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Contract PT
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Contract PT - September 12, 2008 1:15:07 PM
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lekar
Posts: 18
Joined: April 11, 2004
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Hey guys,
I have been working in an outpatient ortho facility for the last 6 months and now I'm thinking about becoming a contract PT (much better benefits, variety of settings).
Some say it's better to have a couple of years of experience and some say you really don't need more than a few months of experience to work as contract PT.
I think, as long as you stay in one place for a few month, you already know about modalities and kind of patients visiting that facility, and really you're not gonna earn much more in terms of experience in one place after a few months.
What do you think ? Is it a good idea to go for contract now ? I got my licence about 6 months ago and have been working in this facility since.
Thanks.
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RE: Contract PT - September 12, 2008 4:11:54 PM
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TLB
Posts: 353
Joined: September 13, 2002
From: Arizona
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I tell my patients if you ever see a therapist with < 5 years of experience that is not working closely with a mentor then run as fast as you can. You may not feel this way now but there is so much to learned and experienced when first starting out and a good mentor can help tremendously.
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RE: Contract PT - October 7, 2008 7:45:57 PM
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geoPT
Posts: 5
Joined: October 7, 2008
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If you want to contract you can always do it on the side. Have your fed tax ID, state tax ID, fully insured malpractice insurance, and a good accountant? Some townships, like pasadena, ca are strict enough to even have all home based independent contractors get a city license so please check with the township where you live. Try to contract where there are good mentors available. I used to work part time only 2 nights at a clinic where 2 FAAOMPTs worked. I learned more in those 2 nights than 2 months' worth of full time employment for a very reputable corporate PT chain.
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RE: Contract PT - October 7, 2008 11:37:21 PM
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steve
Posts: 470
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From: Canada
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Its interesting that everyone always comes back to experience equating better clinical practice and that the novice clinician is barely competent to practice. Research on physician clinical decision making and outcomes strongly suggests that there is an inverse relationship between experience and decision making. I'm not suggesting that we abandon mentorship - I'm all for it but would suggest that the new clinician has much that they can teach the experienced therapist and they often run excellent practices.
Our over reliance on experts may be part of the reason fellows like John Barnes havent come under more scrutiny until very recently.
Steve
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 11:33:58 AM
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JSPT
Posts: 284
Joined: April 19, 2005
From: Michigan
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Wow, TLB. That's a pretty strong statement.
Do you seriously say that to patients, or were you using hyperbole to illustrate a point?
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 1:30:37 PM
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TexasOrtho
Posts: 556
Joined: December 22, 2007
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It would seem to make sense that more experience = better clinician, but my observations as well as the data on this subject don't seem to back it up. I think its more about willingness to adapt and continue learning. I think that's a function of maturity more than experience. My 2 pesos.
_____________________________
Rod Henderson, PT
Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist (or Super-Freak)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
www.texasorthopedics.blogspot.com
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 2:52:59 PM
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TLB
Posts: 353
Joined: September 13, 2002
From: Arizona
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JSPT
Wow, TLB. That's a pretty strong statement.
Do you seriously say that to patients, or were you using hyperbole to illustrate a point?
Absolutely I also tell them to put as much thought into choosing their PT as they would when they buy a new house or car. For Steve who stated the physician research article and experience, would that involve residency trained physicians?
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 5:23:44 PM
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steve
Posts: 470
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From: Canada
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As far as I know, in Canada all physicians participate in a residency program that varies between 2 years for GPs and 5 or 6 years for other specialties.
Steve
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 8:40:05 PM
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proud
Posts: 944
Joined: March 22, 2006
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Well, based on my own collected data, my outcomes appear to improve year over year. As I incorporate new evidence, more focus on pain science, FABQ, Beck etc.
I don't think experience( RE: "Time in") translates to improved outcomes. And I don't think specialty training( NAOIT, FCAMPT, DipMDT etc) improves outcomes( I think a recent study with Childs name on it demonstrated that).
Rather, the "type" of experience can translate to improved outcomes I think. No ego's....no protectionism....no guru's....just a practitioner who has remained dynamic rather than static in his/her clinical approach. THAT type of experience no doubt improves outcomes. But that is awfully hard to measure.
No one is going to be able to convince me that experience does not improve outcomes. I know it does. Certainly "time in" and guru dedicated practioners are not going to do any better.
< Message edited by proud -- October 8, 2008 9:01:50 PM >
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RE: Contract PT - October 8, 2008 8:53:08 PM
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rwillcott
Posts: 435
Joined: March 20, 2006
From: Canada
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I think one of the most important traits of a PT is to be humble. We are part of a dynamic profession as proud indicated. It's easy in this profession get caught up in certain forms of PT (McKenxie, Manual Therapy, Mulligan etc.) For example the level system of manual therapy. If a lot of time ad money is spent on these levels there is a vested interest. It can be very difficult for some of these PT's to admit that there is a low sensitivity and specificity for motion palpation testing. Something as simple as 5 CPR's is all you need can be a difficult pill to swallow.
However, if that person is willing to accept the benefits of the emerging studies such as the CPR for L/S manipulation they're in a much better position than the therapist that only has a couple of years of training or has not completed very many post grad courses.
I beleive it was Dr. Child's that said he is a 'recovering manual therapist'. It takes a mature person to admit they don't know everything and are open to new ideas and research that may contradict what they previously thought to be true.
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RE: Contract PT - October 9, 2008 4:33:51 PM
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TLB
Posts: 353
Joined: September 13, 2002
From: Arizona
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quote:
ORIGINAL: steve
As far as I know, in Canada all physicians participate in a residency program that varies between 2 years for GPs and 5 or 6 years for other specialties.
Steve
My point being that PTs don't go through 2-6 year residency programs and they are greener than green comming out of school. Would you really want a surgeon who hasn't been through any type of residency program or that doens't have a experienced mentor at his side performing surgery on you? I believe I'll take the guy who has the experience or the experienced mentor at his side but then again I'm crazy that way. Again I'm talking outpatient orthopedics.
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RE: Contract PT - October 9, 2008 5:36:59 PM
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Kaden
Posts: 334
Joined: June 17, 2007
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TLB,
Why is it always assumed new grads are coming out greener than green. I think new grads in todays PT world are well equiped to come out and hit the ground running. They have gone throught 2.5 to 3.5 years of intense schooling with 6 to 12 months of internships and are fully equiped to begin offering clients PT services.
Are there a few things a new PT might not treat as efficiently or effectively as a seasoned PT? Sure, but I think this is a much smaller amount of the population than many experienced PT's want to admit.
I agree with Steve that our increased reliance on the "expert" can at times hurt the profession and it perception.
I have been doing this 6 years and find I have a lot to learn from new grads. I think I am guily at times of overthinking and making things more complicated than they need to be. Then I step back and watch a new grad (who hasn't gotten the expert/guru approach shoved down their throat yet) do a fine job of treating the same condition and I realize how needlessly complicated I made things.
Does experience matter? Sure it does. Experience usually means a bigger bag of tricks and past clinical scenarios to pull from. I just don't think we really need to dig into those bag of tricks as often as we give ourselves credit for doing so.
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RE: Contract PT - October 10, 2008 12:23:34 AM
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TexasOrtho
Posts: 556
Joined: December 22, 2007
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I've had three students in the past year. They were extremely bright, enthusiastic, and had the skill to assimilate evidence. These are skills that took (are taking) many years of post-graduate study for me to sort out. In my opinion, if given the right environment and motivation to continue learning, these new grads will have a growth curve that out paces their predecessors. That includes me!
I have worked with enough experienced therapists to realize experience doesn't matter if you are coasting through your practice. There are some "experienced" therapists who need EEG's to see if they are actually thinking about what they are doing. I understand that experience plays a role. Just not the role. Again there is some pretty compelling evidence to back this up.
Bas...the way our current election is heading, we may all be counting in Euros soon! 
< Message edited by TexasOrtho -- October 10, 2008 12:28:44 AM >
_____________________________
Rod Henderson, PT
Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist (or Super-Freak)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
www.texasorthopedics.blogspot.com
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RE: Contract PT - October 11, 2008 2:13:03 PM
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jma
Posts: 2414
Joined: August 24, 2000
From: NY
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For me, mentorship is a great thing for a student to have once they are out in the field. They are the ones who may at one point had the same ideas you are having now. Their experience can help you in the short and long term.
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RE: Contract PT - November 17, 2008 11:15:39 PM
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travelj
Posts: 3
Joined: November 17, 2008
Status: offline
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I have a total of 6+ years of experience in various settings, traveling for 4 of those. Professionally, you have to look at what YOUR aim is. If you want to be really strong in a certain area of PT, you likely should stay by a good mentors side and do all the ConEd you can in that area. But, I argue this: does that make you a great PT? I have seen a few cases of PT's with 15+ years of experience in one area having to switch mid-career for whatever life reasons and looking like a deer in headlights. For me, I WANT to be a generalist. I pride myself on having experience in wound care, acute care of every dx, inpt and outpt rehab, and home health. Am I an expert in any of those? Not close. But, I will always be more than competent in any given situation. I say travel, travel, travel. You'll get a sampling of what PT has to offer, the differences that exist in the profession from region to region and very likely you will hit on that perfect part of PT that you can concentrate on later. This isn't even mentioning the fun, the people, the much bigger paycheck, etc. etc.
I am so pro-travling out of school I even started a website to help you chose wisely and escape the trappings of most of the travel companies schemes. If you like, check it out at
http://www.medtravelerclub.com/
PT is the greatest thing since sliced bread, because of the limitless options. Ask yourself whats more important and what will make you happier, because in the end, a motivated happy therapist will always beat the opposite.
J
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