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First PT job?
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First PT job? - January 21, 2008 1:16:27 AM
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AZTEC101
Posts: 2
Joined: January 21, 2008
Status: offline
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Good evening, everyone.
I recently took the PT Board Exams last week and thank all of you who have contributed info on preparing . Leading up to the Boards, I've been interviewing with several hospitals/clinics in the Los Angeles area. There are an overwhelming number of openings. Now I do realize a major criteria in job selection is to look at long term objectives and go from there. However, just starting out, I'm still unsure of what areas I may be drawn to in the future. It seems that there are numerous opportunities with "Travel PT" companies, where they promise a wide array of experiences. For me, just being out of the gates, having a mentor and learning each day is of major importance to me. But on the other hand, I'm concerned about falling into one particular practice setting and becoming set in my ways this early. How does one decide for the first job? It seems from the PTs I've encountered in my brief career is that they recommend to spend time in a large hospital and pay your dues early on, gather some experience, and move on from there. My final clinical affil. was at a large hospital in Orange County, and as it was an inpatient rotation, I feel the experience was simply a lot of physically demanding work (not mentally challenging), such as transfers and bed mobility. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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RE: First PT job? - January 21, 2008 11:41:39 AM
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jma
Posts: 2414
Joined: August 24, 2000
From: NY
Status: offline
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A diverse hospital setting is the best place to start off with, especially if they have different departments: outpatient, acute, inpatient, TBI, spinal cord. With such a diversity, you could rotate every 6-12 months and learn valuable skills while treating a diverse population. My advice to start out is to find out which hospitals have such a diversity and go from there.
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RE: First PT job? - January 22, 2008 12:12:49 PM
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ptdan23
Posts: 224
Joined: November 6, 2003
From: Orlando, FL
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Personally, ever since I decided I wanted to be a PT in the summer before my junior year of high school I new I wanted to do outpatient orthopedics. All of my clinicals in school were ortho (don't ask me how I got away with that) but they were in some various settings. If you know you want to go a certain direction I would say start there. My aunt who is a PT as well said to try some different areas and you may end up liking some different things. I did start in an acute setting just to get started but I always wanted to be in outpatient ortho. Now if you are unsure what setting you would like to be in I would suggest starting in a position which allows rotations every so often as another member said above.
Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
Dan
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RE: First PT job? - January 23, 2008 9:13:18 AM
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PTupdate.com
Posts: 1477
Joined: October 8, 2001
From: Pittsburgh, PA USA
Status: offline
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I graduated in 1991, and had quite a few jobs to choose from. The lowest was at Allegheny General Hospital, here in Pittsburgh, paying $34K. The highest was $88K about 30 miles south in the coal mine areas. The average was in the $40's (Hey, same starting range now, 16 years later! Boy, haven't we done well as a profession!!!!!!!!!)
The AGH job scared everybody in my Pitt graduating class, as they had the top notch therapists, and put on a head trauma conference for the PT/OT program that lasted 2 days. We were intimidated, and only 2 people took jobs there....I was one of them. I looked at this position as an extra internship, this time at least getting paid. What I learned there in 2.5 years launched the rest of my career, and I know I would not be where I am today, making what I make, if I would have taken another job.
_____________________________
John M. Duffy, PT
Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist
www.PTupdate.com
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RE: First PT job? - February 7, 2008 12:02:29 PM
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PHS
Posts: 16
Joined: August 8, 2007
From: Texas
Status: offline
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Knowing where you want to practice, should have come from the experiences in your clinical affils. I knew that if I wanted to be a PT, that calls some major shots, independent, w/ more responsibilities, and sees inmediate results w interventions, ortho outpatient was the way to go.
No offense to any acute PT's, but I feel that I am capable to jump into any acute setting at any time, regardless of how long Im absent from that setting, unfortunately thats not the case the other way around.
I do primarily ortho op, and will do an occasional weekend at a major local hospital acute care. Good way for xtra cash, but also love the variety and change of pace in the acute. Clinically....Im not challenged enough to work in an acute setting. Just my thoughts, I think Tony Delitto, shed some light on this a while back.
I think that if you hold off, and go into acute or "travel acute", you will have a more diff time getting into ortho later on. Perhaps that hospital rotation may work out for you, though Id rather be a master of one trade, than master of none!!
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RE: First PT job? - February 8, 2008 12:18:29 AM
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blast7
Posts: 114
Joined: July 28, 2005
Status: offline
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I'll give my 2 cents. I struggled with this question and you can find the post on here if you'd like. In short I really enjoyed outpatient sports PT and had an excellent job offer as well as one at a level 1 trauma center in acute care. As much as I wanted the sports position I could not justify specializing so soon. I have now been in acute care at a 700+ bed hospital for almost 2 years and cannot believe how much I have learned. I have seen some of the rarest diagnoses, repeatedly, and have been able to experience every type of patient (cardiac, ICU, peds, ortho, oncology, vascular, rehab, neuro, neurosurg, etc.). I have also learned a great deal medically. There are sicker and sicker people in the hospitals these days and there is a push to get them better quicker, medically and functionally. It is really challenging and all of the knowledge I've learned will go very well in any setting especially with direct access and needing to know more of the medical basis. I do think it would be an adjustment to switch to outpatient but because I enjoyed it so much in school and on my affils there is still a great deal that I remember. I also do get some outpatient type referrals while in the hospital. Let me know if you'd like to know more.
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