PTA Blog Talk : Education

Immigration and PT

Jason Marketti — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:45:00 GMT

I spoke with Emily Lopez Neumann, an an immigration attorney at Reddy & Neumann, P.C., Houston, TX, about the immigration process for PTs recently. What follows is a Q&A of our discussion. Question: Are you seeing a change in the way immigration...(read more)

The Legacies Project- Part 2

Jason Marketti — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:36:00 GMT

Based in Ann Arbor, MI, The Legacies Project archives self selected memories from the elderly population and categorizes it into videotaped histories. It began as Jimmy Rhoades recounts a personal experience. "My dad was diagnosed with cancer and we were...(read more)

Mentoring

Jason Marketti — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:32:00 GMT

I have been on a search for years for a mentor. Not only one that helps me develop as a PTA, but also in my personal life. I need someone that can understand my point of view but allows me the insight into another perspective. I would like someone who...(read more)

CPR and CEU Money

Jason Marketti — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:36:00 GMT

I recently took a BLS instructor course. (I will be able to teach CPR and first aid among other things.) I was initially told this was covered by my CEU money, and later told it was not. Then I thought, why wouldn't it be? It could turn into a great marketing...(read more)

The Fathers Network - Part One

Jason Marketti — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:02:00 GMT

I recently spoke with Greg Schell and James May about The Fathers Network and how they serve their community in the state of Washington. The Fathers Network began in 1978 at the University of Washington for fathers raising children with special needs....(read more)

Life Goals

Jason Marketti — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:01:00 GMT

Randy Pausch's book, The Last Lecture is excellent. Section V has been re-read multiple times. It was like taking his short but successful career with all his knowledge and experience and condensing it into 30 small chapters.

Another book that should be making rounds is, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. It is a book about people who have put their life story, philosophy or goals in six words.

And this all got me to thinking, how we would sum up our lives in a small chapter in the archives of the APTA. What can we say about ourselves that would inspire others in our field? Are we the first to do something new? Have we taken that leap, trusting ourselves enough to step around the ideas others are still thinking about? Can we all be innovators?

My answer is yes, we can all be innovators but we have to begin somewhere. And that is to have a goal for yourself. I am not talking about a bucket list, but a professional goal to achieve in a given period of time.

A PT or PTA should ideally have several professional goals they want to achieve within five years. Whether it is to become certified in a specific technique or to research a topic, we should have a direction we want to go and a place we want to be in a couple of years.

After achieving your goals, ask yourself whether your contributions have promoted the field of therapy and look around to decide whether you could have inspired others to follow in your footsteps.

Then, write a paragraph that sums up your life both personally and professionally. Ask yourself whether you could have or should have done it differently. And do it differently regardless of the answer - if anything you will gain valuable experience.

Online PTA Education

Jason Marketti — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:45:00 GMT

Recently I came across an online PTA program. To tell the truth I was skeptical about it. After more research I concluded that it was ingenious to offer education online for PTAs.

Now some may say, "You can't teach therapy online."

San Juan College (www.sanjuancollege.edu/pta) in Farmington, NM has done just this. They have a successful online PTA program and graduated one class with a 100 percent pass rate, and are graduating another class this December.

If someone can get a respiratory therapy degree online and a DPT online, why shouldn't they be able to educate themselves as a PTA with the same method?

"With our program, students enrolled in the online portion can live anywhere in the United States," said Wendy D. Bircher, PT, EdD, director of the PTA program.

She went on to say, "The students attend sessions toward the end of each semester for seven to 14 days to learn the lab skills and to ensure they successfully complete a lab exam and are competent to continue on to the next semester. The students attend the lab sessions everyday (including Saturday and Sunday) for approximately eight to 12 hours a day. It is a grueling schedule, but with this format, individuals who have no other option for a PTA degree now have one."

To elaborate on the success of online education in the therapy field, do a search for online CEUs. If I take an online CEU, I am essentially learning therapy techniques online. San Juan College requires a proctor and has a time limit for each test. Do your online CEUs require that?

Trying to Understand

Jason Marketti — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:06:00 GMT

In my search for information I come across many sites that provide valuable references for me.

One search led me to a biography site (www.whonamedit.com) that I devoured rapidly and I enjoy going back frequently to keep updated on the information as new entries are provided. And since I read frequently about many subjects I figured I was pretty smart until I read about BIID or Body Integrity Identity Disorder. There are many Internet sites about this disorder that are available and even Wikipedia provides a fairly accurate article on BIID.

There are some things we may never understand when it comes to humanity. Even the sessions involved in patient care can come into question daily while we are treating or trying to treat certain patients. For instance, if a patient requests hot packs, ultrasound, TENS and massage for a treatment but declines any participation with exercises, should I provide the "feel good" stuff and ask them to come back three times a week for two weeks? Or advise them that I am not a spa and send them on their way to another therapy place that will provide them with what they want?

I chose the latter and was reprimanded. Was it right? I don't know; at the time I was busy and frustrated that people thought they could dictate their care. It's not that I knew what was best for them; I just didn't want to see the patients treat our profession that way.

People do things that I just don't fully understand. In fact, I do strange things that even I don't understand. I drink from the same cup at every meal, I have my own fork that I use and no one is allowed to touch it, I even mix my peas and corn on my plate.

For the most part I try to fully realize what the patients and family members are going through during their difficult times. It is too easy to ignore subtle signs of irritation and frustration during family meetings or brush off remarks the patient makes about their care.

With the patients I see I employ compassion in the care provided, empathy when discussing the patients situation, and a broad understanding of their situation so I can provide the best treatment possible for every patient (except the one that walked out and thought I was a spa technician).

Just the Assistant

Jason Marketti — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:15:00 GMT

Because I am a PTA do people look at me as "only an assistant" to the REAL therapist?

I have asked myself that question and have been told by patients and family members, "Oh, you're the assistant, can I talk to the therapist?" So, like everyone else who wanted to better themselves I went back to school.

My resume is quite impressive. Lots of jobs in different settings, plenty of experience, publications, CEUs, certificates and, of course, several degrees.

I have been told if I do not like being a PTA I should go back to school to become a PT. Sounds like a great idea until I took a look at tuition costs for me to become a PT. I would be better off becoming a nurse. So I went to nursing school. It didn't work out the way I planned and it took me away from my family too much so I abandoned that after a year. (I was taught great assessment skills though.)

Then I got to talking to some other PTAs who would consider the option to become a PT if the courses were made more available to them. Most of us had 10 plus years in the field and were fairly adept at our skills and confident in our knowledge that we could become PTs if we wouldn't have to take A and P, chemistry, biology, etc., all over again. Apparently some schools "expire" the courses on the transcripts if they are more than 5 years old. Does human anatomy and the basic chemical make up of living organisms change that rapidly?

What a PTA with 10 plus years of experience would need is primarily evaluation and assessment skills. Yeah, we could throw in a couple of review courses (keep them condensed and brief) then get on with the clinical part of the program. I think a one-year intense clinical training program for a PTA with 10 years in the field would be a good transitional program. How many of us with that many years in the field would actually do it if it was a year program?

Where Are the PTA Authors?

Jason Marketti — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:47:00 GMT

During my education in school as a PTA we did not use any books authored by PTAs. Why not?

There weren't any available. But the athletic trainer book was more acceptable than one written by a therapist. Imagine that.

I am sure there are PTAs who enjoy writing, just look at ADVANCE magazine and there are articles written by assistants. More of us need to take this a step further and write a book.

I did. Well, not exactly. I wrote about two chapters of an assessment book and pitched it to a high profile company that specializes in therapy books. I was sent a notice that they were not interested until enrollment increases in the PTA programs. Fair enough. Other publishers did not even bother to respond.

Since that time I have seen several books written by PTs for PTAs. Perhaps my ideas were not what they were looking for at that time. Maybe there is a PTA who could deliver a book that publishers are looking for.

I know PTAs have written books. These books should be available to every PTA program for them to use either in class or as a reference. (This is where I could have shamelessly plugged my own book of therapy if I had bothered to finish it, instead I will plug my poetry book.)

The bottom line for PTAs is to get out there and write, research, educate and encourage one another about our profession. And for those PTAs that are currently doing this, please continue, we need you.

Book, Books and more Books

Jason Marketti — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:46:00 GMT

I like to read.

Not only that, I have a small library at home (once encompassing our two car garage).

Often the subject of the book is unimportant to me. It is the way a writer will tell a story. Within the first page or two I can tell whether it will be a book I will enjoy reading.

I read Asminov (I love science fiction), Grisham (I think the books are better than the movies), Roald Dahl, Elizabeth Gilbert, Edgar Allen Poe, all sorts of biographies and countless other authors and subjects that I could name. All of these are read purely for pleasure and each one exposes me to a new format, a new idea, and even a different outlook on life.

For professional reading I will often turn to the Internet and do searches on a particular subject that I am interested in at the time. Several years ago I was doing a search on the history of therapy and some of the pioneers of our profession. I found a great site.

www.mediamd.com/ptjay

Jay Schleichkorn, PhD, PT, sent me two of several books he authored; one was about Signe Brunnstrom and the other was about William John Little, MD. I devoured the books in a relatively short time.

When we look at history of any profession or genre of stories we can see that it changes over time. Once there were healers and restorative aides and now we have Therapists. Once there were petroglyphs then printed books now there is the internet and e-books. The concept doesn't change it is the way ideas are progressed that changes.

The concept of our profession is healing, that does not change. It is the way we perform that skill that changes by new technology, new ideas, and understanding that the foundation the PT pioneers laid down for us has allowed us to progress to where we are today.