually made the biggest impact and changed how I practice were not the ones I watched on my laptop.
They were the ones I attended in person.
I’m literally sitting here right now comparing the live versus virtual courses I’ve taken in the past, and hands down, I remembered and used the skills from the live courses far more in my day to day practice.
If you’re doing the same mental comparison right now, you’ll probably agree.
In-person courses pull you out of your comfort zone. And that is exactly where growth happens. You’re forced to be an active listener and actually engage with the material. You’re not half listening while answering emails or finishing documentation.
At in-person courses, you can ask questions in real time without worrying about awkwardly unmuting yourself on Zoom and hoping your mic works. You can try skills on real people and get immediate feedback. You can watch how other therapists problem solve and learn from their questions too.
You collaborate.
You compare notes.
You realize you’re not the only one struggling with certain cases.
And yes, you might even make a few new connections. Maybe even a friend or two.
There’s also something to be said for getting out of your normal routine. Going to a different city. Exploring a little. Letting your brain focus on learning instead of multitasking.
We’re a hands-on profession. That’s why most of us chose it in the first place. Our hands, our touch, and our ability to connect and communicate effectively with others are literally our greatest tools. You can’t develop those tools very well sitting behind a screen.
Our profession isn’t going to earn more respect in healthcare sitting behind a computer. We already do enough of that with documentation.
And honestly, the fact that what we do is so personal and hands-on probably protects us from being replaced by AI and robots, at least for a little while longer.
Which brings me to this year.
We’re hosting four public, in-person Amputee Rehabilitation Specialist Certification courses in 2026. These are two-day, live, hands-on courses built around real clinical reasoning, real movement, and real discussion.
The first course is coming up in Atlanta on March 21–22, and it’ll be here before you know it.
2026 Public Course Schedule:
Atlanta
March 21–22
Chicago
May 30–31
Hartford
September 19–20
Denver
November 14–15
We intentionally keep these courses smaller to maintain meaningful discussion, collaboration, and quality reps in the lab portion.
If amputee rehab is part of your caseload, or something you want to feel more confident with this year, consider learning it the way our profession was meant to learn.
In person.
Hands on.
In the room.
All the details and registration links are available here.