What to Look for in a Physical Therapy Job
If you're a newly-minted PT just out of school, or even a more seasoned veteran, and you're looking for a job, you might be a little unsure about what to look for and what you should ask about in an interview.
To help you out, the American Physical Therapy Association has come up with a series of questions that you will want to get answers to when looking at a new job opportunity. They cover four areas: financial, professional development, ethical and legal concerns, and quality of care.\
In the financial area, if the opportunity is in a private practice setting, you will want to find out how the facility you are looking at is run, and what opportunities there are to acquire an equity stake in the practice or even ownership. And, of course, you will want to find out about the pay and benefits package.
In the professional development area, you will want to get a sense of how important professional development is at the facility. Is there a mentoring program? What opportunities are there to grow the current programs and services?
In the area of ethical and legal issues, you will want to find out what the business practices are at the facility. You also should find out if the PTs supervise the clinical decisions that relate to physical therapy. And you'll also want to know how the facility uses support staff, such as PT assistants and aides.
Finally, in the area of quality of care, you will want to find out what your responsibilities will be at the facility. Another important issue is to discover how much of a voice the PTs have in developing policy and managing issues related to quality of care, continuity of care and patient-staff ratios.
How does the facility put into practice the core values of physical therapy €" accountability, altruism, compassion, excellence, integrity, professional duty, and social responsibility? How do they incorporate the integration of care and collaboration among different health professionals in delivering care?
To really get a good idea of the workplace environment, you should get information in all of these areas.
If you're interested in working as a physical therapist, contact Centra Healthcare Solutions. We have many great permanent and travel therapist assignments at rehab facilities and hospitals all across the country. We look forward to hearing from you!
- Category: Physical Therapy
How the PT Has Gone from Physical Medicine to Discharge Planner.
PThe tyical role of the Acute Care PTheraist has changed to the oint where physical therapy is no longer about evaluation and treatment, but more about assessing for discharge placement. In most settings, the PT has aroximately an hour to review the chart, evaluate the patient, and then lan for discharge. Here is a breakdown of the new role for a PT and the resonsibilities for each ste of the process:
Prior to Evaluation:
PThe Physical PTheraist erforms a comlete medical chart review which documents:
- Review of doctor's orders
- Reason for admission
- rior/ ast medical history
- patients rior functional status
- Current medication usage
- Diagnostic PTesting &am; Results: Xrays, CAPT scans, blood work (H&am;H level)
Using the information found in the patient's medical chart allows the PPT to rovide a strong base to assess current functional status. PThe PT must document all findings during this re-eval hase for the patient to move to the next level of care or patient evaluation.PThe ractice Act is usually relative to each state's governing body and even though there is oen access in the state of Florida, the insurance comanies (Medicare, Medicaid, Workers Com) will not reimburse the hosital without a hysician's order. Orders may be, PPT evaluate and treat PPT evaluate only or PPT for gait training/ weight bearing status.
Patient Evaluation:
The Physical Therapist, erforms a one on one evaluation of the patient. Here is a list of what should be minimally assessed:
- Bed mobility
- Range of motion
- Functional strength
- PTransfer ability
- Gait assessment- with device and distance
- patient/ Family goals
- Discharge Disosition
A skilled PT will be able to take what was gleaned from the evaluation and develo a lan of action, which tyically include discharge placement and/ or equiment needs.
Discharge plan:
During this phase, the PT will recommend that the patient placement is relative to their resent functional condition. Below are the recommendations given to case management for final placement, where the doctor/ patient/ family influence the final decision.
- patient can be discharged and leave indeendently
- patient can be discharged home w/ home health agency assistance.
- SNU (Skilled Nursing Unit): Acute Care Rehab
- SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility): Intermediate Rehab
- patient can be referred to an Outpatient Facility
In closing, just evaluation and treating is not enough. There is hosital liability in the unsafe discharge of a patient and it is u to the PT, in an Acute Care setting, to be able to accurately review, evaluate, and lan for a safe discharge.Centra Healthcare Solutions&nbs;has many rehab therapy ositions just waiting for a skilled rofessional to fill them. Whether you're looking for the excitement of a travel therapy job, the flexibility of temorary ositions or if you desire a regular, full-time position,&nbs;contact us today.
- Category: Physical Therapy
Must have iPhone & iPad Apps for Physical Therapy
Who would have thought having hundreds of PT tools in the palm of your hand would be possible? As technology advances, we as rehab professionals should do our best to stay in front of the tech curve. Today, more than ever, we are a culture of Therapy on the Go€ and always in need of that instant satisfaction and gratification, as our patients would not expect anything less. From exercise videos to trigger point maps and easy translation here are must have iPhone & iPad apps every Physical Therapist should have.
Motion Doctor
$14.99 - iPad
This app is perfect for any traveling therapist. It's clean interface and smart organization makes it worth the hefty price tag. Created by a PT for the general public, PTs, and their patients it comes with over 60 High quality videos along with narrative and written instruction. This App will show you step by step how to stretch and maintain each exercise properly.
My Therapy Exercise
$4.99 - iPhone
This app has been endorsed by APTA and Featured on CBS News. Similar to the Motion Doctor, this iPhone app makes it easy to understand the mechanics behind a rehab treatment. So this could be the perfect homework requirement for any of your patients in between visits.
Physical Therapy Spanish
Free - iPhone & iPad
Have you ever been to see a patient as a traveling or Homecare therapist and realized that the Spanish you learned in high school wasn't going to be enough? Well they have an App for that, and it's free. This guide is effectively organized into a system of ascertaining vital medical information from their patients through a series of yes/no answers so you can understand your Spanish-speaking patient.
Muscle Trigger Points
$2.99 - iPhone & iPad
What Physical Therapists don't love trigger points? Muscle Trigger Points, for iPhones and iPads gives you a reference for the most common trigger points for over 70 muscles. This app is quite useful for identifying problem areas and offers great visuals to help pinpoint the problems.
These apps can be especially useful for those in the Home Health Settings, Pediatric Clinics, and Long Term Care Facilities. Often as PTs we find ourselves alone and unable to retrieve information at a moments notice, so having this information in the palm of your hand will immediately increase your value as a therapist.
Looking for a job in physical therapy? At Centra Healthcare Solutions, our Strategic Search Consultants would be more than happy to go over our current opportunities, so contact us today.
- Category: Physical Therapy
National Physical Therapy Month: Sports Injury Prevention in Children
We love our therapists and wanted to make note that this month is National Physical Therapy Month. With that said, the APTA has deemed that the focus this month should be on injury prevention across the lifespan. We couldn't agree more which is why it is important to help your young patients and their parents understand proper injury prevention techniques, at an early age, to circumvent a string of potential life long problems.
Although sports participation provides numerous physical and social benefits to the 38 million+ children in the US, it also has a downside: the risk of sports-related injuries. As a Physical Therapist you will, without question, treat a full range of injuries from cuts and scrapes to serious brain and spinal cord injuries. Your priority should be to educate your young patients and their parents on injury prevention as well as treating the current injury.
Most Common Sports-Related Injuries in Children:
- Sprains and Strains:
- Growth Plate Injuries
- Repetitive Motion Injuries
- Heat-Related Illnesses
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has outlined the proper prevention of sports-related injuries that should be communicated to your patients' parents.
- Enroll your child in organized sports through schools, community clubs, and recreation areas that are properly maintained. Any organized team activity should demonstrate a commitment to injury prevention. Coaches should be trained in first aid and CPR, and should have a plan for responding to emergencies. Coaches should be well versed in the proper use of equipment, and should enforce rules on equipment use.
- Organized sports programs may have adults on staff who are Certified Athletic Trainers. These individuals are trained to prevent, recognize, and provide immediate care for athletic injuries.
- Make sure your child has€"and consistently uses€"proper gear for a particular sport. This may reduce the chances of being injured.
- Make warm-ups and cool downs part of your child's routine before and after sports participation. Warm-up exercises, such as stretching and light jogging, can help minimize the chance of muscle strain or other soft tissue injury during sports. Warm-up exercises make the body's tissues warmer and more flexible. Cool down exercises loosen muscles that have tightened during exercise.
- Make sure your child has access to water or a sports drink while playing. Encourage him or her to drink frequently and stay properly hydrated. Remember to include sunscreen and a hat (when possible) to reduce the chance of sunburn, which is a type of injury to the skin. Sun protection may also decrease the chances of malignant melanoma€"a potentially deadly skin cancer€"or other skin cancers that can occur later in life.
- Learn and follow safety rules and suggestions for your child's particular sport. You'll find some more sport-specific safety suggestions below.
Its important to understand that treatment will vary greatly for these sports-related injuries. For soft tissue injuries (such as a sprain or strain) or even a bone injury you should teach your patients and their parents RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). For any severe injuries it's important that they seek immediate professional treatment. Injuries are inevitable and thus proper prevention and correct treatment are as vital as the active lifestyle your patients are trying to live. As a Physical Therapist you have the ability to help your patients grow up without the long term effects of improper injury prevention or the lack there of.
If you are a Physical Therapist that is looking for a new professional opportunity, or even a short-term travel opportunity contact our Strategic Search Consultants today or call 800 535 0076.
- Category: Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy
