Here it is
1.) What got you interested in this field? Where did you go to college, get your undergraduate and graduate?Like many PT’s, had an injury, and a PT really helped me to get back to doing what I wanted to do. Specifically, some low back issues in high school, which didn’t respond to chiropractic or rest, got better quickly with the help of a PT. I went to Ohio University in Athens, OH, and graduated from the 5 year program with a Bachelor Degree in Physical Therapy. (Programs have significantly changed since then; most are now 3+3 entry-level Doctorate degrees.)
2.) How do you think college prepared you for your profession? College (for me, the 3 yrs prior to PT school) courses like physics, chemistry, physiology helped me to get ready for the study of the rehab of human body, including musculoskeletal injuries, as well as other aspects of PT which I don’t use much anymore.
3.) How many hours a week do you work? And what are your main duties? 40+/wk; these days, ~ 30 hrs are direct patient care, with the rest of it devoted to administrative duties that keep the clinic running smoothly.
4.) What ranges of injuries do you specialize in? The majority of my patients over the past few years have injuries (macrotrauma, or more likely microtrauma) that are of the musculoskeletal system, especially in the lower extremities, and even more specifically in the past 2 years of the foot and ankle. That said, as is typical of an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist, I see a variety of injuries, including of the neck/back/shoulder. Additionally, in the past 18-24 mos, I have worked w/ a large number of runners who want or need to improve the efficiency of their gait.
5.) Could you describe the process of when a patient first walks in with an injury, until the day they are released? and all the steps of rehab in between
1. Examination: gather subjective and objective information from the patient and/or physician as to what brings the patient to the clinic; look at movement patterns (ie habits) that may be contributing to functional limitations and/or pain; consider the concept of regional interdependence, for example “my knee hurts”—ok, fine let’s look at that, but then also consider what’s going on in the spine and hips that may be leading to that knee pain.
2. Evaluation: decide what to do with all that information you just gathered; what does it mean? Does it make sense? Fit a pattern? Require more information, testing, etc.? Develop a problem list. What’s most important to work on first, second, etc.?
3. Treatment plan: the specifics of how to address the issues on the problem list (manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, etc.)
4. Re-assessment: are they headed in the right direction? When goals are met, finalize discharge plan, encourage consistency with home exercise program, discharge.
6.) What is the most rewarding part/ frustrating part of your job? The good: helping people get back to doing what they need, want, love to do. The bad: People who aren’t interested in helping themselves get better and don’t make an effort.
7.) What is the most prevailing injury seen in high school girls? and do you see a trend? Hmm…toss up between low back pain/strain vs. knee pain; most of it due to poor core stability and hip control/strength. Trend? Have seen more of it in the past few years, possibly d/t more kids doing more, earlier, and with less variety (for example, the 12 year old who’s played soccer 12 mos/yr for years).
8.) What do you feel the most important difference between injuries seen in high school vs. college athletes?Hmm…may be easier to change movement patterns in a younger athlete? But not always the case. Some people are more “in tune” with their body and can change patterns even later in life. Some college athletes are stronger, but not always the case. May be easier to get the younger athlete to take needed rest time.
9.) How do you personally keep up with new developments in rehab, now that you're out in the field?Continuing education courses, teaching (and doing the research to be able to present), reading professional journals, talking w/ colleagues, etc.
10.) Have you come across any new innovations since you studied in college? If so, what? Innovations in PT center around treatment strategy; the list is long! One quick example is a treatment-based classification system, developed in 1996 (the year I graduated) which is now the standard for evaluation and treatment of low back pain; starts with a comprehensive, systematic evaluation which then categorizes the patient into a treatment strategy (ie, stabilization, traction, etc.). Clinical prediction rules are another development; for example, if a patient has findings X, Y, and Z, then there is a high likelihood that they’ll benefit from treatment A; if not, then the results have less of a chance of being successful.
No comments:
Post a Comment