Episode 23: Inclusive Pelvic Health Practice with Dr. Brian Stirling, DPT, OCS

<p>In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Brian Stirling, DPT, OCS who treats male pelvic health and orthopedics. Brian shares the barriers he’s encountered as a male specializing in pelvic health as he wants to expand to treating all genders of patients. We discuss inclusive care, which develops when we have the courage to face our biases, remove educational barriers, and support a variety of providers joining the specialty!</p> <p>We explore how our own fears (for our license, saying the wrong thing, avoiding litigation) have influenced our practice patterns. Brian leads us into a conversation exploring male biases in pelvic health - what male-identifying patients ask for and what our own biases as providers treating them are. This episode helps expand our understanding of an inclusive pelvic health specialty for patients and providers alike. </p> <p>--</p> <p>Dr. Brian Stirling is a residency trained Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist since 2020. He is a physical therapist at Agile Physical Therapy and treats pelvic health and orthopedics. When he first took a dip into treating pelvic health, his eyes opened up to a whole world of medicine that he didn't know existed. The amount of potential knowledge to gain, growth to inhabit, and patients to heal in a unique and fulfilling capacity made him excited to specialize in this field. He is eager to share his experiences as a male treating pelvic health.</p> <p>Highlights from our conversation in Episode 23</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">(0:34) Brian’s introduction & how he got into pelvic health</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">(5:36) Practicing as a male in a female-dominated specialty</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">(8:12) How our fears have affected our pelvic PT practices </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">(16:25) Integrating orthopedics and pelvic health </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">(21:56) Nuances and biases of male pelvic health</li> <li style="font-weight:400;">(26:13) Developing inclusive care practices </li