Dr. Alice Barnes, PT, DPT, SCS

Dr. Barnes is running for Director at Large - Young Professionals Director in the 2023 APTA Colorado Elections. 

Dr. Alice Barnes, PT, DPT, SCS is a residency-trained, board certified sports clinical specialist. She is the owner of The Performance Shift, LLC where she works with a team of clinicians to elevate adolescent and adult athletes by combining rehab, injury risk reduction strategies and performance training with mental performance and nutrition services to treat the whole athlete. She has previously been affiliated as a clinician with Children’s Hospital Colorado's Sports Medicine Department, Regis University and UCHealth Steadman Hawkins as a sports, orthopedic and women’s health practitioner. Dr. Barnes received her BS in Movement Science at the University of Michigan and DPT at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Barnes was the first physical therapy sports resident at Colorado Children’s Hospital specializing in adolescent sports medicine. She additionally has served as guest faculty for the University of Colorado Physical Therapy Program and was the previous concussion lead at UCH Steadman Hawkins. She has a special interest in concussion management and early injury prevention/performance optimization for athletes.

Identify and describe current or previous leadership positions and/or work experiences that make you qualified for this position:
I'd make an excellent candidate for the Young Professionals Director position based on several of my previous of recent leadership positions. This past year I was the first sports physical therapy resident at Children's Hospital Colorado where I was asked to be a leader in the field providing feedback to a new and growing program, submitting current evidence based research for publication, teaching entry-level DPT students for the University of Colorado's Physical Therapy Program, and speaking at national conferences such as the APTA Combined Sections Meeting. Through this position I maintained my position at UC Health Steadman Hawkins as the Concussion Special Interest Group Lead creating educational resources for colleagues and patients, leading multi-disciplinary meetings and fostering collaboration between school systems and the hospital based clinical team. Following residency I began a private practice focusing on fostering mentorship and collaboration between developing and established PT's, OT's, performance coaches, sport psychologists and nutritionist to best serve adolescent and adult athletes in the Denver area. I've learned through these experiences the importance of team collaboration between colleagues of different backgrounds and the need for clear organizational and communication skills.
 

What strengths do you bring to the Colorado Chapter and what strengths would you bring to the position you are running for?
I believe the strengths I bring to the Colorado Chapter and this position are my passion for advancing the profession, drive to thoughtfully challenge current health care models and stimulate conversation in a welcoming manner, organizational skills in both calm and chaotic environments, facilitation of team collaboration, and openness to learn from other's experiences and feedback.

What are weaknesses of the Colorado Chapter and what improvements would you like to make?
I feel the Colorado Chapter has consistently been growing over the last several years, however, I think we still lack the connection between how the Chapter can particularly help new grads and young professionals as they graduate from PT school and step into the career path throughout different areas of Colorado. Helping young professionals see the value in Chapter involvement, in hope, would increase membership numbers and community. I'd like to help develop resources for connecting local mentorship and creating applicable educational resources based on the needs of the Chapter. For instance, such resources may include a business networking course or podcast to understand the financials between different settings, similar to the "student loans and financial planning workshop" available to members virtually for ease of access. We can collect these resources and utilize to improve communication between membership in different areas and regions across the state.