1) What's your personal background?
“I moved to the Bay Area 11 years ago with a very supportive husband and feel fortunate to have 2 ‘full of life’ children. I moved to the States since changes made here make for big examples for the rest of the world. I was curious about the opportunities for me to fulfill my potential. I am happy to have made the move.”
“Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think,” a quote by Benjamin Disraeli is the motto of Palak’s life.
2) What's your professional background?
“I have worked mainly in outpatient practices prior to Luna and working at Stanford Outpatient Physical Therapy has been my biggest bar setting experience for exceptional standards.”
Palak is a Board Certified Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and is Movement Links certified by Clare Frank. She also enjoys the strategies of Functional Manual therapy through Institute of Physical Art and plans to pursue more training in that approach.
Palak had the opportunity to co-lecture at the Stanford physical therapy residency program and also be an adjunct for the Anatomy Lab for Stanford University Medical students.
“It was a great learning experience to collaborate with world-renowned physicians and surgeons.”
Palak is a foreign trained physical therapist and has a spectacular growth journey as a therapist in the last 12 years. She hopes to contribute her expertise in improving standards of care in other parts of the world.
3) What drew you to want to become a physical therapist?
“I am very caring and compassionate. I love science and was fascinated by fast-paced changes to improve the longevity of life. However, quality of life has always been my bigger concern. Pursuing physical therapy seems to have been the right choice of profession for me as I can make a change in daily experiences of life that often get neglected. I am professionally trained in Bharatnatyam, an Indian classical dance form and understand the impact of being pain-free in improving human performance. I find it very rewarding that I can try to make a difference in the life of anyone in need, may it be a dancer, an athlete, a mother, a motivated elderly person or a corporate worker. Being a physical therapist fully resonates with my innate nature to care.”
4) What led you to choose Luna?
“I’m a big believer in being with the right people at the right time,” as she describes the initial stages of joining Luna. “The right time in physical therapy is long due and the industry has been looking for ways to help solve lots of problem like insurance regulations, quality of care, improving access and improving the right prospects for a therapist. The newest challenges are increasing debts of physical therapy students. To make a change for the future, impactful actions are needed in the present. The team at Luna is very promising with a group of experts that are passionate, determined and diverse with specializations in all the areas that are hopefully going to change the industry standards for patient and therapist experience in outpatient practice. It’s hard to find, but I feel very promised to have found the right combination of the right people to work with at the right time with Luna.”
5) What do you love about what you do?
“It’s one thing to improve the life of my patients I treat today, and another to have the opportunity that what I do today will hopefully make a difference for the patients, therapists and the world tomorrow.”
6) What's the best part of being a part of the Lunaverse?
“Luna had a very well-rounded approach to how they are going to make a difference for patients and therapist in physical therapy.” She recalls the Access 2030 initiative by the World Health Organization and draws on her want to better utilize physical therapy. “There is significant underutilization of physical therapy, even though it is so valuable for the patient's.” Partnering with Luna was a real win-win for her future aspirations, “The best part about Luna for me is that it has the potential to meet real-life requirements and solve major issues like underutilization and opioid overuse. This can help revolutionize the healthcare industry”
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7) Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
“The Prime Minister of India: Narendra Modi. He’s made a big change with his presence and is the first to deal with a lot of the pressing issues in India. He’s been a leader for large-scale changes in the Indian community. Drawing off his story, it’s empowering and feels similar to the aspirations I have with Luna and physical therapy. It’d be amazing to absorb his energy, excitement, and strength during a dinner.”
8) For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
“Humans are social animals and I’m most grateful for the amazing family and friends in my life. They are the biggest reason of my ongoing evolution and purpose of life.”
9) If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?
“Most people feel there isn’t enough time in a day and ask for 48 hours in a day, but it would be amazing to wake up with Super Powers and accomplish 48 hours worth of productivity in 24. I have a lot to give and am always working on ways to accomplish that.”
