Amazing what can happen in one week. In a major healthcare system of a large metropolitan area surrounded by water, we've successfully accomplished separating pediatric from adult rehabilitation in preparation for our growth as the Rehabilitation Institute of South Florida. Every day of this mission has started at 5 a.m. with communication with ...

My newest thought project for this week is to better understand how physical therapist staffing is predicted for a new clinic. How does a new healthcare company or private practice facility estimate what kind of staffing it will need in a new location? My general understanding of private practice is that due to limited funds, staffing will start ...

I've spoken to patients from many countries and places around the globe. Sometimes it's like watching the movie Billy Elliot or trying to understand the lyrics of South African rap-rave crew Die Antwoord. I'm aghast, did they just curse? I wouldn't know because they speak so fast my mind can't keep up. It sounded like a curse word but there was an ...

There has always been some conflict between therapy and nursing. Each complains about what the other does or doesn't do. Last week I saw something that floored me. I went into the nursing office looking for a chart. I didn't find the chart. I did find three nurses watching someone's grandson through a web cam feed at his day care. It was on the ...

I learned this expression while working in England. It was a way of getting to the core of something, often a product, to determine the original intent and whether it was accomplished. I wonder that about continuing education requirements. Florida has had them (12 hours/year) since I've been practicing (a long time) while New York has only ...

Please don't be fooled by the title of this post. I don't have a good method by which to accomplish this. However after starting my fifth clinical last Wednesday, I've realized that earning the trust of a clinical instructor is a very tricky game requiring a great amount of patience. I just began the first half of my final yearlong clinical ...

Since I've spent a lot of time in the past 18 months making changes in my own career and developing the content of the training and orientation program for new employees at my clinic, the concept of mentors has always been on my mind. Even when I graduated PT school (which seems like an era ago), the common words of wisdom from my professors were, ...

A short break between semesters has proven to come at the best time for me. Today brings with it a major change in my facility, where one department is becoming two. Employees have been preparing for months for this change, with hopes that everything goes smoothly. In a large department where things don't always go smoothly on a regular day, we ...

Where is the objective data regarding gait distances in hospitals, rehab centers and SNFs? What I mean is, when we write down a patient used a FWW and walked 100 feet, where is the data to prove the distance was exactly 100 feet? Did someone measure the distance and quantify the data and calibrate the measuring device to ensure its accuracy? Maybe ...

The positive influence of animals on healing is well known. Caring Critters now make regular visits to various facilities within the Houston area. Dogs can be certified as therapy animals. Horses are used for hippotherapy with great results. Now I'm going to try to combine the two. Last Friday, my horse Expsychment (pronounced ''excitement'') ...