New Physical Therapy Grads working in Homecare

[rshives19]

Hi everyone,

Are there are any new graduates who chose to work home-care right after graduating and can provide some insight on your experience? I'm considering it and would just like to weigh some of the pro and cons.

Also, anyone pursue a part-time/per diem outpatient while working home-care or feel like that would be feasible? Thanks!

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[beckybrooke]

I accepted a job in Pediatric home care in Arizona that I will be starting a few weeks after I graduate. I talked to the clinic owner and she said that it's pretty regular practice from them to hire new grads to work in home health. However, I'm currently finishing up a 16 week rotation at the clinic so I'm getting some experience first. Arizona provides better reimbursement for in-home care for kids, so most clinics have limited clinical space and most of their PTs work in the home. I would say biggest con is not having other therapists to mentor you as a new grad. I would look for a clinic that has a good support system to call in or a clinic that offers a mix of clinic and home health (my clinic had this option but felt that my clinical has prepared for working in home health exclusively). Other downside is a lot of wear on tear on your car, especially if you have an older car coming out of school, like most of us probably do.

 

[rshives19]

I accepted a job in Pediatric home care in Arizona that I will be starting a few weeks after I graduate. I talked to the clinic owner and she said that it's pretty regular practice from them to hire new grads to work in home health. However, I'm currently finishing up a 16 week rotation at the clinic so I'm getting some experience first. Arizona provides better reimbursement for in-home care for kids, so most clinics have limited clinical space and most of their PTs work in the home. I would say biggest con is not having other therapists to mentor you as a new grad. I would look for a clinic that has a good support system to call in or a clinic that offers a mix of clinic and home health (my clinic had this option but felt that my clinical has prepared for working in home health exclusively). Other downside is a lot of wear on tear on your car, especially if you have an older car coming out of school, like most of us probably do.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm actually graduating in Massachusetts in 5 weeks and relocating to AZ..small world.

I know some mentorship programs are in the works for home health for new grads here, so I'll definitely be sure that the places I interview have one in place or have a good support system as you mentioned. Your cons are what a fellow classmate told me who did a homecare clinical mentioned as well. That's great you're getting the first hand experience first prior to starting, I've only observed through some clinical experiences in school. That's definitely a disadvantage for me. Helps to know that home health practices are open to the new grads though.

Do you know anyone who pursued home health without having a clinical experience leading up to it and know the learning curve and how they faired in either a pediatric or general outpatient focus?

 

[beckybrooke]

One of my CIs for this rotation got the job as his first job out and didn't have any home health experience. He said that it really wasn't a hard transition since he had some previous peds experience and that you kind of just figure it out on your own since you don't have any other choice. I can't really speak to what it would be like going into home care for adults. I think it's easier to work with kids in their own house and with their own toys, but the type of therapy I'm doing is a lot different than working with adults. I could imagine it being tougher to figure out exercises and doing therapy without any equipment.

 

[rshives19]

One of my CIs for this rotation got the job as his first job out and didn't have any home health experience. He said that it really wasn't a hard transition since he had some previous peds experience and that you kind of just figure it out on your own since you don't have any other choice. I can't really speak to what it would be like going into home care for adults. I think it's easier to work with kids in their own house and with their own toys, but the type of therapy I'm doing is a lot different than working with adults. I could imagine it being tougher to figure out exercises and doing therapy without any equipment.

Yea you have to be a little creative with exercises and bring equipment with you at times for adults..Happy to see homehealth has been transitioned to successfully and manageable without the prior direct experiences. Appreciate your insight and helping to clear up some of my thoughts!

 

[DrEvil518]

Hey there! I worked full-time in outpatient for my first year out of school. I temporarily did home health on weekends, just to make some extra money. It was tough to do both, but I think if you did part time/per diem home health and part time/per diem something else, it would be a great place to start as a new grad! My colleague and I started a website for new grad PTs, and it has a lot of articles on similar topics. Here's one we wrote about different PT settings, and their pros/cons (from a new grad perspective.) Enjoy!

http://www.newgradphysicaltherapy.com/guide-to-physical-therapy-settings/

 

[ktachiba]

Hey there! I worked full-time in outpatient for my first year out of school. I temporarily did home health on weekends, just to make some extra money. It was tough to do both, but I think if you did part time/per diem home health and part time/per diem something else, it would be a great place to start as a new grad! My colleague and I started a website for new grad PTs, and it has a lot of articles on similar topics. Here's one we wrote about different PT settings, and their pros/cons (from a new grad perspective.) Enjoy!

http://www.newgradphysicaltherapy.com/guide-to-physical-therapy-settings/

Amazing!!! thanks for the article, very helpful!

 

[rshives19]

Hey there! I worked full-time in outpatient for my first year out of school. I temporarily did home health on weekends, just to make some extra money. It was tough to do both, but I think if you did part time/per diem home health and part time/per diem something else, it would be a great place to start as a new grad! My colleague and I started a website for new grad PTs, and it has a lot of articles on similar topics. Here's one we wrote about different PT settings, and their pros/cons (from a new grad perspective.) Enjoy!

http://www.newgradphysicaltherapy.com/guide-to-physical-therapy-settings/

Thanks a lot! Very informative and a great website overall.

 

[DrEvil518]

Thanks! I'm really glad you're able to get some use of out it We're trying to give new grads the tools that we didn't have when we graduated. Please feel free to provide any feedback as to how we can improve the site. We just started an audio education series to help new grad physical therapists/students brush up on anatomy, special tests, etc. The two we have posted are formatted differently. We're looking for people's opinions to see which format we'll use going forward. If yall have a second to take a look, it would be much appreciated. Again, thanks for visiting the site!

 

[DMACK22]

I recently accepted a Home Health position right out of graduate school with no past experience in home-care. I will say first that it is not as frightening as professors make it out be. The company I joined has a 3 month probationary period where you taken several online courses and virtual classes that adequately prepares you to operate as an independent new grad therapist. I was also provided with a mentor that was always available to contact regarding questions or concerns I may have had. The biggest learning curve I've had to deal with was the documentation. The OASIS assessment form is pretty inclusive and a little overwhelming (26pgs), but like most things it gets easier with time and practice. Homecare will also challenge your flexibility and organizational skills, if you are not flexible and like to "adapt" to various circumstances and have poor organizational skills, do not got into homecare. However, it is a really interesting setting and I have enjoyed it so far.