Orthopedic Physical Therapist

Lead Orthopedic PT — Build & Own a Regenerative Medicine Program

Nurtiva Pelvic Therapy | Dubuque, IA 52001

If you're the kind of PT who gets restless doing the same job someone else designed — who wants a caseload you build, a program you shape, and the freedom to actually treat people the way you were trained to — this role was built for you.

Nurtiva is a cash-based clinic offering true 60-minute, one-on-one care. We're looking for an ortho-strong PT ready to lead — not just treat, but build our regenerative medicine program (shockwave now, with real room to grow) and develop a caseload of active adults who want to train hard and get back to it.

About Nurtiva

Nurtiva was founded in 2018 (originally as Prenatal Postnatal Therapy) with a simple premise: patients get better outcomes when clinicians have the time and autonomy to actually treat them — not just process them. We made the decision early on to stay out-of-network, which means every clinical decision in this building is made for the patient's benefit, not an insurance company's reimbursement schedule.

We started in pelvic health and have grown from there — orthopedics, fitness and movement coaching, craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation, and now shockwave/regenerative medicine, all under one roof. It's a small, warm, family-style clinic where clinicians know their patients by name and by story, not by chart number.

A day in this role

You'll see 7-8 patients a day, each in a full 60-minute one-on-one session — no double-booking, no rushing between rooms. Your patients will primarily be active adults: runners, lifters, golfers, weekend athletes who've hit an injury or plateau and are motivated to work hard to get past it. Many will be receiving shockwave therapy as part of their plan of care, and you'll be the one shaping how that's integrated with manual therapy and exercise prescription — not just running a machine, but building a genuinely comprehensive treatment approach around it.

You'll also run the weekly care-plan huddle for shockwave clients, working alongside our shockwave specialists to make sure protocols stay sharp and every patient's plan actually reflects their goals, not just a generic pathway.

The regenerative medicine program

Shockwave is where this program starts, not where it ends. As Nurtiva grows, there's real opportunity to help shape how we expand into other regenerative and technology-driven modalities — you'd be building institutional knowledge and protocol from a position of leadership, not stepping into something already fixed in place. If you're someone who reads the research, follows where the field is headed, and wants a hand in deciding how a growing practice adopts new tools, this is that seat.

What you'll lead and do

• Own the ortho/regenerative-medicine caseload — evaluations, manual therapy, exercise prescription, return-to-sport progressions
• Run and refine the shockwave program: oversee specialists, set protocol standards, lead the weekly care-plan huddle
• Shape indications/contraindications and treatment pathways as we expand regenerative offerings
• Build community trust through workshops, shockwave demos, and referral relationships
• Own your documentation in EMR — no insurance paperwork gymnastics

The team

You'd be joining a small, established clinical team. This isn't a large, siloed practice where you'll rarely interact with other clinicians — it's a tight team that talks through hard cases together, celebrates wins together, and genuinely invests in each other's growth. Mentorship goes both directions here: you'll be leading a program, but you won't be doing it alone.

Why this clinic

• 7-8 patients/day — real time to think and treat, not rush
• Zero insurance hassle — your clinical judgment drives the plan, not a reimbursement code
• Small team, real mentorship, collaborative case review
• Base salary of $88,000-$105,000 (depending on experience) performance bonuses tied to caseload growth, referrals, and retention

Where this role can go

This position is designed to grow with the clinic and with you. As the regenerative medicine program expands and the ortho caseload builds, there's real opportunity for this role to take on a larger leadership footprint — more program ownership, more say in strategic direction, and compensation that grows alongside it. We're looking for someone who wants to build something over years, not fill a seat for a season.

You might be a fit if...

• You're ortho-confident and energized by working with motivated, active adults
• You want to build and lead a program, not just execute someone else's system
• You're drawn to where technology and manual therapy intersect — regenerative medicine excites you
• You're ambitious about your career and want a role that grows as fast as you do

Qualifications

• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) and Iowa PT license (or eligibility) — required
• Strong orthopedic foundation, comfortable with high-intensity return-to-sport work
• Curiosity about shockwave/regenerative medicine (we'll train the specifics)

Schedule

Full-time preferred, 4-5 days/week. Occasional evening or Saturday morning for community workshops and shockwave demos. Hours and structure can flex for the right candidate.