Synthesis Post

As this blog comes to a close, I've gained an abundance of knowledge and understanding of so many things involved with physical therapy. I went into this blog project with the mindset that I was going to do the posts each week because it was for a writing class, but I got more out of it than just a letter grade. After completing this blog, I've learned that the field of physical therapy is made up of so much more than I had ever anticipated.

In a couple of my blog posts, I talked about the amount of schooling that it takes to become a physical therapist. Before the blog, I wasn't really sure about the education requirements for physical therapy and I was surprised at what I found.  It's a lot more competitive to get into a graduate school for physical therapy than what I was thinking. I talked about it in my week 6 open post when I researched physical therapy schools in Michigan.  All of the GPA requirements were well above a 3.0 and Central Michigan University has an everage GPA of 3.72 for their requirements. Not only is the field competitive but there's also several years schooling involved. The schooling includes 4 years to get a bachelors degree and if you choose to get a doctorate of physical therapy degree right after your undergraduate studies, it's another 3-4 years of schooling which totals to about 8 years of school. If you don't choose to get a doctorate degree right away there's still graduate school to get a master's degree but then there's a transitional degree that you would have to recieve in order to get doctorate status as a physical therapist. By the year 2020 all entry level physical therapists are supposed to have a doctorate degree, so my goal is to just go to school right away for that. When you stop to think about it, it's 8 years of school. It's definitely more than I had expected but if the field is trying to grow stronger in terms of skill set and knowledge then 8 years seems to be appropriate.

I also discussed the fact there were different areas of specialization in physical therapy. I talked about it a few times in my blog and how before this I've always thought there was just regular physical therapy and physical therapy involved sports, but the options don't end there. There are 8 main areas of physical therapy including cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiology, geriatrics, neurology, orthopaedics, pediatrics, sports, and women's health. There are quite a few options that a physical therapist could choose from if they wanted to specialize.

After these 10 weeks of blogging, I was able to dig deeper into learning about the physical therapy field and it was eye opening. As I reflect on everything that I learned, I try to envision where I see myself going in this field. Theres a good possibilty of finding an area that I'm passionate about. In one of my more recent open posts, I talked about how sports physical therapy is an area of specialization that is something that I've been interested in. However, there's still a lot to learn and I might find that I like something else more than the area of sports.

One of the weeks that was most helpful to me in terms of understanding physical therapy was the week we did a post on an interview we had to conduct. From the interview, I leraned that knowledge isn't the only thing that makes up a good physical therapist. You really have to have the personality and mindset to be succsessful. A physical therapist needs to be patient with the people they're dealing with and they need to be encouraging at all times. The patients will most likely struggle and frustrated and a physical therapist has to know how to deal with them. It can be mentally tiring and also physically. A physical therapist is on their feet almost all day helping patients and a lot of the time those patients need to be helped with their support and balance, stretching, or just small things that they were once be able to do on their own.

At the end of all of this, this blog helped me decide that I want to do this. I'm going to have to dedicate a lot of my time and energy towards reaching my goals and being succsessful, but this is what I want to do. I read a lot of stories and articles about how physical therapy has helped someone, and that's what I want to do. I want to be able to have an impact on someones life in a positive way, and through physical therapy I think I'll be able to do that. So, even though I found that there was a lot more to physical therapy than I ever thought, I also found that physical therapy is right for me because I have the drive to do whatever it takes.





CITATIONS

College of Natural Science. Michigan State University, 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2014.

Scherba, Ramona. Personal interview. 26 Jan 2014.

"The Doctor Debate:Physical Therapists Share Their Thoughts on DPT." therapyjobs.com. TherapyJobs.com, 2014. Web. 24 Feb 2014.

Travel Force Staffing. "Top 8 Physical Therapy Certifciations by Specialty." Travelforce. Offical Therapist Blog, 2014. Web. 6 Feb 2014.

Week 10 Open Post

I started thinking about sports physical therapy and athletic training. The two seemed to be really similar. Every experience that I've had or seen with an athletic trainer they've essentially done the same thing that a physical therapist has done. They try to prevent injuries, treat injuries, and try get an an athlete back to full health. I looked into some of the differences between the two and I learned that there physical therapy and athletic training are actually two very different things.

The first main difference between PT and AT is the education required. Athletic trainers don't have as much school or the same type of schooling as physical therapists. AT's have to get a bachelor's degree and pass a certification test and physical therapists have to get a bachelor's degree and then enter a physical therapy program.

The second difference that was talked about was the working environments. AT's work in sport settings like high schools, clinics, and most likely in an athletic training room. They are outside a lot of the time working directly with teams and individuals on a sports team. AT's also deal with the injury first, they tape, bandage, etc. PT's as I've discussed, work in more of a clinical setting that's more formal. They work with patients individually and work through different exercises to help the patient improve their full range of movement.

From this article, I learned that physical therapy and athletic training are the same in the sense that they work with injuries, but that's all about it.






CITATIONS

Hatcher, Tina. "Athletic Training vs. Physical Therapy." LIVESTRONG-Health. Demand Media, 10 Jan 2014. Web. 27 Mar 2014.

Week 10 Prompt Post: Remixing Knowledge

Trying to find a remix in the physical therapy field wasn't difficult at all. I figured the best way to see a remix about physical therapy was visually through a video and I was right. I found a video that I thought remixed information and skills of physical therapist perfectly.



This video was made by the American Physical Therapy Association and it shows all different types of physical therapists in several different settings and how they are all different but so similar at the same time.

RAIDS is a technique that can be used to review a piece of work. In my writing class, we apply RAIDS to a lot of different things that we do. We were asked to do to a RAIDS critique of the remix that we found for our field.



RAIDS critique of the remix video:

Revision=The video revises what physical therapy is today and how far it has advanced because of different technology and techniques that have become available to help patients throughout the rehab process.

Arrangement= The video puts into relationship the roles of a physical therapist and the roles of the patients that are receiving physical therapy. This video is showing how it takes an equal amount of work and will from both side to see improvement from the beginning when a patient first arrives to the time they leave their last session.

Invention= The video portrays the ideas that physical therapy can be for anyone. Anyone can be the people on the other side of the video. Anyone can make a difference in peoples lives, but they just have to want to do it and they have to be passionate about it.

Delivery=The material is delivered in the video format. The video is about 10 minutes long. It isn't terribly long and for someone interested in physical therapy it can keep your attention.

Style= The style isn't very formal. It's very visual and the vocab used by the physical therapists isn't too complex or specific to the field. It's general for anyone to understand what they're talking about. The video has backround music to make it more interesting than just watching people talk.


The audience of this video can be broken up into two different groups. The target audience was anyone that might be interested in physical therapy as an occupation someday. The general audience was anyone on YouTube. YouTube is the main source that people go to find videos and almost anything can be found so anyone that is just looking through YouTube could find this video.

The purpose of the remix was get information out there to people about what physical therapy is, what physical therapists do from day to day, and the different kinds of physical therapy available. The American Physical Therapy Association wanted to make people aware of the impact that physical therapists have on patients lives.

The rhetoric in the video was mostly persuasive and I think that it was succsessful. I know that I'm interested in physical therapy so I didn't need to be persuaded too much, but for people watching that video that maybe aren't necessarily interested in physical therapy it does a good job in showing the positive things about the physical therapy field and why anyone should/could be a physical therapist. Real people, real patients, and real problems are shown in the video so other people can relate to them or just relate in general.









CITATIONS



APTA. "Physical Therapist Careers Video from APTA." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 12 Sep 2010. Web. 26 Mar 2014.

Week 9 Open Post

 

I'm revisiting my week 4 open post that was about different areas of specialization within physical therapy. Recently, I've been thinking about what area I would want to go into if I chose to specialize. When I first did the post and looked into the different areas I liked all of them. I find all of those areas interesting and I think I would be happy going into any of them. Then I started thinking about it more in terms of narrowing it down or trying to find one specific area that I REALLY find interesting. If there was one area that I would really like to specialize in I think it would have to be sports physical therapy.

 

As an athlete, I've been around so many injuries and I've known so many people to have injuries that have required physical therapy for practically my entire life. It's an area that I can relate to the most and it's an area that I'm passionate about. After deciding that if I were to specialize I would possibly want it to be in sports physical therapy, I looked a little bit more into what sports physical therapists deal with.

 

Main areas of sports physical therapy are:

Prevention

Evaluation

Treatment and Rehabilitation

Performance Enhancement

Education

Research

 

Sports PT's work with athletes to help prevent any injuries from happening. Especially if they are high level athletes, an injury would have a large affect on the players preformance and possibly the preformance of the team. In the case of an injury physical therapists come up with pre-participation screening, equipment recommendations, and cardiovascular fitness programs to help get the athlete back in the game faster and healthier.

 

A patient needs to be evaluated before they can return to the game after they've been injured. It's a physical therapists job to evaluate the athlete to make sure they are 100% to go back safely.

 

Treatment and rehab is the core of sports physical therapy. This is where physical therapists will work along side doctors to help athletes and come up with some kind of program that will best fit what they need in terms of being treated during their rehab stage.  

 

The basis of enhancing the preformance of an athlete is acutally evaluation. A physical therapist can determine an athletes strengths and weaknesses through different evaluations of body systems. After the evaluations, the physical therapist can get a feel for what the athlete needs to work on to improve and they make a fitness plan to target those areas.

 

Outside of different hands on things that a physical therapist does, they also focus on educating athletes and people involved with them about managing an injury and what they can do to prevent it. Physical therapists also teach other physical therapists that are in the sports field. As well as education, sports physical therapists research and find different ways to help athletes. It's a process of trying research and applying the research into real life to see if it works for the athlete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CITATIONS

 

"What is Sports Physical Therapy?" About SPTS. Sports Physical Therapy Section, 2012. Web. 20 Mar 2014.

 

 

 

Week 9 Prompt Post: Recognizing Significance

We're supposed to find a news story that reports on the significance of our field and I found a news story article on how exercise and movement could potentially help those with the disease Alzheimer's avoid being put into a nursing home. The article was about a study that was done and it looked at three different groups. There was an in-home exercise group where physical therapists came in and helped patients, a group-exercise classes section where the patients would go see a physical therapist in a group setting, and then there was a usual-care group who received different tips and pointers on how they should be eating and exercising. The results showed that although all the groups physical condition declined, some declined more than others. The group that was in the best condition was the group that recieved in-home physical therapy and they were able to do more physically than both the other groups.

In this story,  new opportunites are being opened up for research between physical therapy and Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is becoming more prevalent in the older generation and there's now something that can't cure the disease but it can help treat it in the best way possible. The field of physical therapy plays an important role in this research and without it this new door wouldn't have been opened.

After reading the article, and learning about how physical therapists helped patients who have Alzheimer's and it ultimately gave them more time in their normal living environment because their physical condition was kept up to par and less accidents like falling were happening. In my opinion, this article stresses the importance of the physical therapy field. It's a great article because it shows how hope is given back to Alzheimer's patients. Physical therapists are helping these patients live their lives to the best that they can. Without the help of physical therapy these patients would have had a rapid decline in their health and physical condition.

Physical therapists had an impact on these patients and their families lives and that's really the most important thing about physical therapy. Physical therapy isn't just about helping a patient regain their mobility it's also about how the patients life can change for the better because of physical therapy.






CITATIONS

Goodman, Brenda. "Exercise May Help People With Alzheimer's Avoid Nursing Homes." Health. U.S. News & World Report, 15 Apr 2013. Web. 18 Mar 2013.

Week 8 Open Post

I came across something interesting this week for my free post. I found
an article that was written by Gabrielle Giffords called "The Lessons of Physical Therapy". Everyone knows the story of how she was shot in the head and was fighting for her life for a long time. Now she is dicussing how the lessons of physical therapy can be applied into different areas of her life that she once had.

She wrote an article about how her and her husband are trying to prevent gun violence and they've started and organization called Americans for Responsible Solutions. She talks about how the fight for trying to her project successful is difficult much like her physical therapy that she has been going through for the past three years.

The main point of the article wasn't even about physical therapy really, but what I found interesting was the connection that Gabrielle Giffords made. She connects two totally different worlds: medical and political. When you think about politics you don't think about physical therapy and vice versa. When you start thinking about it, the two are so similiar in the sense of how Giffords is tieing them together. They are both long, exhausting, difficult, some things will come easy, and other things will set you back to where you began.

From this article, I learned that when you take a step back and look at things in a larger perspective you can make connections between things that you didn't think you could and you can use these things to your advantage. Gabrielle Giffords used the lessons she learned in physical therapy and applied them to her work like in politics. This could be applicable to more than just politics and physical therapy and it's what makes good thinkers great thinkers. I think that it opens up ones mind and thought process to a whole different level and it gives that person the opportunity to think and do great things that they didn't think they could do before.

Gabrielle Giffords article is a great article and I would recommend for anyone to read it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/08/opinion/gabrielle-giffordss-call-for-persistence-on-gun-reform.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults%230&version=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%23%2Fphysical%2Btherapy%2F&_r=0





CITATIONS

APP/Getty Images. "Former U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords has moved back to her native Arizona, where she was shot in January 2011." Photograph. Cable News Network, 13 Aug 2012. Web. 13 Mar 2014.

Giffords, Gabrielle. "The Lessons of Physical Therapy." The Opinion Pages. The New York Times Co., 7 Jan 2014. Web. 13 Mar 2014.

Week 8 Prompt Post: Practicing Knowledge

This week we were instructed to try something hands on within our field. It was perfect timing that this is the week that we had to do this post. In my foundations of Kinesiology class we have lab every week. This week we had the chance to learn about the uses of a goniometer and then we got to try it out in a group of people and see what it's used for in physical therapy.

A goniometer is used to determine what the range of flexibility is on a patient. It's kind of used as a tool to show how much the patient has progressed since the beginning of physical therapy. The actual goniometer looks similiar to a protractor that you use in math and it's also measured in the same units. The goniometer measurs angles in degrees to determine the range of motion. Gradual improvement in the range of motion and flexibilty is a good sign and shows that the patient is takint steps in the right direction.

In my class we learned about the different areas of a body that you can use a goniometer and where it's used in physical therapy. You can use it on the knee, foot, shoulder, etc. When it's used right you can get a fairly accurate reading of the degree of motion.

At first, I had trouble using the goniometer because I didn't know how to place or which way to move it to get the correct reading. I didn't know where exactly to place the middle of it so I was gettting some readings that were off. After a while I finally was starting to get the hang of it though. I really liked being able to do something hands on with phyiscal therapy because it was so different than just researching online and reading books about it. This part of the research project gave me the opportunity to physically do something directly related to physical therapy. It's so much different for me because at first I had no idea what I was doing with that thing and I started to second guess myself thinking things like I can't even use this tool, how am I supposed to be a physical therapist. But like everything, things take time and practice makes perfect I guess. It was nice to be able to see first hand something that I might be doing in my future and it after I finally figured out how to use the gonimeter it started to feel a little more natural for me.





CITATIONS

"Baseline Plastic 360º ISOM Goniometer 12"." Photograph. 3B Scientific, 2014. Web. 12 Mar 2014.

Week 6 Prompt Post: Evaluating Sources

The purpose of the post this week is to find a critical source that makes an argument about physical therapy. Using what I've learned over the past several weeks, I'm going to evaluate and respond to the argument being made.

I'm going to take a look at an argument about direct access in physical therapy. Since this topic is new to me I wanted to look a little bit into what direct access was before I read the article that I found. What exactly is direct access? Direct access in physical therapy is when a patient can seek out physical therapy without needing a referral from their doctor. If they think that it would be better for them to see a physical therapist directly without going through their doctor then they can. Many of the states have already allowed some kind of direct access but a lot of it is limited. There's an arugment that physical therapists aren't qualified enough to have the opportunity to treat patients in that manner. But there is an argument about the pros to direct access and how it might affect the costs for patients and this is the argument that I'm going to be looking at.

In the study that I found, the purpose was to look at different costs of health care for patients and the outcomes that occurred with patients who were seeking physical therapy through the method of direct access. Before going into detail about the costs factor of direct access, the study briefly talks about different positive things about direct access including things like it's more convenient for patients, the waiting time for a patient can be cut down, the satisfaction of the patient was high when they chose physical therapy through direct access, and direct access promotes high quality health care in a field that before wasn't seen as a source of primary health care. Then there is the cost factor. Through several different studies that were conducted, there was a result found that direct access in physical therapy decreased the costs for patient care versus going to the doctor first and getting a referral to see a physical therapist. Data was extracted from 1,501 articles and through these articles and different screenings for finding patient outcomes, it was found in terms of money and costs direct access is a safe option.

After learning a little bit about direct access and using everything else that I have learned over the past several weeks, I think that direct access in physical therapy shouldn't even be an argument. I've learned that theres a DPT (doctorate of physical therapy) degree. If a physical therapist is at this level with their education and skill level then there should be no reason that they should be able to see a patient without a referral from their doctor. After looking into this study done, it's also good for people looking to save money or for people who are struggling and need help but can't afford to see their doctor. This is a perfect alternative route for patients and like the study concluded there was no harm done to any of the patients who chose to see a physical therapist through direct access. Thinking in terms about what I know about our economy today and the health care system, we as a country are struggling in both of those areas and direct access in physical therapy could be a step in the right direction for not only the field of physical therapy but the overall well-being and financial standing of patients.

CITATIONS

Ojha, Heidi A., Rachel S. Snyder, and Todd E. Davenport. "Direct Access Compared with Referred Physical Therapy Episodes of Care: A Systematic Review." Physical Therapy 94.1 (2014): 14-30. ProQuest. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Week 7 Prompt Post: Contemplating Controversy

In my week 3 open post, I talked about a DPT (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) and about what a doctoral degree in physical therapy is. I mentioned that it was a controversial topic in the field of physical therapy. This week I'm going to try and go more in depth about each side of the issue and talk about how people in the field now feel about it.

 

A summary of what was in my open post about the controversy on DPT:

DPT is becoming more common in physical therapy and the issue is that some people see it as beneficial to themselves and as the area of occupation overall. These people see it as advancing and highering the standard for physical therapy. However, there are other people who feel like DPT isn't all that great. These people are mainly people who are already working in the field and feel like their credentials as a physical therapist aren't as valid as others.

 

After looking more in depth on both sides of the issue, I learned more about how each side feels and about the controversy itself. This week I learned that the American Physical Therapy Association has something that's called "Vision 2020". It's pretty much goals that they want to reach by the year 2020 and one of them is to convert all physical therapists over to doctors of physical therapy. Today there are 198 programs for physical therapy are doctoral and there are only 13 programs left that offer the master's degree level for physical therapy.  

View points of those who believe DPT is beneficial to physical therapy:

• DPT opens an opportunity for physical therapists to become a practitioner of choice for people who need it.
• If the clinical environment of physical therapy changes then the skill level and knowledge required goes up and physical therapists could be more well-rounded individually.
• Clinical internship hours would go up which would be beneficial because it allows for patient care to improve and also for graduates to apply interaction skills more.
• Physical therapists who have reached doctoral status would be more likely to help develop the science and evidence base. They would be more likely to also look past their career in physical therapy, and think about a position academically.
• DPT degree is more appealing to students so it would mean that the field would bring in strong potential physical therapists.

View points of those who are against DPT:

• There was a survey that was done and as of right now there are still 58% of physical therapists that don't have the DPT status.
• DPT doesn't necessarily mean that you'll have a higher salary than someone who doesn't.
• Changing the title of a physical therapist might lead to confusion for not only the public and people seeking physical therapy but also in the health professions community. These people might not know about the change in the field.
• This seems like physical therapy as a whole is trying to add legitimacy to the occupation.
• Employment could be affected by this change. If physical therapists are reaching higher levels and raising the standards then they might be employed for administration positions or higher positions and the services that a physical therapist would traditionally provide will have to be provided by physical therapy assistants, clinical kinesiologists, or rehabilitation assistants.

CITATIONS

"The Doctor Debate:Physical Therapists Share Their Thoughts on DPT." therapyjobs.com. TherapyJobs.com, 2014. Web. 24 Feb 2014.

Mathur, Sunita. "Doctorate in Physical Therapy: Is it Time for a Conversation." Physiotherapy Canada v.63(2) (2011): 140-142. Web. 24 Feb 2014.

Week 7 Open Post

Going off of my week 6 open post, I was doing some thinking. Realistically, I'll probably want to stay in state for graduate school but there are so many other options out there. There are so many other schools that are out of state that I could look into. It's always a possibility and you never know what can happen, so I figured I wanted to look into some of the top physical therapy schools that are elsewhere in the country.


Top 20 Physical Therapy Schools in the United States

#20- Marquette University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

#19- Creighton University
Omaha, New England

#18- University of Maryland  
Baltimore, Maryland  

#17- The University of Illinois at Chicago 
Chicago, Illinois

#16- University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

#15- New York University
New York, New York

#14- University of California 
San Francicso, California

#13- Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

#12- University of  North Carolina at Chapell Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

#11- Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

#10- University of Miami  
Coral Gables, Florida

#9- Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

#8- MGH Institute of Health Professions
Boston, Massachusetts

#7- Arcadia University
Glenside, Pennsylvania

#6- The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa

#5- US Army- Baylor University
Fort  Sam Houston, Texas 

#4- University of Delaware
Newmark, Delaware

#3- Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

#2- University of Pittsburgh at Titusville
Titusville, Pennsylvania

#1- University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California


Well there it is... the list of the top schools in the country for physical therapy. This could be out of date, I'm not sure how recent that this list was updated but I don't think there would be much variaton. I think that the list is quite interesting. The schools are all over the country there isn't really a specific region or part of the country where physical therapy is prevalent. I didn't really get to look into the requirements or about any of these schools, but maybe it will happen in a future open post to answer the questions that I have about all of these schools :)







CITATIONS


"List of Top Physical Therapy Schools in USA, Physical Therapy School Rankings, Best Physical Therapy Schools in USA by Rankings." Physical Therapy Colleges. Physical Therapy Colleges, 2011. Web. 20 Feb 2014.

"Promoting Health and Wellness through the Science of Movement." Photograph. Regis University, 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2014.

Week 6 Open Post

Physical Therapy Schools


Not too long from now, I'll have to start thinking about applying to graduate schools for physical therapy. I haven't given it much thought as to where I want to go but my inital thought was that I would want to stay close to home. This week, I'm looking at the different physical therapy schools in Michigan and the different requirements for them.



Andrews University
The requirements for Andrews University are:
-Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.65
-Prereq GPA of 3.67
-GRE exam required
-80 hours PT observation with at least 20 hours inpatient setting

Central Michigan University
The requirements for Central Michigan University are:
-Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.72
-Prereq GPA of 3.72
-GRE exam required
-50 hours in 2 PT settings

Grand Valley State University
The requirements for Grand Valley State University are:
-Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.4
-Prereq GPA of 3.3
-GRE exam required
-50 hours in 2 PT settings
Oakland University
The requirements for Oakland University are:
-Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.72
-GRE exam required
-PT observation hours are "Highly Recommended"
University of Michigan-Flint
The requirements for University of Michigan-Flint are:
-Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.44
-GRE exam required
-60 hours in 2 PT settings but 125 hours in 4 settings is recommended

Wayne State University
The requirements for Wayne State University are:
- Competitive cumulative GPA of 3.48
-Prereq GPA of 3.49
-GRE exam NOT required
- PT observation hours are "Highly Recommended"

 
From all of this I've learned that no matter what school I end up going to I'll have to work hard and really keep my grades up. These are all very competitive schools in Michigan for phyiscal therapy. I know that it won't be easy to try and set myself apart from all the other students applying, but I'm going to work to my full potential to do that. I know that I can get into any of these schools if I put in the time and effort that I know I have. Seeing these requirements puts a sense of motivation in my head to know that this is what I need to do.



CITATIONS

College of Natural Science. Michigan State University, 2014. Web. 20 Feb 2014.
 

Week 5 Open Post

Physical Therapist vs Physical Therapist Assistant

 

What is the difference between a physical therapist and a physical therapist assistant (beside the name of course)? That's the question that I've been asking myself for a while. I've been doing a lot of research on physical therapy and physical therapists on the job, and while I've been looking for things I've also seen a lot about physical therapist assistant's. I've just kind of scrolled over it or flipped to the next page because that's not what I've been looking for. But this week, I want to look at the differences between the two positions.

 

The first thing that I noticed was that there are a lot of similarities between a PT and a PTA. They both work in the same work setting/environment (hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, schools, fitness centers, etc.), they both deal with patients and help people with their movement. They do so many of the same things, so what could be different?

 

Well, one of the biggest differences between the two is the role that they play. The physical therapist is the one who diagnoses movement disablilites and manages it, the physical therapist assistant works under the supervision of a physical therapist to help patients/clients to regain mobility.

 

The schooling between a PT and a PTA is different as well. As I've learned in previous weeks, a physical therapist goes to graduate school to get a masters in a phyiscal therapy program, some continue on with school to get a doctorate of physical therapy, and some continue on to be specialized in a specific area of physical therapy. However, a physical therapist assistant doesn't have the same kind of schooling or requirements of schooling. A PTA has to complete a CAPTE-accredited PTA program to get an associate degree and a licensure or certfication.

 

This difference may be obvious, but pay for a PT and a PTA differentiates. An assistant's salary is about half of what a phyiscal therapist's is. Physical therapists have a median salary of $80,000 and PTA's have a median salary of $46,000. For both, the salary depends on the position, years of experience, location, and practice setting.

 

From what I have learned about the two positions, I'm just curious about one thing. If a physical therapist assistant wanted to become a physical therapist could they do it without having to go through all the schooling for a physical therapist? If not, what would they have to do to recieve physical therapist status?

 

 

 

 

 

CITATIONS

 

"Who Are Physical Therapist Assistants?" APTA. American Physical Therapy Association, 2014. Web. 13 Feb 2014.

 

Week 5 Prompt Post: Defining Ethics

When I saw the description for what I had to write about in my prompted post this week, I honestly had no idea as to how any kind of "code of ethics" would apply to the physical therapy field. Well, as it turns out I was wrong. After looking online, I found the "Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist" which explains everything about what exactly the code of ethics for physical therapy is.

The "Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist" includes a preamble and several different principles. The preamble explains the purpose of the code of ethics, how the code is based on the different roles of a physical therapist, the core values of the profession, and the realams of ethical action. Along with all of things the preamble states the core values of physical therapy.
That the seven core values of physical therapy are: accountability, altruism, compassion/caring, excellence, integrity, professional duty, and social responsibility.

The principles are the body of the code of ethics and there are 8 principles that are outlined and discussed into some detail. These principles are:

Principle #1
Physical therapists shall respect the inherent dignity and rights of all individuals.
The core values that go along with this principle are compassion and integrity.

Principle #2
Physical therapists shall be trustworthy and compassionate in addressing the rights and needs of patients/clients.
The core values that go along with this principle are altruism, compassion, and professional duty.

Principle #3
Physical therapists shall be accountable for making sound professional judgments.
The core values that go along with this principle are excellence and integrity.

Principle #4
Physical therapists shall demonstrate integrity in their relationships with patients/clients, families, colleagues, students, research participants, other health care providers, employers, and the public.
There is only one core value to go along with this principle and that is integrity.

Principle #5
Physical therapists shall fufill their legal and professional obligations.
The core values that go along with this principle are professional duty and accountability.

Principle #6
Physical therapists shall enhance their expertise through the lifelong acquistion and refinement of knowledge, skills, abilities, and professional behaviors.
There is only one core value to go alone with this principle and that is excellence.

Principle #7
Physical therapists shall promote organizational behaviors and business practices that benefit patients/clients and society.
The core values that go along with this principle are integrity and accountability.

Principle #8
Physical therapists shall participate in efforts to meet the health needs of people locally, nationally, or globally.
There is only one core value that goes along with this principle and that is social responsibilty.


For those who want to read more depth about the code of ethics in physical therapy the link is:
http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_US/Policies/Ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf


As an aspiring physical therapist, all of these core values and ethics would have to apply to my life and myself as a person. There are already so many of these core values that I can apply to myself. This code corresponds to my own beliefs and ethics in the way that I believe that a person should be accountable for their actions no matter what. Going along with being held accountable I believe that a person should have integrity with everything they do. People should be compassionate towards not just the things and people they love, but everyone and everything. That goes in hand in hand with altruism and being selfless or doing this for the well being of other people. I truly do believe that everyone should strive for excellence during their life and apply themselves to their true ability to benefit not only themselves but society as a whole (social responsibility). Many of my actions right now as a student in college can help prepare me for the work in my field. I have a job, and at my job there are guidelines that I have to follow, I have a specific job/task that I was hired to do and that's all a part of my professional duty as a student worker at my place of employment. As a student, I'm held accountable for the work in all of my classes, attending my classes, and getting the grades that I think I deserve. I also have an academic integrity to live up to which includes not cheating on an exam, quiz, etc. In the sorority that I am in, every single one of the core values applies. We're all expected to care about one another, be there for one another, be honest with one other, do things to better the sorority and the members in it, and we have positions and jobs within the sorority to keep everything running smoothly.


CITATIONS

"Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist." APTA. American Physical Therapy Association, 2014. Web. 12 Feb 2014.

Week 4 Open Post

This week, I was looking into the different specialty areas of physical therapy. I've never really thought about a specific specialty within the field, so this week I learned a lot about the different areas of physical therapy that are available. If you wanted to become a clinical specialist, you would have to go through the American Board of Physical Therapy.

I learned that there are areas of physical therapy in cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiology, geriatrics, neurology, orthopaedics, pediatrics, sports, and women's health I took the time to look a little bit into each of these and this is what I found out about them!

Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
This specialization deals with patients who just had any heart or lung surgery, or have been diagnosed with any disorders that involve the two. Physical therapists help the patients improve the function of their heart and lungs and help them get back to living on their own.

Electrophysioloy
Specialists in this area have patients that have experienced some type of trauma or patients that has a disorder. This type of physical therapy include the use of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and electromyogram and nerve conduction velocity testings.

Geriatics
Geriastic specialists deal with any type of elderly person. The patients might have arthritis, osteoperosis, cancer, etc. In this area of specialty, the main goal of physical therapy is to help with the discomfort a patient might be feeling, and help to improve mobility.

Neurology
Neurgoloic physical therapy patients are anyone who had brain surgery, or has a neurological illness like cerebal pasly, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries, stroke, multiple sclerosis, etc. Through phsycial therapy, the patients learn to function independently or receive help with coordination, walking, and balance.

Orthopaedics
These physical therapists help anyone who has a chronic condition or someone who needs help after surgery. Some of the conditions are injuries, diseases, or other problems that are related to the musculoskeletal system.

Pediatrics
Pediatric physical thearpy includes any infants or young children. These kids might have disorders that would classify them as "special needs". Physical therapists help the child develop gross and fine motor skills, improve fitness, and build strength.

Sports
The patients in this area are athletes who need treatment of pain or injury. The main goal is to help prevent any injuries from occuring, and prepare the athlete for maxium physical exertion.

Women's health
Women who need this type of physical therapy are of childbearing age, going through menopause, or are in the early stages of menopause. In physical therapy, these women receive help with discomfort that is caused by chronic conditions.






CITATIONS

"Physical Therapist (PT) Careers Overview." APTA. American Physical Therapy Association, 2014. Web. 6 Feb 2014.

Travel Force Staffing. "Top 8 Physical Therapy Certifciations by Specialty." Travelforce. Offical Therapist Blog, 2014. Web. 6 Feb 2014.

Week 4 Prompt Post: Observing Community

On Michigan State's campus, there is a club for practically anything... and when I say anything, I mean seriously....anything. There's even a squirrel watching club. Anyways, because there's such a wide selection of clubs to choose from. I knew there had to be a club for physical therapy. This weeks post is about an interview I did with a member of the Pre-Physical Therapy Association.

Who is the club made up of?
The club isn't only physical therapy students. I'm an occupational therapy student and I'm still in the club. The two go hand in hand with one another so we have a lot of physical therapy and a lot of occupational therapy students mostly.

What kinds of things do you guys do at meetings?
At meetings we have people in the field come in  and talk to us and we can ask questions, get to know them, and they tell us about what it's like to be them. The club is pretty open for ideas, someone can bring in a professional they know or they can ask someone to come talk to us.

How often do you have meetings?
It depends, we normally have meetings at least once a month, maybe more. You don't have to go if you don't want to, but it's always good to go just because they aren't every week so every meeting there's something you would miss out on.

How is this club beneficial? 
This club is extremely beneficial in so many ways. You get to meet so many other students that are in the same boat and you so it's good that you get to connect with them and you guys learn that you have the same questions, you can start studying together, sit together at class, and things like that.

What else about the club do you think is important?
I think it's important for everyone that's considering a profession along these lines to consider. It opens up so many opportunities to meet other students, meet professionals, and to be involved in something on campus. On top of everything else, it looks good on resumes when you're applying to jobs. I've enjoyed being a part of this club and I've met a lot of good people through it and I've learned a lot about what I want to do.


CITATIONS 
Baron, Desiree. Personal interview. 4 February 2014.

Week 3 Open Post

In the past three weeks, I've already learned more than I thought I would about physical therapy. I've learned through textbooks, videos, articles, and people. After learning from my mom this week about physical therapy I feel like I'm starting to get a better feel for the occupation. For this weeks open blog post, I've decided to do a little research on the DPT or the Doctor of Physical Therapy. 

A DPT is a step above being a physical therapist with a masters degree. This is technically reaching doctoral status. It's additional schooling added on to the masters degree in physical therapy. It's a very controversial topic in the physical therapy school. It's changing the entire occupation as a whole. The entry-level standards for entering into the profession. There are some people who see this as a good thing and that it's raising the level of physical therapy and they think that it's good that it has doctoral status. Then there are some people who are already working as physical therapists who are viewing themselves as not good enough because of the license they have. Both viewpoints are valid, but no matter how people see it, the amount of people continuing on to becoming a DPT is growing and it's becoming the new norm of physical therapy. 

I think this is an interesting topic because there are so many questions that could be asked about the DPT as a whole... like what is the difference in salary between a regular physical therapist and a doctor of physical therapy? How much extra schooling does a DPT need? When did this title become available to people? 

From the article I found, I was only able to learn about the evolution of the DPT. The Doctor of Physical Therapy came around in about 1992. USC was the first school to offer schooling to become a DPT. As for the rest of my questions, I guess I'll just have to do try and find more out through textbooks or someone who is a DPT. 

CITATIONS 

Plack, Margaret. "The Evolution of the Doctorate of Physical Therapy: Moving Beyond the Controversy." Paeaonline. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 2002. Web. 1 Feb 2014. 

Week 3 Prompt Post: The Interview

This week, I interviewed a person in the field that I am interested in and asked them questions about their profession trying to get a better feel about physical therapy after the 10 questions I researched in the first blog post. The person that I chose to interview was my mom. She's a physical therapist so I figured that there wouldn't be a better person to talk to then her. This is was I came up with: 

If it weren't for the pay, would you still be a physical therapist? 

Absolutely, you know it's not like anything else in the world being able to see someone so happy when they can move again. It's so nice to help people, it's so nice that I get thanked every day for what I do, and that I make a difference in peoples lives. I would absolutely do it if money wasn't involved... it is a nice bonus though. 

Why did you choose this profession in the first place? 

I actually didn't even think about physically therapy until about my sophomore year of college. I wasn't sure at what I wanted to do, and even when I chose to go pre-professional for physical therapy I didn't know if that's what I wanted to do for sure. But I stuck with it, and didn't know that it was really what I wanted to do until I interned and saw what it was like. Then I knew that this is what I wanted to do. 

What is your favorite part about the job? 

My favorite part of doing what I do is the people. It's really what the job is all about. The environment that I'm surrounded by when I work is the best thing. I love it and I love doing what I do. I love to help the people. 

What is your daily routine like? 

I go in in the morning and I deal with the patients that I have for the day. It's really quite busy if I have a lot going on. I'm always on my feet doing something. It's a really exhausting job and by the end of the day all I want to do is crawl into bed and be off my feet. 

Did you struggle through the schooling and think it was difficult?

I mean what schooling isn't hard. Especially when you get further into school and it gets more specific and specialized. It was definitely tough and there were plenty of tests that I struggled on and material that I didn't understand, but I wanted it and I wanted to finish so I had to push myself to do the best that I could do. 

What would your advice to me be about deciding to go into physical therapy? 

My advice to you would to be persistent. Never give up even when you think you can't do it anymore.  You have to push through and know that if you want it bad enough you'll get there. And even when you're there and you've made it past all the school, just know what it won't be easy every day. Some days will be much more difficult than others, it all depends on the patients you're dealing with. But just think about how much they're trying and you need to try with them and help them through what they are dealing with. 

Have you ever wished you could work somewhere else being a physical therapist?

Like a different state or country? Sure, it would always be nice to have a different experience in a different place with different people. But this is where my life is, this is where you and the rest of our family is, this is where my patients are, this is where my work is and I wouldn't want to have it any other way. 

 In your eyes, what makes a good physical therapist?

A good physical therapist is patient, encouraging, enthusiastic about what they do, and they love their job. A good physical therapist cares about who they are dealing with, and truly wants to help people. A good physical therapist always pushes his/her patients but never pushes too far. 

What is the most challenging part about your job? 

The most challenging part is dealing with patients who are stubborn. It's hard for them and you have to understand that, and sometimes they want to give up and stop trying. It's hard to watch them want to stop trying and not get better. It's hard to try and make them want to push through. It's even hard to watch them struggle and have limitations that weren't once there. 

What kind of writing do you do as a physical therapist?

I don't really do any major writing. Nothing like essays or anything. I do have to write progress reports for patients, and evaluations of patients, treatment plans, and a lot of the time I come up with different exercise programs and write them out for a patient to do outside of physical therapy. Things like that are mainly what I write on a daily basis.




CITATIONS

Scherba, Ramona. Personal interview. 26 Jan 2014.

Week 2 Open Post

As we wrap up the second week of this blog research project, I decided that I wanted to do my open post about a story of how physical therapy helped or didn't help someone and try and understand what it's like on the other side of physical therapy. I browsed through the internet a little bit until I found the article linked below. In this article, Linda (the patient who was receiving physical therapy) had a fall and was told that her arm would pretty much never be the same again. After going to physical therapy for a while she was able to move her arm, straighten it, and it hung normally. This is a great example to see the help that physical therapists give and in a sense they definitely help people change their lives... or get back to the life they used to live before they needed physical therapy. I think that that's what it's all about: helping people. There is no better feeling out there then seeing someone happy again or see them being able to do something again that they may have thought would never happen. I find it extremely touching, heartwarming, and amazing to see this happening to see this happening in the field that I'm hopeful to enter someday.

Link to story for those who want to read it: 

http://doarpt.com/lindas-physical-therapy-success-story/

CITATIONS

Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab. "Linda's Physical Therapy Success Story." Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab, 27 Sep 2013. Web. 23 Jan 2014. 

Upstate Medical University. Physical Therapy-Doctor of Physical Therapy, DPT. 2014. Digital File.

Week 2 Prompt Post: Delivery and Style

This week, the blog post is focusing on the differences in delivery and style of an article that is related to physical therapy and an article that is written by a physical therapist that is already in the field. After doing a little searching online I found two articles that I thought I could easily distinguish the differences between. I found an article called "Physical Therapy for Running Injuries" that was related to the physical therapy field as a whole. The style of this article was informal and the vocabulary was moderate so that most everyone who comes across it is able to easily understand what is being said. It is formatted in a way that is giving hints, tips, and helpful advice to anyone who has suffered a running injury. Much like the style, the delivery is informal and it's in an article form online that anyone can come across if this is what they are looking for. From looking at the style and delivery of this article, I can get a feel for what the audience and purpose is. The author of the article is targeting anyone who is injured as the main audience. The purpose of it all is to give them a heads up as to what they can expect during their physical therapy process. The other article I chose was called "Health Literacy: Physical Therapists' Perspectives." This article was written by physical therapists in the field and they were conducting a study. The style of the article was very formal, detailed, and specific throughout the entire thing. The language is a bit more complex and would take more skill level and understanding to comprehend the main focus. The delivery of the article was in the form of a lab report write write up of research and study done by the physical therapists. With that being said, the audience and purpose are different for this article that the first one. This article's audience is anyone that is in the physical therapy field doing research and clinical trials etc. It is also for anyone that is looking to conduct the study themselves to see what conclusions they are able to draw from it. The main purpose of this is to inform people of what the findings were and anything they have to support their findings. The article is here to help further research for future studies in the field that are similar to this.

For more information or if anyone would like to take a look at the two articles, here are the two links:
http://ijahsp.nova.edu/articles/Vol10Num2/pdf/Billek-Sawhney.pdf
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/10/07/physical-therapy-for-running-injuries



CITATIONS

Sonnino, Elena. "Physical Therapy for Running Injuries." US News & World Report: Health and Wellness. US News & World Report, 7 Oct 2013. Web. 22 Jan 2014.

Billek-Sawhney, Barbara, et al. "Health Literacy: Physical Therapists' Perspectives." IJAHSP. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 2012. Web. 22 Jan 2014.

Week 1 Open Post

In the first week of the research blog, I have actually learned a lot and am happy that most of my initial questions for this week have been answered. I've learned pretty much the overall basics of physical therapy like salary, patients, schooling, personality traits, etc. that are essential when you want to go into the physical therapy field. I was looking through youtube to try and find some videos of a day in a life of a physical therapist, and I stumbled across the video above. To me, this video was extremely helpful and it was definitely nice to learn what a day in a physical therapists shoes looks like. It reiterated in the video that you do really need to have high energy level and patience. But from this video the one thing I really learned is that you also need to have passion. You need to have a passion to want to do this, a passion to want to help people that are in need of your help, and that it's so important to love what you are doing. I learned this from just watching the physical therapist in the video. I mean look at her, it's exhausting work, but she still loves it and when she's working with the kids she has a smile on her face the entire time. It was so obvious to me that she has a passion for what she does. My main conclusion after week 1 is that I'm on the right track, and I feel like I could really be a fit in this field. The high energy, patience, passion, encouragement, and everything really. I truly do believe that I have what it takes to be a physical therapist. 

CITATIONS 

Countysandiego. (2010, November 12). Physical Therapist- A Day in the Life. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ykElSXlReU

Week 1 Prompt Post: 10 questions about physical therapy

I've compiled a list of 10 questions and answers to start off my research blog. From these questions I'm hoping to get a better understand of the surface of physical therapy as a whole.

1. What is pay like for a physical therapist? 
Over the past decade, the salary for a physical therapist has doubled. Physical therapists can be paid well in big cities and just as well in a smaller population. When physical therapists start out their salary is most likely to be between $25,000 and $35,000. As a physical therapist gains experience their salary can more than double and the highest paid physical therapists have a salary of $100,000.

2. What qualifications/schooling are needed in order to become a physical therapist?
Anyone looking to become a physical therapist needs to have an undergraduate education and enter a physical therapy program. Physical therapy schools are looking for math, communication, science, etc. classes as requirements. Once a student goes through the undergraduate education and enters a physical therapy program, they can choose to go for a masters degree or a doctoral degree. It is predicted that by 2020, most physical therapists will start to get their doctoral status.

3. What is the typical work setting for a physical therapist to work in?
More than half of physical therapists work in private practice settings like outpatient clinics, doctors office, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, etc. Sports physical therapists work in schools (high school and college) and hospitals most of the time.

4. Where in the United States are physical therapists most in demand?
COULD NOT FIND IN THE TEXTBOOKS I LOOKED THROUGH.

5. What kind of age-ranges to physical therapists generally work with?
Physical therapists work with all age-ranges. The fastest growing age range is the 50 and older group. As they grow older, the chance for limited functions and sometimes unexpected disabilities. The "Baby Boomer" population is looking to stay active and a lot of the time they need assistance from a physical therapist to help them. Physical therapists also work with the younger population, athletes who suffer from injuries need physical therapy to rehabilitate themselves.

6. What is the best graduate school to go to get a masters degree in physical therapy?
I was not able to find a list saying that specific schools were better than others but there was a list of schools included in the textbook. Some of the schools listed that have physical therapy programs are: Creighton University, George Washington University, Lorma College, Medical College of Virginia, Medical College of Georgia, Northeastern University, University of Delaware, University of Tennessee, and University of Washington.

7. Are there any travel opportunities for physical therapists?
COULD NOT FIND IN THE TEXTBOOKS I LOOKED THROUGH.

8. Does the the physical therapy work field have a promising future?
The physical therapy field is always growing and it is growing at a fast rate. Lots of people are always looking to be active and improve their abilities of movement. There are always people that are recovering and rehabilitating from an accident or an injury and physical therapists are the ones who give those people the knowledge, skills, and practice they need to gain their movement back. Physical therapy is one career field that can provide plentiful jobs.

9. What kind of work do the physical therapists typically deal with?
Physical therapists usually work with people who have had injuries, surgery, disabilities, pain, etc. They are the ones that will help patients for potentially long periods of time while they gain their full mobility back. Physical therapists work with patients through different physical stimulations and exercises.

10. What personality traits do physical therapists need to have?
Physical therapists need to have a lot of qualities and traits, including being caring, encouraging, optimistic, and especially having patience and high energy levels all the time. The patients physical therapists deal with go through a long process to get their movement back and a lot of times they will want to quit, and they will need to be the ones to motivate them to keep going.


The textbook that I used to help find the answers was VERY helpful and useful. The book helped me answer almost every question that I had. There were two questions that didn't get answered from the book, I feel like the internet or different journals or experiences that are documented from physical therapists themselves could be helpful in trying to answer those questions. Overall, I was very happy with the textbook that I found. I got a lot of questions answered and I think that I have a good base started for the rest of the research blog!


CITATIONS

Institue for Career Research. Careers in Physical Therapy: Sports Medicine. Chicago: Institute for  Career Research, 2007. Print.