Life with a New PT Grad

Background in Physical Therapy

Lisa West — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:22:00 GMT

A friend of mine is an MD, and he often does other work using his MD education as a basis for other jobs. He serves as an "expert opinion" in some court trials, does consultation work for medicine companies, and teaches lectures occasionally. Although...(read more)

Packers Games and Patients

Lisa West — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:17:00 GMT

Last Sunday was my first experience of working during a Packers game. The other times I have worked on Sundays, the Packers have played at 3:00 p.m. By 3:00, I'm nearly done with my schedule and only have one or two patients left to see. With a noon game,...(read more)

H1N1 Virus

Lisa West — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Well, I hate to jump on the media wagon with more commentary about the H1N1 flu virus, but I'm wondering how other health care systems are tackling this nation-wide problem. I got the H1N1 flu shot today at work, but many of my coworkers are declining...(read more)

Clinical Judgment and Lab Values

Lisa West — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:52:00 GMT

Many times before a treatment session I will speak with the RN and discuss if the patient is appropriate for skilled therapy. Literally 99 percent of the time, the RN will say "Oh yes, please go get the patient out of bed." Occasionally a nurse will ask...(read more)

Learning Experience

Lisa West — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:26:00 GMT

A few nights ago I picked up an extra evaluation at the end of the day. It was a very active 88-year old woman admitted for a GI bleed. She volunteers weekly and is completely independent at home. No device used. Upon introducing myself and my purpose...(read more)

Mandatory Lunch Meetings

Lisa West — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:57:00 GMT

At our hospital, the baseline for productivity is 75 percent. In acute care this is attainable on most days, but on some days can be difficult. Other tests/procedures, medical hold due to unstable lab values, dialysis, and simple patient refusals often...(read more)

Is Detox the Same as Skilled Therapy?

Lisa West — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:26:00 GMT

The hospital I work at is in urban Milwaukee. It is located a little south-west of actual downtown Milwaukee, but it is by no means a "suburban"-type establishment. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article in today's paper citing Milwaukee...(read more)

Code 4

Lisa West — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:47:00 GMT

Several weeks ago I was at our daily OFT (Outcome Facilitation Team) meeting when we heard over the speaker system, "Code 4. 5 th floor. Room 12." A Spanish-speaking patient had passed out and became unresponsive, and a code was called for the Stat team...(read more)

Perks of Being a New Hire

Lisa West — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:30:00 GMT

Last week I wrote a depressing blog about how awful the world is when you are a new hire, or a new grad. This week, I'd like to focus on all the reasons why it's so great to be a new hire. 1. I have lots of fresh ideas. Having recently graduated, I had...(read more)

Low Man on the Totem Pole

Lisa West — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:33:00 GMT

I'm a new hire, and a new grad on top of it. I try not to cross any lines at work. There are situations and policies I disagree with (strongly), but I bite my tongue and convince myself there will be a better time to voice my opinion. The people I work...(read more)

Frequent Flyer

Lisa West — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:33:00 GMT

A patient came into our Emergency Department last week with chest pain, shortness of breath and a generally malaise-type feeling. The patient couldn't point to any specific cause, and had a significant family history of heart disease. The patient was...(read more)

A Big Problem

Lisa West — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:51:00 GMT

I had a patient on my schedule today who weighed, no exaggeration, 450 pounds. This woman had been bed-ridden for some time and was admitted to acute care for treatment of cellulitis. During a co-treatment with OT, we were able to mobilize this patient...(read more)

PT = Exercise

Lisa West — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:58:00 GMT

As physical therapists, we teach our patients every day the importance of remaining active, of increasing our endurance, the never-ending benefits of exercise. But, do we practice what we preach? On average, I ascend between 17-25 flights of stairs every...(read more)

Isolation

Lisa West — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:48:00 GMT

In the acute-care hospital setting, words like MRSA, VRE and C-diff run wild. Many patients are in isolation, and many require specific sanitizations prior to and following patient interaction. Droplet isolation is, for the sake of argument, fairly easy...(read more)

Patient Inconsistency

Lisa West — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:41:00 GMT

On acute care, every day is different. There are days when my schedule works perfectly; other days, every patient is at a test or procedure, or refusing therapy. Likewise, there are days when my patient requires total assistance for mobility and the next...(read more)