Where do I even start...(please read to the end for a full, honest review)...
- Athletico tries to hire new grad PTs fresh out of school knowing that they can offer them a low annual salary (this is also because they have a very high turnover rate of PTs).
- The facility/clinic manager will try to paint a perfect picture for you and mislead you from how corrupt the company actually is.
- They also usually offer large sign-on bonuses, but don't spell out the fine print of how you have to pay it all back unless you stay for a certain amount of time. Then will hunt you down until they receive every last penny back if you did not abide by their terms and conditions. Oh, and the sign-on bonuses will be taxed at 40% so keep that in mind...what seems like a large amount at first is actually only 60% of that after taxes. I also quickly learned that sign-on bonuses with length-of-stay contingencies are usually representative of a company with a high turnover rate of employees, since they are trying to lure you in and assure that you stay with them for longer than you may want to.
- During the midst of COVID they changed all salaried employees to hourly and would force you to clock out if a patient canceled that day, but would still make you to stay at the clinic. This is literally a crime and they need to be exposed for it.
- Upper management will continuously micro-manage you, and are not actually there to help you even though they'll tell you they are.
- They also promise end-of-year annual bonuses that they claim is "on average around $3000-$5000 but can be as high as $11,000", but it's not. It's not just based on individual performance, it's also based on the clinic's performance as a whole (meaning that if you are short-staffed, can't fill a position, or your co-workers aren't maintaining a full schedule as well, you don't get the bonus you were hoping for).
*Side note: I'm glad I had this experience because it taught me everything to look for in a bad employer moving forward. I now have an arsenal of red flags I look for when searching for new employment opportunities. I understand this review is very bias and may not represent every clinic out there, as I visited other local Athletico facilities during my time there and some of the PTs actually seemed pleased with their work situation, but just know that it is very hit or miss and your experience here depends entirely on the facility and regional managers. Sometimes you luck out, and sometimes you walk into a toxic work environment that the patients will tell you they can feel. I always say, "you can do anything temporarily" and it's 100% true. If you're looking for a lot of repetition fresh out of school, Athletico is a good option for you as long as you are only looking for temporary employment. With the help of a single aide, each therapist will be completely booked every day with a new patient coming in every 30 minutes (it's not uncommon for therapists to see 50-60 patients each week, especially if you're short-staffed). This means you have 1 of 2 options: 1) stop the session after 30 minutes since the clinic manager either forgot to schedule the aide for that day, the aide decided not to show up for their shift, or the aide is taken by the facility manager and is unavailable for use by any of the other therapists, or 2) you decide to attempt multitasking between 2-3 patients independently (some show up early, some show up late, sometimes you're double booked) while simultaneously trying to provide quality care to each of them (keep in mind this is all day every day). It is doable if you are good with time management and set boundaries with your patients, but keep in mind that it is simply a matter of time before you get burnt out, dread going to work every day, and pray for those slow days where you actually have a gap or two in your schedule. But even then, during one of your open slots the clinic/facility manager will likely ask you to work with their patient so they go take an "important phone call," or if you're afternoon is open and you can leave early the manager may dump the rest of their patients on you because they suddenly have to go "take their child to a doctor's appointment that they completely forgot about until just before you were about to leave." It is also not uncommon for the front desk staff to call in sick or not show up on time, leaving you to also have to answer the phone, deal with paperwork and administrative tasks, and schedule out patients all by yourself in addition to evaluating/treating your patients and trying not to get flustered along the way.
In conclusion, proceed with caution and tread lightly. Know what you're getting yourself into and if you do choose to work at Athletico give yourself an end-date to look forward to. Some people can last for many years and that's great for them, but the company has a very high turnover rate of therapists and most PTs only last a year or two. Be weary about accepting sign-on bonuses and if you do read the fine print. It would actually be better to decline the sign-on bonus and negotiate a part of the money into your actual salary. Be firm with management and make sure you put your needs first before theirs because if you give them the opportunity, they will take advantage of you and work you to the bone.
