PT ‘in the news’

This past week, two great resources came across our internal clinical list serv that I want to share:

• On February 16, New York Times writer Cailtin Kelly published an article titled “Physical Therapy and the Camaraderie of Healing” in the paper’s Health section.  It’s a beautifully-written, inspiring story about Kelly’s first-hand experience as a physical therapy patient.  She not only explains the challenges that PTs face relative to other healthcare professionals, but also describes what is probably one of the most important aspects of this profession – the human connection factor.  In our TAI customer service class, we talk about how many industries nowadays have moved away from establishing authentic engagements with other people or even having human contact of any kind.  Physical Therapy is, at its core, about that connection with another person - actively listening, truly educating, dedicating time to establishing a relationship and affecting positive change in a person’s health and well being.  Kelly describes this so eloquently in her article…it makes me incredibly proud to work in this field.  Thanks for Amy Temes Clifton, DPT and David Deppeler, PT, OCS, FAAOMPT for finding and sharing this great article. 
• The second link is a follow up from my post on Legislative Impact Day here in Washington.  APTA has established a page on its website to “provide information and facts about physical therapists and spinal manipulation.”  It offers definitions, distinctions between the work of PTs and chiropractors, and APTA’s official ‘position on thrust manipulation.’  Good resource for those of you who want to know more about or who are following this issue.  Thanks again to David Deppeler for sharing the link!

Manual Therapy One-on-One Mentorship Program

Bill Temes working with TAI therapist Karen Walz

Did you know that several years ago TAI started a One-on-One Manual Therapy Mentorship Program available to all PT employees?  This program serves as a clinical education tool, in addition to your daily mentorship and other con ed activities.  In it, one of two of TAI’s FAAOMPT therapists (both NAIOMT fellows and instructors) – David Deppeler, PT, OCS, FAAOMPT or Bill Temes, PT, MS, OCS, COMT, FAAOMPT - come to you and shadow you as you work with patients.  You schedule the time (standard is 32 total hours over the course of your first two years of employment with TAI) as appropriate for everyone.  Sometimes therapists schedule the time during their ”easier” patient visits to verify technique and approach in a more confident situation, and sometimes they schedule during more challenging cases to really pick the brains of expert clinicians.  You can work with David or Bill or schedule separate time with both!  In addition to providing hands-on advice, David and Bill help guide you in your development of your manual therapy goals.  The intention of this program is to supplement therapists’ manual therapy coursework with individualized and focused mentorship. 

For more information on this, or any of our other manual therapy or clinical education offerings, please contact me!

TAI at CSM

If you are going to be at APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting this week, please stop by the Therapeutic Associates booth!  We will be located in the Career Center section of the exhibit hall.  I’d love to chat with you and share more about TAI, answer any questions, and get any feedback on the blog.  The conference is set to break records for attendance…

See you in Vegas!!

Jessica Smith-Blockley, DPT and the Bogus Basin Nordic Team

The Bogus Basin Nordic Team (BBNT) is a competitive, non-profit Nordic ski team in Boise, Idaho for kids ages 8-18. Therapeutic Associates sponsors the team and TAI-Boise State Street therapist Jessica Smith-Blockley, DPT works with the young athletes. I asked her to share a bit more about this exciting and unique experience.

Jessica is an avid skier. She did cross country racing in high school, attended junior nationals for 3 years, skied during her undergrad career at Dartmouth and also coached high school and club teams after graduating from college. It only made sense that she further pursued this passion when she started working for us in Idaho – and incorporate it into her PT practice. Shortly after Jessica started working at the clinic, she connected with the Board of Directors for BBNT and began working with them as a volunteer coach during the 2007-08 ski season. She worked with all age levels and traveled with the older kids to regional races that served as qualifying races for junior nationals. She also worked with the competition team on strength training.

This year (08-09 ski season) Jessica serves as the development coach for the youth program (ages 8-12). She coaches 2 days a week and travels with the kids to local races in Idaho. Rob Barnes, Director of TAI-Boise State Street, has supported Jessica’s work with the team from the beginning, not only by connecting her to the organization early on, but also by allowing her to arrange her clinic hours around the team needs. She said, “Rob has been really flexible with my schedule, allowing me to maintain a 4-day work week so I am able to go to practice during the week, as well as arranging my schedule to allow me to travel for races on the weekends when needed.”

To further her work with skiers in the community, Jessica runs an annual pre-season conditioning class for downhill and cross country skiers. The proceeds from these classes are donated to the Bogus Basin Nordic Team and Bogus Basin Ski Education Foundation (a primarily youth-based alpine club team that TAI also sponsors). Working with BBNT has helped Jessica to get involved in and more integrated into the Boise and surrounding ski community and, as a bonus, it has resulted in increased in referrals and self-referrals to the clinic! Way to go, Jessica!!

2008-09 Bogus Basin Nordic Team

PTWA Legislative Impact Day Draws Huge Attention

Two weeks ago (on January 22), over 625 PTs, PTAs, students, and other supporters attended PTWA’s Legislative Impact Day in Olympia, WA. This was a record-breaking turnout for the annual event. Therapeutic Associates was a proud sponsor and additionally had several therapists attend to meet in-person with state legislators to advocate on behalf of the profession. This year’s focus was to gain support for Senate Bill 5230, which would allow Physical Therapists to perform spinal manipulations. Washington is currently one of only two states in the nation that prohibits PTs from this act. PTWA’s blog is keeping daily updates on the bill’s activity.

The bill is being opposed by the Washington State Chiropractor’s Association, which argues that PTs do not have the amount of training to perform manipulations of the spine. The debate has heated up over the last few weeks and some of our major media outlets have taken notice. The Seattle Times included an article about the bill in its 1/22/09 issue and has started a blog to continue the discussion online.

Among the arguments in favor of this bill are:

• Virtually every other state in the country allows PTs to perform spinal manipulations (Arkansas is the only other state where it is prohibited)
• Manipulation has been a component of physical therapy practice since the inception of the profession.
• Physical Therapists complete a 3-year Doctor of Physical Therapy (or, in some cases, Masters in Physical Therapy) degree after their 4-year undergraduate work. All take a national board exam and go through a state licensure process. Continuing education is a mandatory aspect of the licensure requirements for PTs. Advanced manual therapy training (which educates therapists in, among other things, manipulation) includes coursework, examination, and mentorship, especially for those therapists who pursue certification and/or fellowship. All of Washington’s PT schools – Eastern Washington University in Spokane, University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and University of Washington in Seattle – teach manipulation. In fact, manipulation is a mandated component of all accredited Physical Therapist Professional Programs in the country.
• Medical research shows spinal manipulation with patients with a certain level of back and neck pain can be a beneficial and cost-effective approach.
• The state of Washington is very likely losing a lot of talented and highly skilled PTs given their policy on manipulation. As a recruiter for Therapeutic Associates, I have heard this argument on numerous occasions and can anecdotally attest to its truth.

Please share your thoughts on this issue or, if you participated in Legislative Impact Day, share your story!