physical therapy

How To Choose Your Testing Center

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choosing your testing center

Last year, as the summer was nearing its end, I started preparing to take the … Read more

Similarities and Differences Between Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy

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difference between physical therapy and occupational therapy

OT or PT?

Occupational therapists and physical therapists often work side-by-side, addressing similar conditions using similar treatment methods and tools. Depending on the setting, it may be difficult to tell which practitioner is which. With so many similarities, it should come as no surprise that OT and PT were once the same—both professions were once known as reconstruction aides, who were tasked with veteran rehabilitation during World War I. Both disciplines can address developing, improving, and preventing deterioration of a patient’s physical function and ability to carry out daily living tasks, both strive to optimize a patient’s independence and quality of life, and both can work with patients across the lifespan.

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5 Physical Therapy Settings to Explore Before Applying to PT School

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physical therapy settings

When you’re planning to apply to physical therapy school, you may or may not have an idea of what you’d like to do once you actually become a PT. Sure, there are plenty of articles out there reminding you of what a great profession physical therapy is, and they’re mostly right! But the majority of the media paints the same picture of what a physical therapist is: a smiling, perky young lad or lady, absently stretching a faceless leg.

The reality is that the physical therapy profession is so much more than stretching people’s legs in a generic outpatient orthopedic setting. (Outpatient ortho is what those pictures represent, by the way, but the pics don’t come close to representing the actual excitement of clinic life). A PT can help to improve the functions—and the lives—of everyone from children with developmental disabilities to active older adults. Physical therapists work in schools, adult day care facilities, gyms, and nursing homes, and they treat people with everything from sprained ankles to acute heart conditions.

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Specialties and Practice Settings as a Physical Therapist

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What is physical therapy?
Chances are, you’ve heard of physical therapy (PT). Perhaps you have even attended physical therapy as a patient. Maybe a friend or family member has had physical therapy in the past. But if pressed, you might not know how to describe or define physical therapy. That’s no surprise; physical therapy is such a large profession, with so many practice options and settings, that it can be tough to describe what PT truly is at its core!

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So You Want to Leave Patient Care: Now What?

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leave patient care

Are you experiencing clinician burnout? Do you bring your patients’ emotional and physical burdens home with you every night? Yet, do you stay in patient care because you don’t know what else to do?
It’s OK. You’re certainly not alone! I was there once, and I’m here to tell that you have other options. Here are some tips to make those options into realities.
The first thing you need to do is take some important self-inventory steps.

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Helping Hands: A Conversation with Paul Rockar, Jr., DPT, MS

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The first thing you notice about Paul Rockar, Jr., PT, DPT, MS, is his energy. Focused and friendly, he speaks enthusiastically about his chosen profession, using his hands to punctuate the points he’s making.
Those hands have not only helped patients function more comfortably for the past 30 years, but also have written textbooks, taught classes, and helped shape policy as President of the American Physical Therapy Association. So his favorite aspect of his career as a physical therapist comes as no surprise: “It’s not a ‘stand back and watch profession’, its a hands on profession,” he told Student Doctor Network at the 2014 UC Davis Pre-Health Conference last fall.

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The Physical Therapy Admissions Process – Part 1

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A career that will heal, educate, and affect the lives of many—a description that perfectly fits the definition of what it means to be a health care professional. However, finding the right path is never as simple as one thinks. Somehow you have found yourself interested in the world of rehabilitation, specifically physical therapy. Only after carefully considering all of your possible options have you finally directed yourself toward this profession, ready to devote yourself to an education that will take seven years of your life.

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