Feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or tempted to start over (again) on your case report?
Before you completely trash your case report, you’ll want to listen to this
Molly Reynolds, PT, shares her honest journey of starting and scrapping multiple case report drafts before finally gaining momentum (and confidence) through the Case Report Writing Workshop.
You’ll hear exactly what helped her break through the frustration, how she tackled feedback without spiraling, and the mindset shifts that took her from blank page to accepted submission—with zero corrections needed.
Whether you’re just beginning or deep in the weeds, this conversation will give you fresh motivation, practical tips, and proof that you can finish your case report.
Listen now!
Ready to stop spinning your wheels on your case report?
Molly Reynolds started and scrapped her case report multiple times—until she joined the Case Report Writing Workshop. With structure, support, and a clear plan, she finally finished (and submitted with zero corrections!). If you’re feeling stuck, CRWW can help you get across the finish line too.
Start writing today at TheOncoPT.com/casereport
Want to watch the episode instead?
Watch this week’s episode of TheOncoPT Podcast on our YouTube channel!
About Molly Reynolds, PT, MSPT
Molly Reynolds, PT, MSPT is a Physical Therapist and founded the Oncology Rehab Department at her cancer institute in 2017. She is a mom to 2 teenage boys, a triathlete, & a dachshund lover!
She is excitedly awaiting the results of her recent ABPTS Oncology Specialty Certification exam & will be speaking at The Cancer Rehab Community Conference 2025!
Transcript
@TheOncoPT – Elise (00:19)
Hey, Onco PT and welcome back to this episode of the Onco PT podcast. Now, you know that we are deep in the throes of case report writing season. We’ve got the July 1st early bird deadline just around the corner. And we also have the upcoming September 30th deadline for those of you who are shooting for that deadline. No matter your deadline, it’s always nice to know kind of what you’re getting yourself into and to learn from those who have been there, who have
walked the walk, who have talked the talk and written their own case report to perfection, I might add, which is exactly why I have invited Molly Reynolds on the podcast today. Now, Molly is one of my case report writing workshop students who went through the program, who wrote a bomb case report and is here today to talk all about her experience and some of the lessons learned along the way, some of the mistakes.
Molly (00:51)
Okay.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (01:12)
Although those are few and far between and ultimately what she thinks that case report writers should know. So Molly,
welcome to the Onco PT podcast.
Molly (01:21)
Thank you, Elise. Great to be here.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (01:24)
Would you mind telling my listeners a little bit about you and your practice?
Molly (01:28)
Yeah, sure. So ⁓ I am a physical therapist in Kansas City and I am actually have the fortunate situation to be inside a cancer institute. So I am right next to the doctors and to infusion and all the surgeons. So I really have an ideal situation. ⁓ I kind of snuck my way in there about, almost 10 years ago.
and just said, need physical therapy in here and find me a closet. And so they literally found me a closet space and now I have an actual gym. So, and this is all before I even thought about doing specializations. this is, yeah, I’m in a good position.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (02:11)
my gosh. Can we just pause a minute to talk about, I hear a lot from physical therapists of like, you know, I want this set up. I want to be inside of a cancer institution, but they don’t have a gym or something. We don’t need a gym to get started. And Molly is the perfect example of this because I mean, realistically, how big was the space that you started in?
Molly (02:24)
Yeah.
Gosh, so I had a table. had actually I fit a treadmill in I’m not sure how and I had my computer and that was it. So literally like it was a storage closet literally and then they transformed it a little bit for me. So that’s how I got started. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (02:36)
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
outstanding.
And now again, almost 10 years later, you have a gym space. What a fantastic example of you don’t need all the things to get started, you just need to get started. Exquisite. Molly, we’re gonna have to have you back on the podcast to talk about that because literally like that is such a big barrier and it doesn’t need to be. I understand. Like there’s things you need to get started.
Molly (02:53)
Yep. ⁓
Yeah, and you just have to. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (03:15)
but
it’s not as much as what you think it is, dear listener. So at some point, Molly, yeah, go ahead.
Molly (03:18)
Well, honestly, I
got, when I first did it, before I said, I need a space in your institute, we are in a separate building for physical therapy. And so I would walk over and just steal an exam room and do like prehab and just talk to patients and give them stuff. That’s really how I started and then I got the closet and now I have a gym. yeah. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (03:29)
Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Nice. Even better. Even better.
At some point, you found yourself interested in specialization. So at what point in your career did you start saying, this is something I’m interested in pursuing. Okay, I’m going to go for it.
Molly (03:56)
So really it was, I was getting, was diving deep into start, you know, I created this practice and thought what would set me apart? It’s still, I feel like it’s still a new niche and it shouldn’t be, but it is. And, ⁓ you know, I just thought I need to set myself apart and do this. And that was actually a couple of years ago. Took me quite a long time to write the case report. So leading into that.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (04:06)
Mm-hmm.
Totally.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. So as the listeners probably know, or most of them know at this point, in order to sit for the specialization certification exam, you have to submit an application first, has to be approved. And part of that application is the case report, which is arguably the biggest barrier or the biggest obstacle. A lot of people have to get through in order to submit their case report. And it sounds like this might’ve been a little bit of a challenging experience at first. Can you tell us a little bit about that initial
know, initial attempts at writing your case report, Molly.
Molly (04:59)
Sure, so it has been quite a while since I’ve been in school and actually written a paper of any kind. So that was number one daunting. The second was just trying to organize my thoughts. You know, I had really a couple good examples of cases I wanted to use, but then I would look at what the APTA gave us for guideline. And I was just so confused on how in depth or how not in depth or.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (05:08)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (05:26)
⁓ the organization of it. so honestly, started, would start, would get an abstract done and then quit because I didn’t know where to go from there. So I would be almost through an abstract and then just be like, this isn’t working. So I’d set it aside six months later, I’d try again and it was not good. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (05:36)
Really?
At what point did you say, all right, it’s time to get serious. I’m going to do this.
Molly (05:50)
So
I was looking at timeline on when to apply and I’m like, this is the perfect time to do it. And I stumbled across your podcast and I was like, okay, she’s gonna help me. Because I need all the help I can get. And if it doesn’t work, oh well, at least I’ve tried everything, right? So yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (06:11)
Mm-hmm.
Now, this is a course that you have to look at and then say, okay, I’m going to commit to this. What were some of your, ⁓ you know, like maybe hesitations or reservations about joining Case Report Writing Workshop?
Molly (06:27)
So I think the main barrier was time. And I had a son graduating high school. We had all these things going on. And what do I do? Decide to do this thing in the middle of it. I work better under pressure. I think that’s kind of why I did it. yeah, mean, just pile it all on. But it honestly, just was like, this is a good time. Let’s do this now. Because I was afraid that I wouldn’t ever do it.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (06:44)
Okay, yeah.
Molly (06:57)
if I didn’t get it done. Because I tried so many times and I’m like, you know what, this is my last shot, so.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (06:57)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. So you say, okay, I’m committing to this, I’m gonna do it, join case report writing workshop. What was kind of the timeline from when you started the course to when you actually submitted your application and case report, roughly speaking?
Molly (07:15)
So, oh gosh, think it was, I think I joined like in March, like started writing stuff and then submitted it on the first day you could submit it. So June 30th or whatever that was, July 1st. Yeah, yeah. So it was a crunch. Now granted, I had a little bit of writing done or I had my thoughts out there. So I think that added, it was a little bit of an advantage, but not much because I revamped probably.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (07:20)
Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Very cool.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (07:45)
five times, so yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (07:47)
Let me ask you, Molly, when you started case report writing workshop, you’d mentioned you had a few examples of great patient cases that would fit, but maybe weren’t quite in alignment with the requirements and whatnot. When you started the case report writing workshop, did you have your patient finalized or did you change your mind on who you were going to write your case report on?
Molly (08:01)
Thank
I pretty much had it finalized, but it was one of those where I started thinking, this really, am I really writing towards physical therapy? It was almost more medical. And so I was like, I need to figure out how to tie this back into, know, what am I trying, why do readers want to read this? And it was, so that was my biggest like, maybe I should change patients, you know, but by that point, I think I had nailed down what I was going to do.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (08:31)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nice, nice. What part of Case Report Writing Workshop helped you the most in really making progress on your case report?
Molly (08:49)
Honestly, I think the biggest thing for me was how you broke it down into thinking. Like you start with the big picture and then you write three blurbs and then you tear apart those and it gets you down and all of a sudden you have the section written because of just how it’s broken down. That’s what I was missing. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (09:08)
Very cool. Was
there a turning point for you as you were going through those, you know, we call them brain dumping and then writing exercises where you said, ⁓ this is a case report or like, I can do this.
Molly (09:21)
Yeah,
and honestly, it was probably about halfway through, you know, I was getting to the point where we were getting near the midsection to end of it and I was like, this is coming together, which I didn’t realize because you’re just doing these writing workshops, you know, and then suddenly it’s like, okay, now you just put this in there and like, ⁓ nice, you know, maybe you feel smart. ⁓
@TheOncoPT – Elise (09:27)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah
I think one of my favorite parts about case report writing workshop, like, you know, I give the prompts, I give the, okay, now write your thoughts down about this because I believe truly that OncoPTs have a case report already in their head. But the gap between what is in your brain to actually getting that out onto paper or out typing out is pretty significant. It’s like a gorge. And so having someone help you build the bridge to get from
Molly (10:05)
Mm-hmm.
So.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (10:20)
I have the thoughts in my head to, I actually see them on paper. It’s such a cool transformation of all of a sudden, my God, this case report, it’s happening. Like I am writing a case report, which is so exciting. And one of the things that my students also tell me about is it really helps them stay accountable. So instead of starting and stopping, starting and stopping until they’re, know, crash writing at the very end, how did case report writing workshop help you stay
Molly (10:29)
Right.
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (10:49)
accountable and on track to finishing your case report by the depth.
Molly (10:55)
So honestly, it was just going through. I kind of set aside time and made like a timeline so I needed to get a certain amount done before you know the end and so I think that kind of helped me. But just breaking it down like you had it into sections so then I can make my timeline a little bit more efficient and by the you know my goal was to have it.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (11:05)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (11:21)
pretty well written by mid June so then I could get it out to colleagues to have them read it, which was huge. And then revamp anything I needed to so I wasn’t just crunching that deadline because that would stress me out.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (11:24)
Nice.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah,
you cued me up really nicely, Molly. So when it came to your reviewers, you don’t have to tell us who it was. But generally speaking, who did you ask to review your case report? Who provided that valuable feedback for you?
Molly (11:53)
So I have a couple PT colleagues and they’re not in oncology, ⁓ but they work ⁓ at institutions, teaching institutions. And so I gave it to them and it was funny to see their comments because it was very scholarly, know, different, just different ways of saying things. And it was a lot and I find it of felt like, well, this is ridiculous. I’m going to rewrite this whole thing. And then I thought, wait, step back.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (12:04)
Nice. Nice.
Mmm. Mm-hmm. ⁓
Molly (12:23)
they’re looking at it from that point of view. I’m looking, you know, and so it was a little, I’m glad I did it that way, but it added stress. But so I had them and then I honestly had another PT that’s not in the scholarly world, read it and read it from a point of I’m reading this to get some information. And she had some really good thoughts. So I kind of went a couple different directions.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (12:26)
Totally.
Mm-hmm.
Nice.
So this is a really good point you bring up, Molly, because one of the things that can be maybe like an obstacle or ⁓ a mindset block for people when they’re starting their case report is I haven’t been in school for a while, however long that is. I’m not an academic. I’m not a researcher. I don’t do this kind of writing.
Molly (13:12)
and
@TheOncoPT – Elise (13:16)
on the regular in my day-to-day as a physical therapist. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the ABPTS oncology case report is not designed to be written as a researcher, as an academic. It is for the clinician who is a specialist in oncology. And so I really appreciate that you were able to discern between the feedback that you got from some really outstanding, smart people and say, okay, I’m gonna take a step back.
Molly (13:33)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (13:46)
What do I, what am I going to implement into my case report? What am I maybe not going to implement in my case report? Cause I think maybe that would change some of the intent. How was that discernment process for you? Because it’s easy for me to be like, that’s great. I’m glad you did that. But like, how was that for you?
Molly (13:53)
Yeah. How was that?
I had to really kind of step back and look at why I was writing this. And I think that was the biggest clue was to think, you I want to get this information out for other clinicians to read.
⁓ It has to be easy to read. I think that’s where, that was the biggest thing. was like going from the, know, PhD, you know, scholarly person reading it and nitpicking that way to my friend just reading it. And so I kind of had to mesh that. And so I think that was the biggest thing. I took a step back and looked at it and said, what would the average person reading this think? And can they, does it make sense to them?
@TheOncoPT – Elise (14:22)
Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Molly (14:48)
Because I think if you
get a little too technical, especially for this, like you said, this is a case report, this is for other clinicians. If it was for publication and something beyond that, then absolutely I’d be taking all their advice. that, I think, yeah, I was like, well, let’s just tone it down a little bit here. So that’s exactly what I did. I just had to mesh both sides.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (14:53)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Right?
Mm-hmm.
Very cool. So at some point, you know, your case report, you send it off, you get the feedback back, you’re now integrating that into your case report, and then it’s time to submit. Looking back on the writing process of your case report, were there any sections that you, that were a little more challenging or maybe you struggled with a little more than other sections, for example?
Molly (15:38)
So I struggled the most with the conclusion and the discussion. know, trying to summarize everything, like what am I trying to say? I felt like I kept reading through it and thinking, I’m going five different directions here. What am I really trying to say? And I think that was so hard. And that’s where I had to get help and be like, okay, am I summarizing what I really was supposed to summarize or am I going off on another tangent, which I tend to do? Yeah, so.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (15:42)
Oooh! Mm-hmm.
Definitely.
Molly (16:08)
I think that was the most difficult part. And I know that I wrote in a bunch and be like, so what is this supposed to be? How long is this supposed to be exactly? And so once I got that feedback, I was able to trim it down and figure out what was what. If I was going just off their guidelines, I would have done it completely incorrect just because they were not clear. And it just would not have been how it’s supposed to be. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (16:17)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. What’s different about when, so you did ultimately submit your case report with your application. How did you feel about that case report when you submitted it versus when you started it the very, very first time?
Molly (16:56)
felt like a professional writer. I went from ⁓ no, I felt really confident when I submitted that. I was like if this doesn’t get chosen, then clearly I’m just not supposed to do this because I felt that confident. Yeah, and I would have not felt that at the beginning. I know I didn’t feel that at the beginning. Look how many times I started over, you know, so and that was just in the span of like two months.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (16:58)
⁓ I love it!
Peace.
That’s incredible.
Yeah.
Yeah, you know.
Molly (17:25)
going from clueless to I got this.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (17:29)
Boom. What a transformation. my gosh, that’s incredible.
Molly (17:30)
Yep. I know. Right. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (17:36)
So, okay, we’re dying to know. You submitted your application in your case report. What ended up happening after that?
Molly (17:44)
⁓ It seemed like it took forever, but they went ahead. I was like end of September or something. They got back and said, you’ve been accepted without corrections. So I didn’t have any corrections to make, which was a big sigh of relief. So I got to apply immediately to sit for boards. So yeah. And now I’m just waiting again to hear if I pass. So we’ll see. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (17:51)
Mm-hmm.
Nice. Very, very cool.
We’ve got like 20, you’ve got 25 days left.
You’ve made it this far.
Molly (18:12)
Not that I’m counting.
Not that I’m counting. I don’t even remember taking the test at this point.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (18:21)
Out of sight, out of mind, right? my gosh.
Molly (18:21)
I know that is not an online yeah
yeah yeah. But I really think the case report writing was harder than the actual exam. Yeah. For me.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (18:30)
Really? Okay, what makes you say that?
I’m curious.
Molly (18:34)
I think studying for exam, all the stuff that we were studying for, I felt like I had such a good handle on just for the amount of work, for how long I’ve done this and for keeping up on research. I felt like that, honestly, the case writing was like jumping off and not having any clue of what I’m doing. So I think that’s why it was that much more difficult for me. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (18:42)
Nice.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Nice.
Having now taken the exam, reflecting back on all the time that you spent into prepping for that exam, and then also having to write that case report, it’s really interesting. And I totally appreciate you saying that because again, I think people get really hung up on the exam part, which again, it’s a really big deal. And preparing for the exam is a really big deal. But the case report is also, it’s a big hurdle to get over at the start.
Molly (19:21)
Yeah. it is. No, it wasn’t easy, yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (19:31)
And I don’t know that they do this intentionally. Maybe they do. I don’t work for AVPTS. I don’t know how this works. But I wonder if they kind of do that to dissuade people who are not really committed to this experience. I’m curious about that.
Molly (19:35)
Ha ha ha ha!
Absolutely. You know, I’ve talked to other of my colleagues that have other certifications and they’re like, you have to write a case report, you know, to get in this. like, they’re like, why? I’m like, I think it’s weeding out the people, you know, we want the top specialists. And so if you’re not able to put in the time and the effort, you know, to write a good case report, that’s what’s going to grow oncology PT. And so I completely agree with that. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (19:51)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. And I think also, I’m curious your thoughts on this, Molly, especially since, you when we’ve talked about this on this interview and we talk about this all the time with the OncoPT, oncology physical therapy is still a relatively new niche in the grand scheme of things. When you’re looking across at, you know, neuro, ortho, sports, all the things, oncology is pretty, it’s the baby, I think, of the profession in a way.
Molly (20:25)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (20:36)
And so I think it’s also a way to standardize kind of what the expectation is for if we’re going to call you a clinical specialist in oncologic physical therapy. This is one way that we can really determine that. And this is in no way, dear listener, if you’re listening to this right now, this is not to deter you from this. think it’s, I think it’s providing a little insight into the justification for why we have to write a Dane case report as part of this application process.
Molly (20:53)
haha
Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (21:07)
for the person who is on the fence about doing their specialty certification process. Molly, what would you say to that person?
Molly (21:18)
You know, the one thing that I took away from it that I was not expecting was how much I could just dive back into why am I really doing this and being able to learn, know, as I go, I, you know, we don’t sit there very often and say, okay, why am I doing the, you know, handheld dynamometer test, you know? And now it’s like, after you get to dive in, you know, through your case report and through studying, I think I’m a better clinician. I am.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (21:37)
Mm-hmm.
Molly (21:47)
talking to my patients differently, ⁓ talking with the medical oncologist differently, I feel so much more confident. And it’s not like I haven’t done anything real huge. We did the case report and then I studied, but it forces you to kind of re-establish. I feel like I’m such a better clinician, even if I don’t pass, it’s okay because I know that my practice is better just by doing this. And so I think that’s the biggest takeaway.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (21:50)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Very cool.
Molly (22:17)
It’s a win-win situation. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (22:19)
Totally, totally.
How do you think writing a case report has changed how you practice?
Molly (22:29)
So my writing isn’t any better. I’m kidding. My notes are still the same though. I think, and this is to be honest, I think I find myself justifying in my notes why I’m doing something. Which with Medicare and all the payers out there, we have to justify. And I think it got me back in that mentality of, you know.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (22:32)
Nyehehehe
Yeah.
Molly (22:54)
I see this and this is why they need to see a specialist. That’s why they need to see physical therapy because of this. And it made me really just kind of re embrace that again. ⁓ Yeah, I think that’s honestly the biggest takeaway. And I feel more confident now going out and doing things like this and getting my name out there and speaking and writing things. I know, right? It has totally taken me away from
@TheOncoPT – Elise (22:59)
Mm-hmm.
Molly (23:22)
just the PT that goes to work and comes home. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (23:25)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
That’s…
It’s really exciting to hear that. I remember in PT school, which like, feels like a long time ago. It was like a decently, a long time ago. But one of our professors told us because we were, you know, grumbling one day about, my gosh, we always have to study all the things, da da da da da. And this professor said, well, you know, when you’re done with school, you’ll just find other things to fill your time. Like being a part of this and da da da doing this in the profession. And I remember thinking, I said, I’m not doing that.
Molly (23:54)
Huh?
@TheOncoPT – Elise (23:59)
I’m going to work and I’m leaving at the end of the day. And now it’s funny to look back on because I’m really passionate about this and I found ways to be involved. But this is also how we move the profession forward. And I think that’s a phrase that gets tossed out a lot. But if we are really going to revolutionize how people with cancer are cared for in our world.
Molly (23:59)
right? You’re like, don’t know. Yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (24:24)
in our country, it is by this kind of stuff that Molly is talking about. ⁓ Molly, you mentioned a little bit of you’re now getting out and doing different speaking things like like what would you give us an example of what some of those things are?
Molly (24:25)
Yep.
Well, I will be a guest speaker coming up in November at the Cancer Rehab Community Conference. And I’m actually tying in a little bit of my case report into what I’m speaking about. it’s on immunotherapy. I know ⁓ it really just like snowballed into now I’m gonna talk about this. So that’s a big one that I’m doing and I’m super excited. And then honestly, I think
@TheOncoPT – Elise (24:44)
⁓
Squiz it.
Molly (25:05)
getting out just within our health, we have a very large health system. And so really getting in front of the doctors more and educating on their level, you know, that we can talk the talk. And I think that’s what’s really made the trust even that. And I’ve been with these doctors for a long time, but I had gotten some feeling of, she’s a PT if you, or, your knee hurts, go see her.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (25:10)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, yeah.
Molly (25:35)
And it’s like, wait, let’s take a step back and we know way more and they need us that much more. And they’re starting to see, she can talk the talk with us. And so I think that that’s really kind of blossomed. And I’ve always done some speaking engagements with support groups and different cancer nonprofits around the city and stuff like that. So I’ve done that, but I just feel like it’s.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (25:41)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (26:04)
more in depth and more meaningful now.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (26:06)
Yeah, absolutely. And again, tying it back to the justification, I know you mentioned that in regards to your documentation, but I think being able to stand in, you know, in those situations and really be able to say, no, I really know this stuff. It’s not just a, well, you should refer your patients to me because of this, this, and this guideline or whatever. It’s saying, no, this is what I can actually do for your patients. That is not only a
course, helping their care, but also helping you, the oncology team, and helping accomplish your treatment goals and all these other things. That is such a powerful place to be because again, I think we have kind of stalled with an oncology physical therapy. This is as a whole, this is not anything specific, but we are very much kind of in this, you should refer patients to PT. We know it’s good. Well,
Is it? It is, don’t get me wrong. But being able to really stand and justify that and be able to connect on that very professional, high level of understanding colleague to colleague in that capacity, that is, again, you’re talking with one physician, how many patients do they see? And then how does that impact the rest of the practice that you’re with? I mean, the ripple effect is immeasurable with how tremendous of an impact you can have with that.
Molly (27:10)
Thank you.
Absolutely.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (27:33)
approach.
Molly (27:33)
Right,
right, it is, it is. And that’s what I’ve really seen blossom, you know, even the past year. So, yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (27:41)
my gosh, I’m so excited. What, I did not prep you for this question whatsoever. What is on the horizon? What is next? Do you feel now as a, have gone through this intensive arduous process to become a specialist. What’s next? Like where do you see your practice growing and changing and reaching even further in your community?
Molly (28:11)
So one of the things I’m working on now, we have a growing team, which for a very long time, I was one man show. So it was just me and that was it. So now we’re growing and I’m really trying to implement getting all the services offered, speech, OT, lymphedema, pelvic floor, vestibular. So they’re all in one spot. And to do that, my next…
@TheOncoPT – Elise (28:34)
Mm-hmm.
standing.
Molly (28:39)
huge goal is to get into more of a navigator role within the cancer center. And so I think that would drive our referrals crazy because they’re not having to think as much. ideal would have, you know, the doctor sees the patient and you’re going to get this test, this test, and Molly’s going to come in real quick and do a quick screen. And then she’s going to tell you what services you need. You know, this is my dream. It takes a while, you know, has these things do.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (28:50)
Yes.
Molly (29:09)
⁓ But I think that just being so confident now has allowed me to be like, okay, here’s the role that you need instead of you need physical therapy, know, doctors, please refer. It’s like, no, you need me on your team, on your level. So you don’t have to worry about making that decision of who goes where, let me do it because I’m the expert in that. So that’s the next big one. We’ll see, hopefully lots of fine tuning things, but yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (29:17)
Mm-hmm.
Right.
Right, Exactly.
But what an exciting adventure. Like what a fantastic undertaking. know, automatic referrals only get us so far. They’re not infallible. ⁓ know, there’s sometimes tech issues. also, I mean, gosh, the oncology team is trying to accomplish so much in such a small period of time. What a fantastic way to fill in that gap.
Molly (29:41)
It is.
right.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (30:00)
and make sure that patients are connected with the appropriate services to help them with what they’re experiencing or what they could experience, right? You’ve talked about prehab. We know how important prehab is. my God, Molly, this is so exciting.
Molly (30:10)
Yeah. So we’ll
see. Yeah, we’re working on it. yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (30:17)
my gosh,
very cool. And all this, and again, you’ve been doing this for a while. It’s not like this specialization preparation process just transformed everything, but I do believe that it collapses the time that it takes to kind of get to those next big steps in your career as an on-co PT. What would you say to someone who is like, all right,
Molly (30:34)
Mm-hmm.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (30:45)
I’m in, I’m convinced I need to go through this specialization process, but I’m really worried about the case report. What would you tell them, Molly?
Molly (30:56)
Take your course. And I mean that wholeheartedly. I’ve been in your shoes. It’s daunting. It’s a lot. But once you do it correctly through this process, it’s not a lot. It just felt like it rolled off, you know, onto the paper. ⁓ Do not let that deter you because I think that there’s so much more and you’ll learn so much from it.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (31:09)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (31:22)
But definitely you need help along the way. I mean, unless you’re some already author, you know, for us normal people, yeah, definitely. Yep.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (31:31)
I love it.
What do you wish you could go back and tell yourself? Like, Molly, who signed up for Case Report Writing Workshop and said, okay, I’m gonna do it. What would you go back and tell yourself on day one of Case Report Writing Workshop?
Molly (31:49)
would tell myself be open to change. ⁓ What I already had down is not set in stone and I struggled a little bit with ⁓ veering a different path on what I was trying to say in my case study. ⁓ So I think just being open to making changes and knowing that that’s what we should be doing. If you’re a type A like me, it’s like, want it this way, it’s gonna be done, it’s gonna be, you know.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (32:01)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Molly (32:15)
and I had to really step back and tap it in that creative side a little bit, which was hard, but then it worked out. Yep. Yep.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (32:19)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absolutely.
One last question I’ll ask about Case Report Writing Workshop. This is a question I get a lot from people who are starting the workshop is the challenge is, you know, maybe they know what they want to write, but not necessarily how to then integrate research or the literature into the writing. Now, it sounds like you are quite familiar with research. You spend a lot of time going over it. How did, how were…
What advice would you recommend to somebody who’s kind of in this situation of like, again, I know what I want to write generally. I don’t know how the research fits with that.
Molly (33:01)
So what I did is I kind of picked apart what I was talking about. So re integrating research on ⁓ the diagnosis, let’s say, ⁓ picking out just bits and pieces there. And then I move on to now I’m looking at research on the testing I did, you know, why that’s important, what backs it up or what doesn’t back it up. You know, there’s stuff that we do that’s not researched back.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (33:19)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (33:27)
and why we haven’t yet. So I think the key for me was just breaking it down, looking at one thing, getting on Google Scholar and PubMed and all those and looking through articles and then integrating a couple and then moving on to the next piece, looking at it individually. So I think breaking it down. If you sit there and try to go through and just read research and say, that would be good in my case report.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (33:35)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nice.
Molly (33:56)
It will be a nightmare. You have to take the little steps.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (34:01)
We like to call that the research rabbit hole ⁓ because it is literally like falling into an endless pit. ⁓ I don’t know if this was your experience, Molly, but I did that at first. I was like, I’m going to look at the research and see what jumps out at me. And then two hours later, I was on an article that was completely unrelated to my topic. And I thought, my God, I just lost two hours.
Molly (34:04)
Yes.
Yep.
Every time I do that all day long, I’m like, ooh, that’s fun. Let’s look at that. And I’m like, no, you’re not even on the same topic. yeah, break it down, have a specific, and then move into it.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (34:33)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Molly, is there anything else that you would like to leave the listener with who is saying, I think this is for me. I’m just feeling a little nervous or a little apprehensive about this case report writing process.
Molly (34:54)
I think the biggest thing is you need to step back and ask yourself, why are you doing this? know, really think about who are you trying to reach with this? ⁓ It’s not just a case report to be able to sit for the exam. It is something that people, you know, it makes you dive into it, but then people might read it, you know, and be like, ⁓ I didn’t try that technique.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (35:05)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Molly (35:19)
So you
really don’t be critical of yourself. This is not, like I said, this is not, we’re not PhD, you might be, but we’re not in that scholarly setting. Give yourself some grace and just stick with it because it will turn out. You just have to stick with it and know that this is such a small chunk of time. When you look at the whole scheme of things, then you’re moving on and you’re moving up and you will have that confidence because you’ve already done one. Like I feel like I could maybe go write another one.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (35:43)
Mm-hmm.
Molly (35:49)
and not even stress about it, right? Now I say that, we’ll see if that happens, but, right, right, right. But it gives you that confidence to stick with it because at the end you’re gonna get the most benefit from it.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (35:54)
no, I think you’re good. I believe in you.
Nice. ⁓ one thing that I will mention real quick, Molly could totally go back and write another case report simply because she wanted to, but also because once you’re in case report writing workshop, you get lifetime access to the course. like if Molly wants to come back in three years and write another one, guess what she can.
Molly (36:15)
Just go back. I’m on your And I’m telling you, I go back and
look at some of that stuff. So yeah. ⁓ yeah.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (36:24)
Outstanding. Well, we
just had a big update. I don’t know if you saw this. So Case Report Writing Workshop was previously approved for eight contact hours. It’s now approved for 18 because I added stuff at the request of former students who were like, I would love to have more info here. So like it is bigger and better than ever, my friend.
Molly (36:33)
OK. ⁓ awesome. OK.
Yeah, I’m like the best.
Good,
good. Well, it was awesome to begin with, but I’m sure it’s better. So yeah, yep.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (36:50)
Thank you. Thank you,
Molly. Now, where can people connect with you, continue to learn more from you as you continue on this incredible journey?
Molly (37:01)
Absolutely, ⁓ Email is the best way to reach me. ⁓ Do you me to give that out now? Yeah, so it’s basically just my name. So it’s mollywithawaii.renalds, R-E-Y-N-O-L-D-S, at Advent Health, so alloneword.com.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (37:07)
Sure, sure, if you’re comfortable.
Cool. Very, very cool. I mean, if people want to learn some stuff from you, where are some opportunities they could do this?
Molly (37:29)
Well, I know of a thing happening in November at the Cancer Rehab Conference. I’m gonna be speaking on immunotherapy and there’s just so much coming out. It’s just so exciting. I keep adding more on just how physical therapists play a role in immunotherapy side effects. So it’s awesome. just that conference that I went to last year and that sparked me to be able to wanna share my stuff.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (37:39)
exciting.
Molly (37:58)
⁓ was probably the best thing I’ve ever attended, to be honest with you. I learned so much. go back to my notes all the time because the speakers are so diverse. All these topics, like everything you’ve wanted to know, it’s like, ⁓ now we’re gonna learn about this and hear this expert talk on this. And it’s just such a good learning experience. If anybody, you if you’re on the fence, just do it because that in and of itself is really…
@TheOncoPT – Elise (38:08)
So good. So good.
Molly (38:27)
bumped my interest in different areas and I use these techniques that they’re talking about daily. So it was awesome. So that’s why I’m so honored to speak at it because I can’t wait. It’ll be fun.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (38:31)
Mm-hmm.
That is the highest compliment I think Cancer Rehab Community Conference could receive. Like, my God, Molly, thank you.
Molly (38:46)
Well, and
I’m honest, yeah, it is. I mean, I’ve told friends, I’ve told colleagues, I’m like, you need to get on and listen to this next year, so. And they’re like, well, you’re gonna be on it, we’ll listen to it. I’m like, okay. No pressure, yeah. Thanks.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (38:56)
Okay, even better. You’re right. You’re right.
Well, we’ll of course include the link for case report writing workshop in the show notes. I’ll also put Molly’s affiliate link for the Cancer Rehab Community Conference 2025 so you can see her speak. is going to be outstanding. I’ve been working on obviously the stuff behind the scenes and every day I just get more and more excited about it. So stay tuned. We’ve got a lot of more exciting stuff about that coming out.
Molly (39:14)
So bye.
Yes.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (39:24)
But Molly, thank you so, so much again for coming on here and talking about your experience writing the case report, again, going from starting an abstract and scrapping it multiple times before you finally said it’s happening and then going through the process of then preparing for that specialty exam. It has been so useful and I know a lot of listeners are going to get a lot of value out of this, especially as they are navigating their own specialization journey.
Molly (39:37)
Mm-hmm.
@TheOncoPT – Elise (39:54)
now and moving forward. So thank you so, much for sharing all of that, Molly. I really appreciate it.
Molly (39:57)
Absolutely. Absolutely. Thanks for having
me. Thank you.