The goal of the FFPPC is to get like minded and humble professionals together, for a day, to share their stories, successes, challenges, and visions of growth. This brings forth an intimate environment in which we could question each other, help identify areas of growth, and build working relationships with each other.
For the last two years a group of fire fighter rehabilitation and performance professionals has gathered at the Denver Fire Department Academy to participate in the Annual Firefighter Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Consortium. The participants included rehabilitation professionals and fire department administrative staff alike from Denver Fire Department, South Metro Fire District, Phoenix Fire Department, Fairfax County Fire Department, Austin Fire Department, Fort Worth Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, and Los Angeles County Fire Department. Last year we were joined by researchers from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Moving forward and as our team and audience grows we will be known as the Fire Fighter Performance Practitioners Conference (FFPPC).
The FFPPC is a gathering of industry professionals who are doing the work. Too often we attend typical courses and trade shows touting great speakers and interesting topics, the real take-aways are all too often disappointing. Some of the biggest challenges are speakers hold back, content lacks practical application, and inexperienced attendees preen.
The FFPPC is different. The attendees are the presenters and we learn from each other. This small group of professionals will build a day of engaging and thought-provoking presentations in which attendees walk away with professional friendships and resources.
Attendees will learn more from their peers when they can openly share insights, experiences, mistakes made, and lessons learned. This allows us to become professionally invigorated and encouraged. In this environment, deeper relationships are built with our peers. The aim of the FFPPC moving forward is to build on this by creating a team of professionals across the fire fighter performance spectrum who can call on each other for advice and mentorship as their careers grow.
DFD Wellness 