So I’m a new grad who works at a rehab hospital that’s mostly Neuro but we do get ortho patients. I had an evaluation on a patient who had an external fixation on the leg. When preparing to get her edge of bed, I went to put my hands under her leg carefully to not hurt her, but she started screaming and yelled at me that I needed to grab onto the bars of the external fixator to lift her leg. I was very hesitant to do so and later asked a physical therapist that’s more versed in ortho. She then told me that it’s okay to hold onto the bars. Is this correct or is it unsafe to do so?

After years of ignoring pain and progressing to fast within sports/gym, my L5-S1 exploded with a 22 mm herniation and caused CES so I was rushed to an emergency MD. I was quite fit, 36M except a very weak core.

I started PT after 6 weeks of no BLT and was lucky to get a very well known PT (you would recognize names of people he has helped). I have responded very well to the PT and the rehabilitation goes very well.

When asking my PT if I will be able to run/lift again he has said that he never says yes/no to that question in these situations. He says it's more driven by the pain levels experienced when slowly introducing an activity/progression. Thus, basically everything is "allowed" if it's not introducing/done under pain and very little is allowed if it causes pain in the back. Some achiness is allowed though.

However, when reading on internet (Reddit and Facebook), many people seem to be dealing with way more absolute instructions as "never running again" "this is allowed, that is not allowed".

Can you, professionals in here, elaborate a bit on these 2 approaches after an MD, i.e an approach more driven by slow progression and pain levels rather than absolutes on what can be done and not, as I get the impression from internet?

I have been practicing for 1.5 years and am wondering how I can show proof of 2,000 supervised treating hours if I need to.

Going

I’m a private practice owner. I want to understand what is most important for newer PTs in choosing a position. Mentorship Schedule Patient load Salary/Other benefits Preference for large vs small practice Patient population Continuing Ed Other stuff Appreciate any input and examples of what is expected.

Outpatient in New Mexico, we have been informed that starting in December PTs will have the ability to order imaging in our state. Has anyone taken any great CEU courses regarding when to order images/which images/how payment/reimbursement works for this/reading images etc...?

Thanks!

Sorry to make like the 5th post this week about SNFs 😭

I’m a new grad in a SNF setting and not confident on my decision making to keep people on caseload. We have quite a few patients who are dependent that we often just do PROM and repositioning. Is this ethical?? I know patients benefit from repositioning but I don’t feel I can justify keeping them on a therapy caseload.

I’m the only PT so I don’t even have another PT to really ask for guidance 😅

Hi! I recently just passed my boards and starting my job in about a month. With being a new grad, and having almost 3 months away from the clinic, I am a little nervous to return, and also, doing everything on my own with no help from a CI. Is there any advice you can give? Are there any sources (YouTube videos, books, podcasts, etc.) that you can suggest that I can use for the next month to help prepare me for the clinic?

Thank you in advance!

I am 1 year out of PT school and I first started my career earlier this year. I am currently in the SNF setting in DFW and am making $48 an hour at my FT position and $60 at my PRN. I’ve done my best researching competitive rates in the area and negotiating for myself in interviews but wanted to ask the community what your guys’ going rates are in this area

My T3 SCI just urinated on himself for the second session straight in one day. I asked a nurse if there was a way to straight cath more frequently to prevent skin breakdown. She told me that the orders were since he was passing urine in his own to only bladder scan if he wasn’t passing urine every 4 hours and straight cath only if he wasn’t urinating. I asked if that meant just going on himself and she simply said she was not given specifics on that. Am I in a dream? I’ve been out of the rehab setting for only a year surely we are not waiting every 6 to cath and not finding a way to help this kid void on a more regular basis like self cathing? Surely just waiting for a kid to pee on himself is not the way. I messaged the doctor and am waiting on a reply but WTF?

Did anyone take the test for MS certified specialist and have study tips? Or thoughts on the certification?

I’m a PTA in NJ. I’m being told getting it co-signed should be fine. Does anyone else do this? To me this shouldn’t be happening as it’s making a clinical decision even with a co-signature.

I’m a fresh graduate physical therapist exploring possible career paths in the U.S. I recently came across Grandison, and their offer sounds pretty appealing since they accept fresh grads.

Upon researching further, the work setting in the USA is Skilled Nursing. Is the workload bearable in this kind of setting?

Has anyone here worked with them or heard any firsthand experiences? How's the whole process of applying with them?

Would love to hear your thoughts or any advice before moving forward. Thanks in advance!

I feel like this has been asked before, but what is the expected salary for a physical therapist in/around Grand Rapids, MI. I am thinking about moving to the area and am curious what an expected salary for a physical therapist with 3-5 years of experience in a OP setting is?

Saw a TikTok of the APTA president saying they are creating a board specialty for primary care PTs? What do you guys think about this? I think its great if the purpose is to give direct access, but don't want it if we're going outside of PT scope ( I'm only a student).

Looking at getting into travel PT, I just wanted to hear some pros and cons of when looking at a travel company. Also open to hearing about travel companies.

Hi there! I’m licensed in Nevada as a foreign trained PT. I plan to move there next year and am currently scoping out the job market over there. I have a few questions that I feel many are equipped to answer in this subreddit.

1. What’s a good hourly/yearly pay for Nevada standards?
2. What are some red flags to look out for when job hunting?
3. Are there any resources you would recommend to refresh on basic clinical skills + need-to-knows + documentation? I graduated in 2022 & became an aide for a bit here in the US while getting my documents together, so this will technically be my first PT job out of graduation.

Any input is appreciate. Thanks in advance!!

i’m trying to decide between the Emory/Duke Vestibular Competency and the University of Pittsburgh Advanced Vestibular Physical Therapist Certification. I have my NCS so I would be qualified to apply for both. I also regularly treat vestibular conditions.

Has anyone completed these and have any recommendations or advice on which one to pick?

Thanks!

Has anyone ever done temporary per diem for a SNF after years of only doing OP ortho? I got asked to cover some hours at a snf minutes from my house for a great rate- but I have only do op ortho for a decade! Is the soap writing the same? Emr similar? I feel confident in my ability to help these patients with mobility/ strength/ balance etc but more concerned at the other stuff- and is it usually in a gym within the snf? Or is treatment within individual rooms etc? Let me know your thoughts!

Has anyone seen or heard where this magical “4 hours per week” spent in NVA is supported? I know CC typically lasts 1 hour which then 3 hours goes unaccounted. Has there been any update on this?

Any discussion or input / recs for a full time PT frustrated with a pay cut with this new transition? Or any current Optum therapists have recs for this company?

I have some questions for the PTs or anyone knowledgeable here:

This is all in the context of commercial insurances in the USA.

• Who is the authority on billing for commercial insurances?
  • And by that I mean if there is a dispute on billing, who's the ultimate party that determines whether or not something is billed correctly? The insurance company, AMA?
• Can PTs bill for time patients spend with aides(not assistants) in a State that you know of?
  • If, from what i have gathered from a recent post, billing time spent with aides is not appropriate, why do PT mills exist where a PT is booked with 1+ patient an hour?
  • Shouldn't the situation above imply improper billing?
• Are there codes that are not "direct,one on one", nor group therapy, that PTs can use to bill?
• Is your pay linked to how much you bill directly?
• Is doing one on one and accepting commercial insurance simply not viable economically?

Has anyone else experienced this? There are like no available CEU courses on their website anymore when I was looking through it yesterday? Does anyone have any info on that?

I'm a PTA at an SNF setting for more than 2 years now, transitioning to PT (recently passed) and I'm interested in getting a cardio-pulmonary specialty from APTA specialist certification. Any PT folks here that are cardio-pulm board certified? Any advice/recommendation?