Therapy Jobs Blog

The Daily Deal of the day for October 30, 2007:

http://www.travelrehab.com/jobs/Texas/Physical-Therapist-12960

We will pay you what you are worth!!

Please help! We are seeking a Physical Therapist with a positive attitude to join our staff of caring and dedicated professionals. Our location in Texas offers you access to fun and exciting experiences. Full benefits include Medical, Dental, and Vision. Full continuing education reimbursement to keep you sharp with your skills. Discover why our team enjoys every day they come to work!

NEW GRADS ARE WELCOME!

Recently, there has been quite a buzz regarding stroke therapy and using the Nintendo Wii. This game console uses motion-sensitive hand remote controls to correspond with the effects of the game.  Music therapy using the Wii system seems to be a positive response for Stroke patients since the games require the patient to move in sync with the rhythm of the music.

Physical Therapists at the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute of Minneapolis are currently using this form of therapy for their stroke patients with much success.

Reported in a recent story in Therapy Times: 77-year-old Jerry Pope, a former semi-pro tennis player. Following his stroke in June, he’s been using the Wii Tennis activity of Wii Sports and swings of the Wii Remote to help regain movement in his hands and feet, along with his balance.

“Not only am I moving the hand, my feet are moving, I am jumping around, it is as if I am really playing the game,” comments Pope. “It is motivational, makes you feel like you are progressing, even if you are not and that helps you.”

“We are using the Nintendo Wii system as a way to practice relearning movements we used to know how to do and we know the brain can make changes if we can give it lots and lots of practice,” explains occupational therapist Matthew White, OTR/L.

Lars Oddsson, PhD, director of the Sister Kenny Research Center, is looking to conduct a clinical trial of the effectiveness of the Wii in helping patients recover. Such a trial would consist of one group of patients participating in more traditional therapy. while the other group predominantly uses the Wii System. Until the trial is complete, however, the usage of Wii is merely experimental.

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is currently conducting an interesting survey for OT practitioners who currently work with clients that are using Worker’s Compensation. AOTA is conducting two surveys on occupational therapy interventions for typical clients within workers’ compensation systems.

The OT survey will run until November 21st and there is a drawing to be held at the end for a FREE membership for 1 year with the AOTA. There are some instructions as to what information you should have handy should you decide to take this survey and several link options to choose from.

To begin the OT survy, visit the AOTA web site: http://www.aota.org/News/Announcements/WCSurvey.aspx

As in many rehab industries, speech language pathologists are in high-demand.  The employment rate for SLPs are expected to grow 9-15 percent through 2014. As ‘baby boomers’ continue to age, the possibility of neurological disorders and associated speech, language, and swallowing impairments increase. Opportunities should be particularly favorable for those with the ability to speak a second language, such as Spanish.

Besides the baby boomers, SLPs will be in demand in educational environments including elementary and secondary schools. Greater awareness of the importance of early identification and diagnosis of speech and language disorders increases the need of Speech Language Pathologists.

So what can an SLP expect to earn these days?  The high-end earners of 2004 received on average $82,420. The median salary for an SLP is $52,410.

The opportunies are endless for SLPs. Between healthcare facilities and educational services, the demand for SLPS will remain steady for many years to come.

I thought this was an interesting ‘outline’ of what a PT experiences in a ‘typical day’… is there such a thing as a typical day on the job in Physical Therapy?

On a typical day a physical therapist will:

• examine patients’ medical histories;
• test and measure the patients’ strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration, and motor function;
• determine patients’ ability to be independent and reintegrate into the community or workplace after injury or illness;
• develop treatment plans describing a treatment strategy, its purpose, and its anticipated outcome;

The APTA is celebrating National Physical Therapy month in October. This originally began in 1981 as National Physical Therapy Week and took place in June. In 1992, it was moved to October and became a month long awareness campaign. It is so popular it is part of the National Health Observances Calendar.

Each year, the National Physical Therapy month is used as an effective way for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants to bring awareness and education to their communities about a particular health topic of interest.

This year, the focus is our nation’s Obesity Epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of overweight and obesity has risen dramatically for both adults and children since the 1970s.

PTs play an important role in our fight against obesity with two main objectives; the first is in prevention by developing fitness plans for both adults and children. The other is to develop a plan for those already overweight or obese by creating a progression of exercise and at the same time prevent joint injury and other safety concerns.

To learn more about National Physical Therapy month, visit the APTA.org -http://www.apta.org

Physical Therapy Assistants and PTs who provide their services under the Home Health Prospective Payment System needs to be aware of a new federal regulation that will be affecting them in 2008. The APTA is sponsoring an audio conference on this new regulation entitled: “Understanding Changes to the Home Health Prospective Payment System: The 2008 HH PPS Final Rule”

The APTA conference will be held between 2-3:30pm EST on Wednesday, October 24th. You can easily register online through the APTA by clicking on the following link: https://www.apta.org/AM/APTAAPPS/AudioRegistrationAud7Oct/regform.cfm

This should be a very informative conference and highly recommended for PTs and PTAs working within this system.