Accepted into PT school, but did not spend any real time working/volunteering at a PT clinic..

[pslug]

Just curious on thoughts on this issue. Prior to being accepted I volunteered 60 hours at a outpatient PT clinic.
Which was no more than 2 hours a day twice a week for a semester (basically enough to hit my minimums).

My volunteer experience was not my strong point on my application. Though I am working as a caretaker and in youth sports.

At my time at the clinic, I quickly noticed that the tech's/ assistants were a high turn over position. (lack of pay/high turn over) did not spark any interest in working at the clinic.

I know all experience is good, but wondering if my lack of exposure in a PT clinic could have any detrimental effects in PT school, or in general?

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[redrose424]

I'm surprised you know that you want to be a PT without much information. I'd recommend getting a more variety of experience before starting school, although since you're in already I suppose you don't have to. Many techs are in school or heading to PT school, so that's why there turnover is high. I generally found PTAs liked their job, so maybe it was the one clinic you worked in.

 

[starrsgirl]

I only had about 70 hours when I started PT school. I had only been in 1 setting too. I personally don't think you need 1000 hours to tell if you like something or not....that seems really silly to me. I think I was pretty informed in general about the different settings PTs work in (I didn't observe, but I had a picture in my mind of different places they worked and what they did from reading a lot of articles and talking to practicing PTs).

Anyway, I haven't had any issues from my lack of observation. My school offered 10 one day clinicals in the second semester in a variety of settings so that portion really helped get us all on the same page in terms of exposure.

 

[apta_pharaoh]

You will be fine in terms of course work I believe, but you may find that you don't like PT, and you lack some "realization experience" . I have about 2000 hours as an aide/volunteer I went from outpatient ortho, to skilled nursing facility, to geriatric/accident outpatient to acute inpatient then back to geriatric/accident where I am now.

PTs are in many fields and even though much is disappointing it's good to experience things. Outpatient ortho was by far the most generic. Great outcomes, great manual therapy, the motivation to get better was there for most patients because they want to heal. Inpatient the main goal is to discharge patients. It was sad to watch someone with get kicked out after brain surgery because they were able to stand up and walk 75 feet, seeing people die after making improvements or people with bullet wounds all over people. But it was good see how people use the acute inpatient system. For instance people would fake a condition end up in the hospital for free food, claim to be homeless, and that they are incontinent. Due to this they couldn't be discharged to even shelters, they knew to pretend they couldn't walk the exact amount of feet necessary to discharge and more. But my worst experience was in a geriatric/accident facility. Here you are dealing with lawyers, lies, billing for more units because elderly aren't aware, giving unnecessary treatments like epidurals because the main goal is to win the accident case and take the most amount of money from those winnings and for the geriatric portion to use up all of the available medicare money. In summary You will be fine but you missed out on some eye opening things that PT gets drawn into because of business.

 

[aroszko]

Just curious on thoughts on this issue. Prior to being accepted I volunteered 60 hours at a outpatient PT clinic.
Which was no more than 2 hours a day twice a week for a semester (basically enough to hit my minimums).

My volunteer experience was not my strong point on my application. Though I am working as a caretaker and in youth sports.

At my time at the clinic, I quickly noticed that the tech's/ assistants were a high turn over position. (lack of pay/high turn over) did not spark any interest in working at the clinic.

I know all experience is good, but wondering if my lack of exposure in a PT clinic could have any detrimental effects in PT school, or in general?

Why did you apply to PT school if you don't want to be a PT, or you were unsure of being a PT? Maybe see if the school you were accepted to will defer your enrollment for the year and you can go get more volunteer experience.....or when does your program begin maybe try getting more experience now in a wider variety of settings.


...if you're not 100% sure, don't waste time and/or money if you may drop out halfway through.

 

[InNoApparentDistress]

I had pretty limited observation hours prior to PT school as well. I knew a PT who ran his own practice (seeing people one-on-one for an hour). Talking with him, he was so laid back about everything: I spend as much time as I want with people, starting your own practice is pretty straightforward, wish I'd done it sooner.

Then I shadowed a PT in a slow and chill outpatient facility where he had a PTA that he'd been working with for years. Sometimes he was double booked, but with her help it was pretty much a non-issue. Then I observed in an outpatient hospital setting. It was one-on-one, very relaxed. So my impression of the field was informed by conversations with a successful solo-practitioner and observation in relaxed outpatient environments.

Then I got into school and they started talking about PT in the ICU, and PTs doing wound care, and I was like "what the f*** is this? I want nothing to do with this." But you've still got to learn it. Then I went out on clinicals and got exposed to the grind of being double booked without support in an outpatient environment. And I was like "what the f*** is this? I want nothing to do with this." But you still got to do it.

So without copious and broad observation, I had a slanted perspective of the profession. I wasn't aware of these parts of it that I really didn't like, only the parts that I did. In PT school, they are requiring you to demonstrate entry-level ability in all these things. That was a difficult thing for me to wrap my head around in school, and it became a source of stress. If I'd seen more, I might have been better prepared for the demands put upon me.

 

[DesertPT]

Well you're already accepted and I doubt you are going to just up and decide to not go so it is what it is. I think being exposed to plenty of inpatient physical therapy prior to school is extremely beneficial, but plenty of people have gone through PT school without that and been just fine. Academically speaking it won't make any difference. You will be fine, just realize that the PT profession is much, much broader than what you have been exposed to and make a concientious effort to be open-minded to everything. If you can be at lest a little bit interested in every area and speciality of physical therapy it makes getting through school a lot less painful.

Also, there is a lot of negativity in this thread that I wouldn't give any heed to. You are entering a fantastic profession at a great time, the diversity of people you can help and things you can learn as a PT has never been greater.