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Toni Talks about PT Today

Return to Manual Therapy... Not
by Toni Patt
This week a patient was referred to therapy because of neck pain. I quickly determined she had a mechanical derangement of her cervical spine. Something was locked in the upper cervical region that prevented her from rotating. Her complaints were inability Read More...
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Finally Something I Enjoy
by Toni Patt
Anyone who reads my blog with regularity knows the last year has been a struggle for me. I lost my beloved job. I was fired for being ethical. I encountered more than my share of unethical and self-serving people. During all of that, I hung on and kept Read More...
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Maybe it's a Question of Time
by Toni Patt
Last week I questioned what the definition of skilled therapy was . I had worked with several patients the previous weekend whose only deficit was the need for supervision. I've realized I wasn't clear in describing those patients. All of them had been Read More...
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What Is the Definition of Skilled Therapy?
by Toni Patt
I've been noticing a disturbing trend lately. More and more facilities are considering the need for supervision as a need for skilled therapy. Back in the day, patients referred to SNFs and outpatient had an obvious need. They had trouble walking. They Read More...
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Time and Money
by Toni Patt
Now that I'm home from CSM, I've had an opportunity to process all of the information. Most of the presentations were excellent. Those that weren't purely theoretical had a common theme. We have to maximize what we do because we're spending less and less Read More...
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Ready for CSM
by Toni Patt
SAN DIEGO -- Just like my fellow ADVANCE blogger Lauren , I'll be attending the APTA Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego. CSM happens this week so I'm already in my hotel. I've registered and picked up my materials. I attended my pre-conference workshop Read More...
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I Tried to Volunteer
by Toni Patt
As a member of the neurological section, I receive a monthly electronic newsletter. A few months ago, it included a request for volunteers to work on developing an acute stroke care course. Obviously that caught my attention. I completed the application Read More...
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What Is a Physical Therapist Extender?
by Toni Patt
Reading Jason Marketti's blog last week reminded me of a discussion we're having here in Texas. It's called RC-3 and is an amendment to the Texas Physical Therapy Practice Act. It proposes unlicensed individuals such as athletic trainers and massage therapists Read More...
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Biting Off More Than I Can Chew
by Toni Patt
Last week, I wrote about my experiences teaching my first CEU course. I mentioned how much work it was but didn't go into details. It took me nearly four months to finish, including two months of working at least an hour or two every night. Now I'm going Read More...
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Putting Up With Bad Behavior
by Toni Patt
Today was one of those days. There is a full moon. Healthcare workers often joke about the effects of the full moon on their patients. I believe there is something to that, which means my patients gets more of a workout than usual. I am used to brain-injured Read More...
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How Much Help Is Too Much?
by Toni Patt
I've been using the Nintendo Wii with more of my patients. This has created a dilemma for me. I don't know how much help to give my patients. At first I didn't help them at all but that wasn't successful. Since then I have alternated between verbal cues Read More...
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The Power of Addiction
by Toni Patt
There is something I don't understand. Why is it that smokers are willing to be discharged against medical advice from a hospital if they aren't allowed to smoke? This morning I went to assess a woman following a TIA. She was more concerned with being Read More...
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Feeling Good About What You Do
by Toni Patt
Last weekend I had to change a VAC. The patient's husband was anxious that the wound wouldn't heal. Nursing had made several calls to the department requesting someone take a look at it since the husband wouldn't let them touch it. By the time I arrived, Read More...
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Combining PT and ST
by Toni Patt
Lately I've had the opportunity to work with a wonderful ST. We bounce ideas off each other. We've even managed to co-treat a few times. In the course of working together, we've observed that improvement in one discipline carries over to improvement in Read More...
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Don't Count These Patients Out
by Toni Patt
It's been a while since I've had more than a few geriatric patients on my caseload. Now that my caseload is all geriatric, I've had to readjust. It's a good thing I didn't forget the first rule of geriatric care. Elderly patients are people, too. They Read More...
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