The Physical Therapy Quest

The journey keeps getting more exciting as I go!

I sat down with Dr. Brosky to catch up on what's currently happening in the field along with some personal questions as I approach graduation. We talk about advances within the profession and his views on what needs to happen. "The biggest threat to our profession is the lack of public awareness." "We still only have about 30% of physical therapists who are APTA members and that they don't see the value in membership." "When I go into a patient's episode I say I'll do everything I can within my abilities and my current knowledge to help you but I need you to be all in as well. It may not be convenient and it might actually be uncomfortable at times but I want you to trust me and trust the process. I want to be able to trust you and that you're going to tell me how you're doing. It's exciting that we get the opportunities for that patient relationship in our profession when some others don't." "We need physical therapist not only as clinicians but we need physical therapist working in t

Current Trends- Higher paid positions in the north during the winter. "The majority of positions that are available are working with some sort of geriatric population in skilled nursing, home health, long term acute care". What if I fall in love with a contract and I don’t want to leave? "It's more than likely that you will be able to extend your contract beyond the original 13 week contract, that may not be the case if you’re covering for maternity leave, then you will most likely be able to extend up to 1 year, up to 51 weeks in a single facility before you either have to stay on permanently or move on to the next travel assignment". How often do you see permanent employment out of these opportunities? "It's pretty common that people like to travel and end up liking where they are. If you really like to travel and end up liking a facility/location, most extend their 13 week contracts a time or two then continue on their travel career. Once they're done traveling, they will

I had another chance to sit down with another first year physical therapy student as he starts to dive deeper into the DPT program at Bellarmine University. Joey Davis shares what it was like applying to DPT school along with advice for others looking to start their journey of being a physical therapist. "Every school has there own differences in requirements so be sure to start early to get ahead". “Time management is important, figure out what your days are going to look like each week and go from there”. “Be able to better apply your knowledge to a clinical scenario, not just doing well on the test”.

I'm currently a physical therapy student who is only months away from becoming a DPT.  Through the experiences within my DPT program, clinical rotations and others, I look to share what all I'm finding out there in the current world of physical therapy. You can do so many things in our profession and I think it's time we start sharing these experiences. Share your experience to help guide others through the different options within physical therapy. Let’s get to it! If you tell me what you want to hear, I will do my best to provide it. I love helping others and learning! I enjoy golfing and have been playing since I could walk. When physical therapy school started I had to put golf on the back burner. With a major in exercise science, I became a personal trainer for a short time until I began seeing clients that were more complex. I felt like I needed to know more. I did my research and chose to pursue physical therapy. I’ll never forget on the first day of class whe

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jared Simpson who's currently a first year DPT student. We got to know each other and had a chance to talk about his experiences as a first year student. It's crazy to sit down and realize how far you've come!  Here are some tips from Jared and I couldn't agree with him more. "Question everything about why things work, even if they don’t make sense at the time" "Developing studying habits from the get go, you may think you know it but chances are you don’t know it as well as you think you do” “Don’t get caught up on typing everything the teacher says! Listen to the point of it and just write down the nuggets. Try to process what they’re saying as they say it” “Something I’ve learned through this process is that the more people you know, the better off you'll be” Jared liked that he got early exposure to treating patients in the clinic. If you have the chance take it! We recommend

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapist president Dr. Elaine Lonnemann discusses how to get involved early in the profession. She shares what she did to get involved in something she truly believed in. “Find people you want to be like, because finding these people opened my eyes to different areas that I would not have discovered if I hadn’t talked to these people and attend meetings". She says APTA membership is a must! Think about your own interests, your own drive, and your own strengths. The APTA has so many niches and specialty areas, find the mentors in those areas. Find those people who can mentor you and who see in you the ability to improve. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) is a national organization committed to excellence in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy practice, education and research. Fellows of the AAOMPT provide the highest level of musculoskeletal care through advanced manual therapy practice.

Clinical reflection