Monica List OT-CLT/LANA
Occupational Therapy, Boone Therapy Services
I was born and raised in Wisconsin. When I was thirteen, we moved to Kearney, Mo. I graduated high school in Liberty and then came to Columbia for college and decided to stick around after I graduated. My husband Drew and I have been married for 10 years. We have a dog named Harley.
Why did you get into the health care field? I knew when I was five years old that I wanted to be an occupational therapist. My brother Adam had special needs growing up. I used to attend his therapy sessions when he was little.
What interested you in your particular specialty? I initially got into this area out of necessity. We had one therapist who was certified. She had a full-time outpatient schedule, and it was difficult for her to manage consultations; that we would get for inpatient. I told her I was willing to help with the inpatient consultations; I just needed a little guidance. Within a year she ended up relocating out of state. Since I had little experience, my supervisor asked me if I wanted to get certified and I agreed. What started as a necessity has grown into a passion. People with lymphedema and lipedema often come to our clinic as a last resort. Patients have often been through the healthcare system with no real answers or solutions until they find our clinic.
What is the most rewarding part of your job? Especially in terms of lipedema, it is so rewarding to validate patients. Many patients have had lifelong struggles with their symptoms. They live with heaviness and pain. Many patients are told time and time again by health care providers that they need to lose weight. Some patients do everything they can with no relief in symptoms until they find a lymphedema therapist who can help them understand their condition and build confidence to self-manage their swelling and other symptoms.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job? Managing lymphedema and lipedema is a full-time job. Patients need to complete self-massage; they need to be able to put compression on and take it off. They need to eat a healthy diet and exercise. Not all patients are physically capable of managing their symptoms or have a support system that can help. Insurance can be frustrating to deal with as well. Sometimes they do not believe in covering surgery for lipedema. A lot of commercial plans do not have coverage for compression garments. Insurance can also dictate the number of visits we get with our patients.
What has changed in your field since you started practicing? The lymphedema treatment act that was passed in January of 2024 was monumental. Patients who are on Medicare now get coverage for compression garments to manage lymphedema/lipedema.
What do you see changing in the next 5 to 10 years? Awareness is continuing to grow. For medical billing, ICD-10 codes are used to identify diseases. Hopefully in the next year or two, there will be an ICD-10 code for lipedema. I am hopeful that insurance companies will follow Medicare guidelines for compression garment coverage to decrease the financial burden to our patients.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I love spending time outside. My husband and I enjoy traveling, especially to Colorado for ski season. I do not sit still well so I am always busy with projects around the house and tinkering. I do enjoy baking as well.
What advice would you give someone looking to become an occupational therapist? Do everything you can to get involved in healthcare early. I competed the program to become a certified nurse assistant (CNA) when I was a senior in high school. I learned early on how to talk to patients and how to take care of them. I think it is always important to keep an open mind. Many people start occupational therapy school thinking they want to do a certain area of practice and quickly learn it isn’t a good fit. Start with the basics and grow from there. Sometimes life has a way of directing you where you need to go.