Life with a New PT Grad : Workplace Issues

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Co-Treatments

Lisa West — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:17:00 GMT

So, the hospital I work at has a habit of doing a lot of co-evaluations and co-treatments between OTs and PTs, especially with patients who requires total or max assist. While I think it is good to work with other disciplines and have another set of hands,...(read more)

ICU and Oncology

Lisa West — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:56:00 GMT

So, this sassy therapist (me) has been getting into the hang of acute-care. I enjoy the challenges of fitting in a therapy session with a patient's busy schedule, I like the population I have been working with lately- mostly general medical, some low...(read more)

My First Paycheck

Lisa West — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:17:00 GMT

Here's a little list of things I am going to do, now that I have a paycheck: 1. Student loan payment; 2. Buy massive amounts of groceries; 3. Go to a Brewer's game; 4. Buy some work clothes! 5. Turn the lights on in my apartment, because I have money...(read more)

Pool Therapy and New Grads

Lisa West — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:31:00 GMT

I started work this week doing pool therapy/floating (NOT aquatic therapy)...it was a nice position that would give me some experience at the hospital before the residency begins in July. I would be able to jump between IP and OP. I have a few days off...(read more)

Last Clinical EVER

Lisa West — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:10:00 GMT

Well, it's basically over. Two more days of my last clinical as a PT student, and then I'm off for a 4-day solo drive home. My mother was kind enough to drive out here with me (we bopped along the whole way, singing at the top of our lungs and gasping...(read more)

Professionalism

Lisa Catenacci — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:50:00 GMT

Okay, kind of a controversial subject here. And, I will clear the air before I begin- I am not pointing fingers or even implying that the current staff I'm working with is guilty of such behavior. What I'm about to write is a compilation of many settings,...(read more)

Do Your Best

Lisa Catenacci — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:46:00 GMT

So, I realized something today at work- I have a tendency to get anxious and worked up about my documentation. Seriously, I stress out about it. I had THREE, count ‘em, THREE evaluations today - that's a lot for me. And, as I was in the middle of my second...(read more)

I Lost My Heart in Arizona

Lisa Catenacci — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:27:00 GMT

Week One: I am LOVING my last clinical here in Mesa, Arizona. My coworkers are fabulous- except the lack of GB Packer supports here (this is a joke). I'm in an OP-Neuro setting, and so far I've seen two SCI patients, many CVAs, and a muscular dystrophy, and many additional pathologies I never could have imagined treating. It is really interesting to see patients in this setting.

Our department has a handful of PTs, OTs, and two speech therapists. On my third day we had a staff meeting and I got to see how beautifully the different clinicians interact and work together to make the department a better place. Although the staff teases each other, they respect each other immensely. They problem solve as a group and encourage each other to become better clinicians. They teach each other and most importantly, they thank each other and recognize when someone has helped another.

The thing I'm dealing with now is trying to decide where in the U.S. I'd like to end up. I never questioned leaving Milwaukee, but the staff here in Arizona is truly the greatest asset of this PT department. Not to sound naïve, but I feel like the world is my oyster and I need to find where my heart fits best. It has been a long journey going through PT school, and the real adventure doesn't even begin until I have my diploma.