I just returned from my first trip to the APTA's Combined Sections Meeting, and I'm left with a variety of feelings about the experience. Overall, I would consider the trip a success, but there were definitely some aspects of CSM that left something to be desired. I did a lot of reflecting on the flight home, and here's what I came up with. ...

The following post was written by ADVANCE guest blogger Brian Knutsen, OTR/L, CHT, president of Buzzards Bay Hand Therapy LLC, located in Marion and Lexington, MA. SAN DIEGO -- One of Tuesday's hand rehab sessions, ''Infant Brachial Plexopathy: Nonsurgical and Surgical Management,'' presented by Susan V. Duff, PT, OTR/L, EdD, CHT, Gregory G ...

SAN DIEGO -- I arrived here on Saturday afternoon and have since had the most fantastic time reconnecting with old friends and enjoying the beautiful weather. (Side note- it's really not warm enough to lie on the beach in a bathing suit, but I suffered through it). Now that the weekend is over, I'm finalizing my plans for the conference and it's ...

As a therapist and candidate for a doctorate in physical therapy, I have several opportunities to speak up and make a statement for the patients we treat on a daily basis. Over the past year and a half, I've learned it is in our scope of practice to make the determination if a physician's orders are appropriate or justified for our patients. Just ...

I'm sure there are some people who'd like to see the PTA profession disappear and have every patient treated only by a PT. And for those who feel like that, let's discuss what we should do with the PTAs. But first the United States needs to open its borders to more foreign-educated physical therapists to take the place of the PTAs currently ...

This year I made it to CSM. Everything fell into place. New Orleans is 6 hours from Houston. My facility paid my registration. I found a cheap hotel room close to the convention center. Now that I'm back I'm still working on defining my perceptions and experiences. My attention span gradually decreased as the conference continued. By the last ...

I'm sincerely questioning my sanity this week. That I decided to tackle ''Biostatistics'' and ''Legal and Ethical Issues in Public Health'' in the same semester was nuts enough. One is loaded with calculations and interpretations; the other with reading, more reading, and yet more reading and interpretations. I also decided to tackle the task of ...

With all the changes in health care, will therapists need to obtain hospital privileges in the near future? MDs are often graded on their mortality rate, patient satisfaction, patient complexity and in some cases handwriting, as well as being board-certified to maintain hospital privileges. Why couldn't similar criteria be placed on therapists who ...

Dubbed the 2010 PT Fundraising Drive, donations are being collected throughout Rhode Island to benefit the local chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation. With a long history of individual charitable pursuits, Kevin Silvia, PTA, CSCS, of Performance Physical Therapy in Rhode Island, set out to do something bigger and better this year. With an outpouring ...

Physical therapists across the country are beginning to gear up for National Physical Therapy Month, traditionally celebrated during the month of October each year. Come October, thousands of PTs nationwide will band together to help increase community awareness of physical therapy's role in health care. This year is proving to be more important ...