Congrats New Delegates

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.

Residency versus Fellowship

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.

More Proof that PT is a Booming Career

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.