TARA BRUNS

Acute Care/Hospital Physical Therapy Setting

Overview

Acute care defined% of PTAs in the

settingSalariesTypes of patients (dx

and ages)Interview with

director of physical therapy at Avera St. Luke’s

http://www.cpwrehab.com/images/physical_therapy1.jpg

What is Acute Care?

Physical therapy is provided for patients in hospitals who are there for short term care. Could be due to: Illness Trauma recover Surgery accident

Goal: discharge the patient in a timely manner as soon as they are medically healthy and have a place to go.

According to apta.org:

In 2009: estimated 8.6% of MEMBERS of apta worked in the acute setting

How many PTAs Work in the Acute Setting?

http://www.skiffmed.com/images/PMRAcuteCare.jpg

Do they make the Big Bucks?

PTAs working in the acute care setting, on average make close to:

$48,590$23.36/hr

http://qwickstep.com/search/acute-care-physical-therapy.html

MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN CONDITIONS

JOINT REPLACEMENT: 13.6%CARDIAC DISORDERS:7.7%

STROKE: 7.4%

(MEAN PERCENTAGES)

What Types of Diagnoses and Treatments are Dealt

With in Acute Care?

Types(percentage of time spent on each area of the body)

Musculoskeletal: 44%Neuromuscular: 26.4%Integumentary: 10.4%Cardiopulmonary: 19.2%

http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/SMB1426.jpg

AgesInfants: 1.9Toddlers:1.4Children: 2.2Adolescents: 4.0Adults: 38.6Older: 51.8

Q1: THERE IS A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF PTS AND PTAS WORKING IN THE ACUTE

CARE SETTING COMPARED TO THE OTHER AREAS. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE

REASONING IS BEHIND THIS?

Email Interview

Leonard Suel: PT, DPTDirector of Physical Therapy at Avera St. Luke’s

Questions/Answers:

A1: “Healthcare has changed from an inpatient focused model over the years to a greater emphasis on outpatient care.”

Q2: working in acute has its challenges as do the other areas but what is the most rewarding thing about working in that type of setting?

A2: “Inpatient can be very fast paced and for people that like a challenge- the day goes by very quickly. It also is very physical and the work day is actually

also a good work out. Patients typically are only in the hospital a few days, which means your caseload turns over very quickly. -involved in providing a “team” service.

Questions/Answers Continued:

Q3: Are there any additional skills or training that would be helpful for a PT or PTA to have when choosing to work in the acute setting. A3: “There is a lot of “on the job training” required in

inpatient- but any additional education that applies to working with patients with medical conditions is helpful- in inpatient you are more likely to have patients that have dvts and all sorts of other things- yes you will see this in outpatient- but more of it will be seen in inpatient. Knowledge of lab values ect are important.”

Final Answer: Well you hope the PT/PTA is getting some good support/ has good

communication with other team members. If PT is scheduled at 9 am for example and has sent that schedule to the floor- a good nurse will make sure pain meds are given ahead of time, and a good nurses aide will make sure that ted socks are on and the patient has gone to the bathroom and is ready for PT…..all things in this world balance themselves out- outpatient has it’s own problems such as patients arriving late….in inpatient, pretty much your patient will be in the room when you go to see them (unless they are having a test or procedure that was not communicated to the PT or another department was not following the patient’s schedule- and then that becomes an administrative issue). So what I am saying is we do not provide extra time for in patient as a general rule. The inpatient PTs/PTAs get very good about working with tubes ect- yes it takes a little extra time but only on some patients. Inpatients can have a lower activity tolerance than outpatients – so that factors into the equation as well. So the answer is yes the schedule accommodates these types of things.

H TT P: / / W W W. A P TA . O R G / A M / T E M P L AT E . C F M ? S E C T I O N = W OR K F O R C E _ S A L A R I E S _ A N D _ STAT S & T E M P L AT E = / M E M B E R S ON LY. C F M & N AV M E N U I D = 4 5 5 & C O N T E N T I D = 7 1 4 9 1 & D I R E C T LI ST C O M B O I N D = D

H TT P: / / W W W. A P TA . O R G / A M / T E M P L AT E . C F M ? S E C T I O N = SU RV E Y S_ A N D _ STAT S 1 & T E M P L AT E = / M E M B E R SO N LY. C F M & C O NT E N T I D = 4 7 2 8 4

H TT P: / / W W W. A P TA . O R G / A M / T E M P L AT E . C F M ? S E C T I O N = P R OS P E C T I V E _ ST U D E N T S& T E M P L AT E = / C M / H T M L D I S P L AY. C F M& C O N T E N T I D = 7 4 6 9 0

H TT P: / /W W W. B L S. G OV / O E S / C U R R E N T / O E S 3 1 2 0 2 1 . H T M

SOURCES: