I've read about social security running out of money, reduced reimbursement rates, a decrease in the number of qualified providers, quicker discharges and supposedly better recovery after surgery. Where does this leave everyone? Social security has to be there to provide care for the blind and disabled; a reduction in reimbursements will always ...

During this summer ''break'' from school, I have come to realize how appreciative our patients are. I have the best days only because I am lucky enough to hear the praise of our patients about the staff at our facility. Even on the most difficult of days, where a patient calls to ask (again) why haven't I tried ultrasound and pelvic traction to ...

Another eventful week in outpatient rehabilitation. Seems as though we are seeing many ''repeat offenders,'' as some call them; however, for different diagnoses than before. Working in the same facility for 20 years, we have patients who started with us when the hospital opened. They are proud of the fact that they knew us ''back in the day,'' ...

Way back in one of the first few quarters of the PTA program, I and many of my fellow classmates would project about what field of physical therapy we could most see ourselves working in. Most of us were on the fence. The general sentiment was work for the experience and then be choosy. Outpatient orthopedic was tempting - performing myofascial ...

Having very nearly completed my journey as a SPTA (I just took my licensing exam this week), I've thought hard about the advice I would give to a new PTA student or person thinking about the field of physical therapist assisting. Initially, I would suggest that if someone was looking for an ''easy'' two-year degree that can yield a living wage and ...

During my student clinical rotation, I was fortunate enough to experience an inpatient, outpatient and everything in between. The patient population was vast as well. Depending on the clinical, I saw patient age ranges between 13 and 95. It struck me as interesting that the more ''difficult'' patients I met did not fall in any one age group. The ...

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 ...

As the last week of one of my last clinical affiliations comes to a close, I'm stunned at the amount of valuable information I've learned. I have to admit, I was nervous when I found out I would have to master large pieces of Pilates equipment for basic upper-extremity exercises at this outpatient sports clinic I was assigned. Like anything new, I ...

Once again Occupational Therapy has made the top career list for 2009.  Yay us!!!   There is even mention of how Occupational Therapists are now being used as consultants for building developers.  We've come a long way baby!! The article reports that the majority of OT's work in hospitals and home health care companies and ...