Today we’d like to introduce you to Mona Shakibai.
Hi Mona, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well this all started I would say when I was 5-6 years old. I fell off the monkey bars in Kindergarten, resulting in a limp that took me to the doctors. We found out that I have a pediatric condition called Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, which basically means my hip bone was necrotic, and I would need surgery taking a bone graft from my sacrum (tailbone area) into my right hip. I was absolutely fascinated by the science of this! That they could crush up bone from one part of my body, and it would heal the bone in another part of my body. How COOL. After this surgery though, I had to be in a body cast for 4 months, and was in a wheelchair and needed to re-learn how to walk and whatnot afterwards. I remember being jealous of my sister and cousins when they would ride my wheelchair for fun, but for me I had to be taken out the back of my house (so that the wheelchair would fit through the door) and I was paranoid that my feet would hit the thorns of the rose bushes. Overall I don’t remember this being an unhappy time, but I’m sure I suppressed a lot of pain and any unhappy memories. I was sedentary for 2 years after that and eventually returned to doing P.E. and other things with the rest of my classmates. This was where the medically-interested seed was planted. I was so familiar with doctors’ offices and visits. It didn’t feel like a strange space to enter for me.
Fast forward to High School. I applied to and was lucky enough to be accepted into an incredible class called Advanced Anatomy, where we dissected actual human cadavers, and had awesome extracurricular activities, guest speakers, and field trips. It was extremely competitive and extremely fun. At this point, in my mind, I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon. Once I was at university however, I realized how much I valued my time with my family, and after a quarter life crisis, decided that physical therapy was the route for me. I got everything I loved about orthopedics-the science, the anatomy, the patient care, the service to humanity- minus the things I didn’t like about becoming an orthopedic surgeon- the crazy life commitment, the limited time of interacting in person with patients, and missing out on the joy of being along for the ride in someone’s healing journey.
At this point, I’ve been a DPT (doctor of physical therapy) now for nearly a decade. I’ve had some incredible work experiences, all of which I’m so grateful for. My first job was in a general orthopedic outpatient clinic and I had 11 senior PT’s to work alongside and learn from. What a gift! My second job had more of a cool factor, but was high stress, working in an athletic facility with anyone from high school athletes, to weekend warriors, and even pro athletes. I remember meeting a basketball player, and telling him he had the longest femur (thigh bone) I had ever seen (ha. ha. very nerdy joke from me). There were heavy weights at the clinic, and people participating in real return to sport rehab. My next job was a total 180, and I did home health. Most of my patients were 80+, sometimes even over 100 years old, and were home-bound due to a lack of mobility. I sharpened my inpatient skills and clinical medicine knowledge, as well as learning about how to have a business, since it was a requirement of the job. All of these experiences taught me something, but also showed me the gaps in my profession, that would frustrate me at times. I’m a bit of a people pleaser, so when the system I was working in was NOT working for my patients, and they became unhappy, it was truly upsetting. I would do everything I could, document to the best of my ability, only for insurance companies to deny patients the visits they really wanted and needed. There are always of course patients who “over-utilize” their benefits, but for the most part, I felt like people weren’t getting what they deserved.
Behold Milk + Honey Physical Therapy. My own clinic with my own rules and the ability to implement all the changes I wanted to see made in my profession as a millennial who can’t stand inefficiencies LOL. I’m now able to take all the parts that I loved about each job I had, and drop the parts I saw weren’t working. And the best thing is I can keep growing and evolving as best suits patient needs. I’ve always described physical therapy to my patients as a profession that I hope evolves to be something somewhat like dentistry. You go to your dentist a few times a year to make sure everything looks good, address any problems there may be with follow up appointments, and go home to brush and floss everyday. We have such a large body of evidence now supporting muscle-skeletal health as an increasingly important aspect of longevity. And I saw it first hand, especially at my home health job. My patients were so close to end of life, that I was able to identify all the things they could’ve done sooner to prevent where they were today. Which is why I truly believe that EVERYONE needs to see a physical therapist. PT’s are movement experts. We can identify where you need to work on in order to prevent future problems, and we can help you resolve any aches and pains you may have now, and of course treat more acute injuries as well.
I named my company, Milk + Honey Physical Therapy, as an homage to my Persian roots, where you’re invited into an exceptionally hospitable home, and offered tea. Physical therapy has the freedom to bring aspects from both the East and the West; I actually recently learned from my mother, that her grandmother would do cupping with matches on people in their village in Iran. Now cupping is a modality I offer my patients in their treatment plan. The apple doesn’t fall far from the great-grandmother tree I guess! I also grew up massaging my mom, and getting the best massages from my mom, so I know the value of a healing touch. Tea is generally bitter, but you can make it sweeter with a little bit of milk and a little bit of honey. That is the exact feeling I want people to experience when they come to see me.
In addition to the medical field, I always had an affinity for interior design, and always felt that the physical space I’m in can be so healing. Despite working in a healing field, I didn’t enjoy being trapped inside a “sterile/medical vibe” office building all day. In my dream vision, one day I can open up my own physical office space, make it a haven for healing, and have all the necessary tools and equipment for PT there as well. I want it to be somewhere myself and any future employees will LOVE and feel lucky to be in. Think Japanese Tea House maybe? Something like that.
Furthermore, being a woman in a male-dominated field (orthopedic PT), has certainly had its challenges, as well as being a minority. But these challenges have only given me more empathy, and more tools to combat inequalities or inequities in the workplace. I never expected to become a CEO or a founder, or a boss. I didn’t realize while I was in school the issues I would run into, or the challenges facing society until I went through it myself. My earnest hope is to create a workplace that people love to go to, feel happy and safe, and are able to improve people’s lives. I’m starting very small, but any amount of growth I will not take for granted.
Often complex problems have simple solutions. I can’t claim to know how to solve all the problems in healthcare or in society, however I know I can help people improve their musculoskeletal health, in a space that lends itself to healing, and that is what I hope to do with Milk + Honey! Prevention and education are key aspects of my professional goals. I think the best way to describe it is, I’m on a mission to make you a VERY comfortable and content old person one day 🙂
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nope! Haha not at all. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t experience anxiety. But hey, a little bit of anxiety helps us live longer? I heard that in a study once. Something about survival. Like with any new job, I always tell my friends and myself that any job takes about 6 months to get over 80% of the learning curve. There are moments of imposter syndrome, but I think anyone will feel that with anything they are doing for the first time. I’ve definitely had challenges, however I feel like those challenges are only going to make my clinic better. How lucky that I am able to implement changes! And the creativity I’ve been able to use is so freeing. I want to create a more grassroots type of collaborative community environment in my workplace, rather than a top-down, for lack of a better word, patriarchal, boss-employee dynamic. I want to give credit where credit is due, and do it with wisdom, consultation, and collaboration. I believe these to be essential aspects towards building a business that lends itself to an ever-advancing civilization.
As you know, we’re big fans of Milk and Honey Physical Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I do orthopedic physical therapy. What you should know is that in the PT insurance world, you are extremely limited as a provider in the care you give. For example, I believe billing for manual therapy is limited to basically 7 minutes. That is NOT enough time. Usually, by the time the patient comes in, and you get them on the table, do your manual therapy, and them hand them off to an aide for exercises, patient will get a grand total of 15 minutes with their PT, MAYBE 20 if they’re lucky. Then the PT has to run off, hope that the aide will catch all the nuances of the exercises you’ve prescribed, try to finish their documentation, which is required by insurance companies for reimbursement, and then run to greet the next patient, and do that about 16 times in a single day, often spending an additional unpaid 2 hours on documentation that day. At Milk + Honey, you get one on one care for 50 minutes. We aren’t billing your insurance, so we don’t have to manipulate our documentation, we can truly focus on YOUR INDIVIDUAL goals, and what we as practitioners see as the best plan of care for your long term health and wellness, and we will educate you along the way, so you can take charge of your own health as well.
I’m most proud of remaining authentic to what I believe to be right and just. I’m certain I will learn 100’s of other things along the way, but I aim to remain aligned with my beliefs, maintain a posture of learning, and strive for excellence in service to others.
Right now, we are offering orthopedic PT to people who can appreciate the quality of care we provide, and recognize it as something that will benefit them long term. Again, think comfortable and content old person one day 🙂
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
LA is amazing. The weather is perfection. The creativity and innovation is inspiring. And I guess the earthquakes can be exciting? Hahah
I guess the downside would be the superficiality, which unfortunately does exist here. Materialism is a negative societal force that we can’t seem to escape from unless we really concentrate our efforts elsewhere.
I’ve been lucky enough though to have gravitated towards people who inspire me, who bring me comfort, and I married the absolute chillest human I’ve ever met, and he’s from Washington state haha. I grew up going to Washington every year, and I think it protected me from a lot of the social forces I’ve seen in Cali. But I’ve always had such an amazing, and diverse group of close friends, who are still like family to me. I’m also grateful for the accessibility to Persian culture we have here, that I would greatly miss out on in any other part of the country, and basically anywhere else in the world outside of Iran itself. I love that I live within 10 minutes from my parents and my sister/nieces.
Pricing:
- Single Visit $249
- 6 visit package $1399
- 10 visit package $2199
- 20 visit package $3999
- I also do a lot of workshops that are either free or very affordable, and can answer questions there if people wanna meet me! Follow @milkandhoneypt to see what we have coming up 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.milkandhoneypt.com
- Instagram: @milkandhoneypt
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Leigha Smith Photography (for profession headshots)
