Life of a PTA

State Board Anxiety -- Revisited

2012-07-27T19:20:00Z

I recently received quite a few heartfelt responses to a blog I wrote last year on the subject of the dreaded PTA "state board licensure exam." I feel your pain, people. I vividly remember the pre/post anxiety and panic of preparing and actually taking the test. Many readers asked about the timeliness of receiving the test results. My case was different, since I found out I passed exactly five days after the test and I heard of a few of my classmates having found out they passed through the PSBPT...(read more)

What Matters Most

2012-07-20T17:04:00Z

I was reminded recently of how to recognize a truly good therapist. The observation came up when a PT was describing the individual therapists on our rehab team to a PT student. Generally, the obvious was mentioned, such as experience and specific knowledge in certain specialties. However, when describing one PTA, the therapist stated that "at the end of the day, he really cares about what happens to these people (patients), and they love working with him." The therapist he referenced is not only...(read more)

The "No-Therapist-Left-Behind" Policy

2012-07-16T15:45:00Z

On any given day in the SNF, I might have six to 10 patients on my schedule. The rest of my colleagues have close to the same amount, depending on how many new evaluations the PTs have that same day. Having reduced my work schedule to four days a week as I've discussed in past blogs , I can now take on a typical 10-hour day without completely collapsing when I step through my front door. Having said that, I still carry one of my biggest pet peeves around with me when it comes to co-worker behavior....(read more)

The New Team Player

2012-07-06T20:11:00Z

For more than a year now, the physical therapy department at the skilled nursing facility where I work has had no staff turnover. This has enabled my colleagues and I to develop an efficient therapy team with excellent communication and interpersonal rapport. As each therapist has unique strengths to offer, from the seasoned specialist to the eager "newbie" (me), it's the patients who benefit. Recently an additional full-time therapist was hired and the group dynamic has surprisingly not changed....(read more)

Sensitivity Training

2012-07-02T16:48:00Z

One day last week as I was preparing to spend my coveted "lunch break" outdoors under the elusive Northwest sun, I came across one of my regular patients sitting alone in the hallway. I have grown to really enjoy working with this particular person because although she is in severe chronic pain, I can always expect her daily participation in therapy. I thought it odd that this woman was sitting in one of the hallway chairs since it was her lunch hour and typically she would be in the dining room....(read more)

Animal Instincts

2012-06-22T19:43:00Z

My fellow therapists at the SNF where I work all provide a vast amount of talent to our therapy team. Whether specializing in hand therapy, lymphedema management or simply approaching therapy with years of experience, there is a clinician on staff who can provide superb care to any sort of patient. There is one member of our team, however, who most of the patients seek out and brings a guaranteed smile to their faces. This "therapist" has the ability to charm even the grouchiest and can entice many...(read more)

The Happiest Place on Earth

2012-06-15T20:44:00Z

More than four years ago, I sat my then 8- and 4-year-olds down to explain that their "Mommy" would be very busy most nights and weekends for quite a while. I explained that I would have to spend most of my "free time" studying and reading and reading... and studying some more. My goal was to become a physical therapist assistant and help people heal. They were impressed if not a little confused -- for a full year they would tell their friends I was in nursing school. As well, I told them, I would...(read more)

Creating a Fall Risk?

2012-06-08T11:51:00Z

Working in a skilled nursing setting definitely has its benefits and drawbacks, as I am constantly discovering. There is a huge advantage to working with the same patient every day of the week. Watching him make gains and meet goals, sometimes daily, is extremely rewarding. On the other end of the spectrum, working with many who have end-stage dementia or are at the end-of-life can take its toll on morale at times. One interesting dynamic a therapist can find herself in is when the patient becomes...(read more)

No Energy? Just Add Water

2012-06-01T20:04:00Z

Last week I finally went for my annual physical with my doctor. I was a twinge nervous, as I've been exhausted recently and well, I haven't had a doctor's appointment in more than three years. Luckily, all was fine -- and I was given some valid (if not obvious advice). She suggested that one way to curb my "low-energy" issue was to drink more water. Her analogy was to think of my job as running a marathon, in which staying hydrated was vitally important. Sound familiar? It certainly did to me. The...(read more)

A Difficult Encounter

2012-05-25T17:49:00Z

As a relatively new physical therapist assistant, I accept that I have a monumental amount of knowledge to learn. Trust me; I'm humbled every day by the vast amount of experience I'm gaining and the gap in what I have yet to master. This week alone, I've been lucky enough to work with a young man with TBI and two aphasic massive stroke patients. It's been a long and busy week at our SNF. My one "go-to" skill that I like to think is my strength in this profession is the ability to talk with people....(read more)

Sitting on My Hands

2012-05-18T20:37:00Z

As I recently blogged , I've been clinical instructor to a first-rotation PTA student. I share the duty with my colleague, who happened to graduate with me from the same PTA program our student is now attending. To say she is in sympathetic company is a humorous understatement. It was only a short two years ago that we were stressing over clinical expectations and advantageous rotation placements. My colleague and I agreed that the stress of the first clinical, combined with the fact that the student...(read more)

The Favorite Patient

2012-05-11T17:40:00Z

Often I find that I'll have a "favorite" patient on my schedule and will seek out that person's name on my list every morning as I begin my day. It can be something about their hard-working ethic -- knowing they'll always give me their best in therapy, or even their keen sense of humor that wins over my affection. I always assumed therapists should be like teachers; we should not have favorite "students." However, this is hard to avoid, especially in skilled nursing when you are working with the...(read more)

PTA: A Year in Review

2012-05-04T19:57:00Z

My "official" one-year anniversary of being a working PTA came and went very quietly a few weeks ago. I was under the impression I would feel suddenly "experienced" and maybe given an "‘Atta girl!" from the rehab director. No on both counts. Yet, I forgot the anniversary myself due to general craziness that is my life. On the home front, out small chicken flock has grown to more than 30, which doesn't include the 17 turkeys. Why so many turkeys, you ask? That's the same question I posed to my husband,...(read more)

A Working Schedule

2012-04-27T12:56:00Z

As of the beginning of April, I reduced my work week from ﬁve to four days a week. Initially, I felt guilty that I couldn't "hack" a full-time schedule and then I realized I was being far too hard on myself. My usual work day starts around 8:30 in the morning and I'm not coming up for air until 12 or 12:30 for a quick bite to eat and then back to therapy until 6 p.m. (and sometimes 7 p.m.). My cell phone is silenced at work and we have no Internet access. If there were to be an emergency and my husband...(read more)

Team Player

2012-04-20T19:36:00Z

I vividly remember writing a blog nearly a year ago about the importance of being a member of the "Skilled Nursing Team" when it comes to patient care in a large facility. If I remember correctly, I was in awe of the seamless interdisciplinary networks, including nursing, aide staff, PT, OT and social services, who aid each other in the patients' plan of care. Heck, even the activity department motivated patients to get out of bed for bingo every other day. Well, time has passed and I've seen rips...(read more)