I've written before about the trend in the UK towards triaging all and treating some patients with musculoskeletal complaints over the telephone. I've been very skeptical of this approach to the problem of access to PT services. By its very definition, we're removing the ''physical'' from physical therapy. A new paper came out last week in ...

I have less than four days to finalize my preparation for what is hopefully my final exam in Pitt's DPT program. I'll admit that I've spent slightly less time than I should have preparing for these, but I think I'll be OK. I've tried to get through as much as possible, but the reality is that it's impossible to review all of the material you've ...

Along with all the chaos that accompanies a capstone project, additional pressing issues come to the front lines. Within the past few months, the subject of G-Codes has taken up a majority of time in regard to educating ourselves, clinical and ancillary staff, as well as a busy IT department. In preparation for a mandatory July 1 compliance date, ...

Two weeks from today, the APTA's annual conference & exposition will kick off, making its first-ever appearance in the state of Utah. From June 26-29, PT 2013 is scheduled to convene in beautiful Salt Lake City. The exclusive ADVANCE preview article detailing city attractions and conference highlights can be found here. According to Curtis ...

I was working with an elderly female on transfer safety. After about 20 minutes, she understood the sequencing involved in standing up from a wheelchair. This was important -- she had fallen multiple times because she had forgotten to lock the brakes on the chair. I was satisfied that she was safe and we proceeded with other aspects of mobility. ...

In past posts, I've expressed frustration at volunteering for various opportunities within the APTA and the Neurology Section. A few months ago, I was nominated for a position on the nominating committee for the stroke special interest group. The results arrived today. I wasn't elected. I wasn't surprised. One of the questions nominees were asked ...

  As the number of schools increase that teach the OTA program, are the graduates able to find jobs? One source I follow says no, but others say they are finding job offers. The one common thread I am finding though is some COTAs are completing three or more interviews before landing a job.   I do see changes in Medicare happening, ...

A few months back I blogged about how Gretchen Reynolds, the New York Times fitness writer, was doing a job that might be better done by a physical therapist. I've been reading her column fairly regularly and the responses from other readers are often more enlightening than the original articles themselves. One arose today that made me confident ...

I think I need to develop a sort of intervention ''arsenal.'' I've found that coming up with appropriate, creative interventions is one of the most challenging aspects of my current clinical rotation. In a way, I feel so cheap with my current go-to balance activities. Maybe it's an insecurity thing, but I hate giving the same interventions over ...

When it rains, it pours. That's the only thing I can think of as I write endlessly into the night about pelvic fractures, aquatic therapy, and my case report. Sentences are not scarce, and the time to condense the content of this paper is coming this weekend. Limited sleep and awakening to ideas in the middle of the night that I can include in ...