PT and the City : Workplace Issues , Geriatrics

I Can Teach

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:29:00 GMT

This weekend I taught a continuing education course with three other therapists. It took well over a year for us to organize the content, create the handouts and visual displays and market the course to get as many participants as possible. It was a fun...(read more)

Ducks and Physical Therapy

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:43:00 GMT

This week during the show "The Voice" on NBC, Aflac aired a 60-second commercial showing the Aflac duck working with a physical therapist to recover from some injuries. (The injuries were aired in earlier commercials). I think Aflac is marketing services...(read more)

When is PT Inappropriate?

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:14:00 GMT

A friend of mine works as a nurse in a hospice setting and she mentioned to me a few days ago that many of the patients she admits into their facility come with orders for physical therapy. I've seen articles and research about the effectiveness of physical...(read more)

American Heart Month

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:17:00 GMT

February is American Heart Month and as we see more red-dress pins and other symbols recognizing the impact of heart diseases, I thought this would be a good time to review the signs and symptoms of two major pathologies impacting our patients' health:...(read more)

Patient Handouts

Lisa Mueller — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:19:00 GMT

During my first clinical rotation as a student (which was a short, four-week orientation), my clinical instructor often gave me the task of finding research articles or handouts to give our patients. I distinctly remember working with one patient who...(read more)

Common Themes

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:30:00 GMT

I picked up a few hours of work at the acute-care hospital I previously worked at this weekend. I'm still a "pool" staff therapist and I have worked a few shifts since I left in February. It's nice to see my old coworkers and practice my acute-care skills....(read more)

I Don't Know Much About Politics

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:09:00 GMT

Really, I don't know that much. Politics to me is complicated and deceiving, and by not knowing which reports to trust or even believing any candidate will follow through with his promises, I find myself avoiding the issues more often than not. But as...(read more)

Common Therapist Sayings

Lisa Mueller — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 19:50:00 GMT

There are a lot of phrases I say to my patients to emphasize certain parts of their recovery. I repeat many of them a lot, to the point where I feel a bit like a broken record. I have noticed this with my coworkers as well -- I can hear them saying similar...(read more)

Screening for Depression

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 19:40:00 GMT

Many times when I work with my patients, they are not the happiest people. Some patients are in a lot of pain, some frustrated with their physical deficits. Although I explain to patients the course of treatment and estimated timeline for recovery, there...(read more)

Exercise Defined

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:38:00 GMT

I don't really follow a lot of political news. I found myself reading a few more political news pieces and articles recently, partly because this is an election year. I came across this article about the John Edwards trial and his defensive strategy relying...(read more)

The Look

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:00:00 GMT

I'm sure many of you have read articles or attended work meetings focused on the topic of communication. Regardless of your work setting, communication is one of the most important pieces of being successful. Knowing information that will help your patient...(read more)

I've Been Cancelled?

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:16:00 GMT

For the past eight months, I met with a group of acute-care therapists to develop an early mobility presentation a PT conference. With four hours of allotted time, we met one to two times a month to organize the presentation. We divided up tasks such...(read more)

I'm Sedentary

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:39:00 GMT

As you well know by now, I am officially an outpatient physical therapist. I previously worked in acute care, and wrote a blog a while back about how much I walked on a daily basis. It was almost five miles on a typical acute day. As I mentioned in that...(read more)

Guest Lecture

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:59:00 GMT

When I was finishing up my bachelor's degree in Spanish, I seriously considered withdrawing from PT school and instead getting my teaching certificate to teach Spanish. Many times I taught other students how to remember different verbs, or had volunteered...(read more)

New Job

Lisa Mueller — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:30:00 GMT

I started a new job this week at an outpatient orthopedic facility -- quite a change from the inpatient acute ICU patients I am used to treating. I'm at the beginning again in terms of orienting to a new place, meeting new coworkers, and having to review...(read more)