Background: Deep diaphragmatic breathing (DDB) involves slow and fully contraction of the diaphragm with expansion of the belly during inhalation, and slow and fully contraction of the abdominal muscles with reduction of the belly during exhalation. It is the key component of the holistic mind-body exercises commonly used for patients with multimorbidity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to re-visit and address the fundamental anatomical and biomechanical consideration of the DDB with the relevant literature. Method: Peer-reviewed publications from last the 15 years were retrieved, reviewed, and analyzed. Findings: In this article, we described the updated morphological and anatomical characteristics of the diaphragm. Then, we elucidated in a biomechanical approach how and why the DDB can work on the gastrointestinal, cardiopulmonary, and nervous systems as well as on regulating the intra-abdominopelvic pressure and mind-body interaction to coordinate the diaphragm-pelvic floor-abdominal complex for a variety of physical and physiological activities. Conclusion: Understanding of this updated DDB knowledge may help holistic healthcare professionals including holistic nurses provide better patient education and care management during the DDB or DDB-based mind-body intervention time.

Transitioning from full-time clinical work to a leadership position can be a difficult transition for healthcare professionals. Competing demands, new responsibilities and changes in how one measures success in this new role often leave new clinician-leaders feeling lost, stymied or ineffectual.Role conflict is one phenomenon which can impact a healthcare professional’s transition into leadership. Role conflict occurs when the clinician turned leader experiences a sense of dissonance between a highly valued identity as a clinician and a developing identity as a new leader.This article shares my personal experience as a new clinician leader in the field of physical therapy. I offer reflections on the impact of professional role identity conflict during my transition into leadership, and how this role identity conflict led to early leadership failures, but also how addressing role conflict contributed to leadership success later on.More importantly, this article offers advice to the new clinician leader for navigating role identity conflict during a clinical to leadership transition. This advice is based on my personal experience in physical therapy and on the growing body of evidence on this phenomenon in all healthcare professions.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how physical therapists make meaning of their professional role identity when transitioning from clinician to leadership positions. Despite the importance of professional role identity in the transition from health-care provider to health-care leader, research on this topic in physical therapy remains almost nonexistent. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, phenomenological research approach was used in this study. Data was collected through a three-part, semistructured interview process. An open coding to focused coding process was used to analyze data and develop themes which answered the research question. Findings Physical therapists in this study engaged in identity work, making meaning of their professional role identity by referencing a professional role identity focused on more than clinical skills, accepting the role of discomfort, focusing on relationships, exercising agency over the construction of their leader identity, recognizing consistency between clinical and leader roles and establishing a professional role identity informed but no longer bound by their physical therapist identity. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate how physical therapists make meaning of their professional role identity when transitioning into leadership positions. The findings of this study highlight uniquities in the physical therapy professional role identity and the manner in which physical therapists navigate this work role transition.