Physical Therapy

Direct access has been extensively promoted in the recent years including the “concept of using research evidence” (McGlynn & Cott, 2007, p. 242) in physical therapy. However, this is easier said than done. Factors including “time constraints” (McGlynn & Scott, 2007, p. 242) is one barrier that physical therapists encounter in their daily practice. Instead of basing decisions on research evidence, it has been noted in the article by McGlynn & Scott (2007) that “clinicians are basing their decisions on information sources other than those advocated for EBP” (p. 242) Physical therapists depend on their “peers, clinical experience, initial training, and continuing education” (McGlynn & Scott, 2007, p. 243) in their daily practice. Now,

When she sees a patient for the first time she talks to them about the doctor’s report and asks specific questions about their injury or experiences leading up to the need for physical therapy. Megan explained how important it is to make the patient feel comfortable and keep a positive attitude towards the patient’s recovery. These consultations were the most interesting to sit in on because it allowed me to observe the therapist’s ability to take the patient’s information and create a diagnosis and treatment plan for the injury or pain described. Megan may have multiple patients at a time so she stressed the importance of keeping up with each patient and why the physical therapy techs are so helpful. Scheduling is another job of the therapists that is important in keeping the clinic running smoothly. There is also paperwork that has to be filled out for every patient after every visit about their

The day-to-day writing in the field of Physical Therapy varies depending on the audience. The audience determines the purpose of the writing and writing style. Physical Therapists (PT) use evidence-based exercises and activities to rehabilitate their patients in order for them to reach their unique goal. Since PT’s work with both medical professionals and patients, they must adjust their writing to be able to communicate effectively. PT’s are just one of the many people in the medical field that may work with a particular patient so it is important that the communication between the different layers of the medical field are precise and clear. Writing to a patient is also important because they are the person who is being directly affected

As a PTA I have been given a breath of knowledge in regard to the profession of physical therapy. However, I am not satisfied with this breath of knowledge. I yearn for the opportunity to gain a further understanding in terms of “how and why” physical therapy is successful at restoring function to individuals seeking

Physical therapy can be a marvel for those who are chronically ill or injured giving them the ability to live an active and healthy lifestyle after proceeding with treatment. A close relative of mine experiences this at CBI Health Center in Kelowna, BC and is pursuing at improving his health post treatment. With the assist of his physiotherapists he modifies his health daily by eating better and being active, is currently losing weight, has had a decrease in pain, increase in mobility, and returned to work after being on medical leave for years die to chronic pain as a result of degenerative disk disorder. Through CBI Health’s approach at treatments, administering knowledge, and the motivation of the physiotherapists, Dave has been able to make a noticeable improvement on his health and began living a more active life.

Physical therapists provide the service of the helping of restoring muscular or nerve damage upon a living organism. They improve the functions of mobility, help relieve pain, and prevent permanent physical damage of patients with injuries or disease. Fitness and health are key to helping patients get through physical therapy. Patient problems vary from physical disabilities such as car accidents to nerve damage like arthritis. Physical therapists, or also known as PT’s, start off by viewing the patients medical history, then they test the patients strength, range of motion, posture, balance and coordination, respiration, muscle performance,

The current statutes and directives from the different states will illustrate the dissonance in the present status on PT and medication management in the US (American Physical Therapy Association [APTA], 2013). The APTA recognizes the role of PTs in the medication reconciliation and use of certain medications, but has no official position regarding the ESP of medication prescription for PTs (APTA, 2013). In stark contrast to the stance of the CSP from which from the start fought for prescriptive rights of PTs in the UK since 1999 (CSP, 2013). Currently, no US state or territory accords prescription privileges to PTs. Hence, the author firmly believes that a federal law or the individual PT state practice acts must be amended for PTs to be able to prescribe certain medications relevant to the scope of practice. The scope of practice of the PT profession is dynamic. Therefore the existing regulations and laws should be adapted to the needs of the profession and most importantly the

One of the main goals of a physical therapist is to help their patients recover. To do this, they have to pay close attention

In the patient’s charts is what type of injury that they are suffering from, what medication they are on, and the treatment plan occurring during physical therapy. It is important to review a patient’s chart to see how the patient is doing at each of their physical therapy sessions, also if a patient’s medication changes, it is important for the physical therapist to know.

Physical therapy has come a long way in the last couple of decades, literally transforming the way pain, functional limitations and recovery from surgery is treated. But just as with any other healthcare provider, it’s the people behind the front door - and their treatment philosophy - which makes the critical difference in the patient experience.

Clinical decision-making (CDM) identify by the method including skills such as critical judgment and problem solving which is also keystones of the effective care of patient (Wainwright, Shepard, Harman and Stephens, 2011). As Physical therapists (PTs) we make decision every day. This decision is accepted throughout the client interview and verified during physical examination (Goodman and Snyder, 2007). The decision making style may differ based on level of experience, knowledge, judgmental power and condition like limited time frame.

The use of physical therapy has progressed throughout the medical field for a plethora of reasons. Whether you need physical therapy after a car accident or breaking your arm in a basketball game, physical therapy has been accustomed for a wide range of injuries. Many people cannot afford the physical therapy needed because numerous insurance companies do not support the practice. Nonetheless, studies have shown that physical therapy takes a great toll on your recovery process. More importantly as children become more involved in sports and start earlier in age to be more competitive, the injury rate of children has increased significantly. With that being said, the range of injuries on the knee specifically have varied and transformed the

As a Physical Therapist (PT), I will play a variety of roles while working with patients and their families. A few of these roles will include; health care provider, teacher and motivator. The skills I must possess in order to be successful at these roles consist of; the ability to use and develop critical thinking, formation of patient objectives, comprehension of learning processes, the proper use of constructivism and an understanding of how the field of Physical Therapy has changed. With this paper, I will demonstrate my knowledge of these topics while answering the following questions: What is critical thinking and how can it be used in Physical Therapy? What is my current level of critical thinking and how can it be improved? What are the objectives of a course you would like to teach? What domain of Bloom’s taxonomy is used with these objectives? What is constructivism? Is it a valid theory? Who is Elizabeth Kenny? What information about the progression of the field do you feel would be important to her?

Furthermore, during the forward reasoning the clinician needs self monitoring and reflection which will help him/her to discover any inconsistent patient's data and improve his/her clinical reasoning (Jensen, Gwyer, Hack, Shepard, & McColl, 2008). Thus, this will assist him/her to organize his/her knowledge. The knowledge organization allows the therapist to filter the patient information for familiar pattern. Pattern recognition will be formed as the last stage to create the most proper patient's diagnosis. Payton found that both physician and physiotherapist use same reasoning process to solve the patient's problem (Payton, 1985). The experts' clinical skills were found to provide an advances ability to predict the client's outcomes and stress patient's education importance (Jensen, Shepard, Gwyer, & Hack, 1992). In addition, the physical therapist experience affects his/her ability to utilized forward reasoning to create working

Since that time, I have been actively pursuing a course of study in physical therapy at the University of Findlay, Ohio, where I am majoring in pre-physical therapy. To date, besides my academic coursework, I have completed more than 100 hours of empirical observations concerning how physical therapists examine patients and develop treatment plans using various techniques to