Therapeutic Associates will have a booth in the exhibition hall at APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting, held next week in San Diego. If you are attending, please stop by to say hi, chat, and ask questions. We will be there to share information about TAI in general, and to discuss and promote CareConnections, our Web-based suite of physical therapy medical management services. Hope to see you there!
TAI therapist Amy Temes Clifton, PT, DPT wrote an article for the most recent issue of the AAOMPT sSIG newsletter. The sSIG is the student special interest group of AAOMPT. Their December 2009 newsletter focuses on residencies and fellowships and, as a near-completed resident through TAI’s Orthopaedic Residency Training Program, Amy offers great first-hand perspective about what it’s like to go through one of these intensive programs. THANK YOU, Amy, for sharing your experience! You can read Amy’s excerpt from the newsletter below and access the full newsletter here. Please contact me directly if you are interested in learning more about our Ortho Residency.
By Amy Temes Clifton, PT, DPT
This spring, I will be completing the Therapeutic Associates Inc. Orthopedic Residency Training Program. The residency has involved taking NAIOMT (North American Institute of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy) Level I – II courses/exams, other courses including pharmacology and radiography coursework etc, leadership training, receiving mentorship, participating in research and being a clinical instructor.
How did I get here? When I graduated from physical therapy school in 2007, my interest was Orthopedics and manual therapy. I was glad to be finished with classes and exams for a while. But after working for a few months, I realized I wanted more skills and more strategies for treating clients. One of the reasons I chose to work for Therapeutic Associates Inc. was their continuing education support and mentorship for all new employees. Additionally, TAI was starting the first class of Orthopedic Therapy residents and I thought this would be a great opportunity to work with skilled orthopedic and manual therapists.
This residency has facilitated my manual therapy and orthopedic certifications process’. The reasons for choosing this specific residency were the number of mentorship hours with OCS and FAAOMPT certified therapists, other PT/physician specialists, and the ability to take a variety of continuing education courses (specifically manual therapy) in my first two years. I chose to spread the residency process over two years, while others may complete in only 9 months or up to 3 years. What I didn’t appreciate until recently, was the benefit of preparing me for a leadership role both clinically and in the community, as well as preparing me for an active role in local clinic based research, writing articles for local magazines and newspapers. I recommend a residency program to assist new grads in developing strong assessment and treatment skills and to improve clinical reasoning strategies.
This week’s post is thanks to guest writer Shannon Wills (see byline below). Considering both the new year (and all of the resolutions that commonly go along with it!), and the significant common ground that topics of “wellness” and Physical Therapy share, we thought it would be fun to provide some information about reducing your daily sodium intake. To maintain good health you certainly need to move well and eat right 
Enjoy!
Easy Ways to Reduce Salt in Your Diet
It’s one of the “white” substances that are not good for your body and that contribute to the deterioration of your health, but because it adds to the taste of food and tempts our palate, we’re unable to stay away from sodium chloride or what we know better by its common name -salt. It’s the main cause of hypertension and various other illnesses that we could really do without, so if you’re concerned about your health and want to live a long and disease-free life, you must cut down on the amount of salt you eat.
The average human being requires just 2300 mgs of sodium each day, with the amount being significantly lower for people who suffer from high blood pressure and other illnesses and for people who have crossed the age of 45. But we eat much more than that, simply because most of the food we choose comes laden with salt. If you want to reduce your intake of sodium chloride, you don’t have to eat unsalted food and kill your taste buds; rather, all you need to do is follow these simple methods:
It’s not salt per se that’s bad for you, just the amount we eat. So use this taste enhancer in moderation and reap health benefits accordingly.
By-line:
This article is written by Shannon Wills, who writes on the topic of Physical Therapist Assistant Schools . She welcomes your comments at her email id : shannonwills23@gmail.com .
You may remember from one of my posts last year that TAI has a special relationship with Bogus Basin Nordic Ski Team. There is exciting news from the Bogus Basin crew - Boise native and 7-year Team member Sara Studebaker has been named to the U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team!!! I have included the official press release below where you can read more about Sara (and even follow her activities via her blog!). Keep an eye out (and cheer loud!!) for this local athlete as you watch the Vancouver games next month!
For Immediate Release
8:00 am MST Monday, January 11, 2010
Contact: Kay Hummel, Bogus Basin Nordic Team
BOISEAN SARA STUDEBAKER NAMED TO OLYMPIC BIATHLON TEAM
Altenberg, Germany. Boise, Idaho native Sara Studebaker will go to the Vancouver Winter Games as a United States Olympic biathlete in February. Studebaker will be one of four American women competing in several biathlon events. The United States Biathlon Association nominated Studebaker late Sunday after the conclusion of biathlon trials held in Altenberg.
Studebaker grew up in Boise and was a seven-year member of the Bogus Basin Nordic Team. She is a 2003
graduate of Boise High School and skied on the cross-country team for Dartmouth College, where she graduated in 2007. Since then she has lived and trained biathlon in Lake Placid, New York, at the Olympic training center and site of the 1980 winter games.
Background / US National Biathlon Team Member, SARA STUDEBAKER
Sara Studebaker skied on the Bogus Basin Nordic Team for seven years and competed in five junior national U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships. During junior high, she also learned the sport of biathalon thanks to Eric Reynolds, Boisean and former BBNT coach, U.S. Army biathlete and international biathlon competitor.
Studebaker and classmate Lindsay Burt went to Russia representing the United States at the world summer biathlon championships (running and shooting) as Boise High tenth graders. Studebaker and Burt competed at several junior national biathlon championships while also competing at the national level in nordic skiing for BBNT and the Intermountain Division.
Studebaker captained the NCAA championship Dartmouth College nordic ski team that won the national ski title in March 2007. Since then, Sara and boyfriend, Zach Hall, also a 2007 Dartmouth graduate and USBA athlete, have resided at Lake Placid, NY, continuing their ski training as biathletes. Both athletes visit Idaho frequently and this autumn helped lead training practices with the Bogus Basin Nordic Team and attended workouts with Idaho Nordic ski club.
In 2008, Sara was the overall North American Cup Champion (race points) and was the top U.S. biathlete at the 2008 Canadian nationals. In 2008 and 2009, she competed in IBU Europa Cup races in Europe. In 2009 she made her World Cup debut and earned World Cup points in Vancouver, BC, Canada, site of the upcoming Winter Games. Sara spent this November and December in Europe at the first three biathlon World Cup events in Sweden, Austria and Slovenia. In the first two race series, she was the top American biathlete out of three women sent to Europe. She departed Boise Dec. 27 for Germany to compete in the final U.S. trials determining the Olympic roster and to ski and shoot in additional World Cup competitions.
Studebaker receives partial support from the USBA, United States Biathlon Association, but also seeks financial assistance and equipment support from many sources. More information on Sara Studebaker is available on her blog. http://sarastudebaker.blogspot.com/
As a follow up to my last post, I though it appropriate to share this excellent video produced by APTA called “You Can Be Me: A Career in Physical Therapy.” It is an inspiring look into the lives of several different PTs, in different work settings. Though just under 10 minutes, it really speaks volumes to the many ways in which our profession positively affects people’s lives everyday. Kudos to APTA and to Physical Therapists in general for their incredible work.
Happy New Year!!
It seems that recently I have had more and more inquiries from undergrad or even high school students interested in pursuing a career in physical therapy and looking for more information and opportunities to get to know the profession better. Excellent!
The APTA has a page on their website dedicated to resources for students interested in a career in PT. It not only gives some of the history of the profession and the Association, but includes a list of all credentailed PT and PTA programs in the country and provides answers to some frequently asked questions about the journey toward becoming a PT. Using this information and some of our own, Therapeutic Associates recently developed an Introduction to Physical Therapy handout for our therapists to take when speaking to school groups or individuals about the profession.
I always encourage students to get some hands-on experience in the field as well. Many PTs are introduced to the profession (and first develop a passion for it) as patients. Regardless of whether or not you have experience from this perspective, I think it’s a great idea to shadow a few clinicians and conduct some volunteer observation hours in a clinic. Consider visiting several different types of settings (hospitals, private practice outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, etc.) to get a feel for their differences. Maybe even schedule an informational interview with a PT who you admire. Inquire about his/her own professional journey and gather any advice and/or inspirations you can
I am always happy to talk to this ‘next generation’ of therapists and excited to know that more and more people are considering a career in our rewarding profession.
One of our broadly offered specialty services is ASTYM. The ASTYM System is an advanced form of soft tissue
mobilization which enables clinicians to effectively improve the status and function of soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia). Treatments are performed with ergonomically designed instruments, which help to identify adhesions and other restrictions in dysfunctional tissue, and then break down this tissue to allow for functional restoration to occur. ASTYM treatments are done in combination with exercise education and manual therapy and we have seen many successes from this treatment. Therapeutic Associates is a member of the Performance Dynamics Network, a nationwide association of respected rehabilitation providers with clinicians certified in the ASTYM system. The majority of our clinics offer this service; you can find a full list of provider facilities and read more about ASTYM on our website.
Incidentally, two of our physical therapists from our clinic at The Athletic Club of Bend - Chris Cooper, PT, MS, CSCS, and Laura Cooper, MSPS, CSCS – recently spoke with Kristi Miller on Good Morning Central Oregon (on Bend Broadband Cable TV) about the benefits of the ASTYM system. This is a great overview of what it is and how it benefits patients, and includes excellent footage of a treatment in session so you can see what it’s all about.
Please share any success stories or other comments if you have either provided ASTYM treatment or experienced it as a patient.
Nicole Smyth, PT, DPT, OCS
At the recent Physical Therapy Association of Washington (PTWA) conference, a new round of Delegates to represent Washington state was elected into office. Congratulations to Nicole Smyth, PT, DPT, OCS, Staff Therapist at TAI-Fairwood PT in Renton, WA who was elected to her first term as a PT Delegate, and to Jennifer Lesko, PT, MS, who is currently PTWA Vice President and Director of TAI-Queen Anne PT and was elected to the highest position of Chief Delegate for the State.
Jennifer Lesko, MS, PT
Nicole and Jennifer are joined by fellow TAI therapists Steve Allen, PT, MS, OCS, FAAOMPT and Bart Hawkinson, PT, DPT, OCS and just 10 other PTs from across the state who make up Washington’s Delegates to participate in APTA’s House of Delegates. The House of Delegates is the highest policy-making body of the Association.
Thanks to alot of great education and promotion by APTA and many PT schools across the country, there seems to be a buzz right now about physical therapist residency and fellowship programs. As I described in a post last year on TAI’s credentialed Ortho Residency Program, this journey of post-graduate education and mentorship really follows the medical model and may eventually become the desired and common path for most PTs after completing their DPT programs.
I am often asked – especially by 1st and 2nd year PT students – about the difference between a Residency and a Fellowship Program. Generally speaking, Residencies are intensive postprofessional education programs that broadly strengthen a therapist’s skills in a specific area of practice. Fellowships are also structured educational programs for post-graduates, but they focus more specifically on a specialty or subspecialty and are intended for therapists who already demonstrate clinical expertise and may have completed a Residency Program or are specialist certified. APTA’s website has a lot of great information on these programs, including this FAQ page that explains in greater detail the differences between these two Programs.
APTA also lists all current credentialed Residency and Fellowship Programs on their website.
In case you need more proof, here is another article (this one from Business Week) stating that Physical Therapy is a growing and fruitful career. The arguments laid out here are not new – especially as Baby Boomers continue to age, and while concepts of “wellness”, and “preventative care” grow more and more popular in our nation, Physical Therapy will continue to be a sought-after approach for health and rehab of the musculoskeletal system. If you find other articles supporting this claim or otherwise, please pass them on.
On a related but different note, I attended the APTA National Student Conclave last week and was thrilled to meet so many enthusiatic and dynamic PT students. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth. It’s exciting to consider all of the wonderful people who are on their way toward a career in PT. Of course, as a health care profession we rely on people who are not only critical thinkers and ethical, but as a particularly ‘human services’ driven field within healthcare, we need therapists who have compassion, excellent listening skills, and a way of relating to their patients. I left the Conclave feeling inspired that so many of our future therapists absolutely seem to fit that mold.
