Some books to educate pre-PT student?

[Souzou]

I'm beginning to shadow a PT at an outpatient clinic on Saturday. I really don't know much about physical therapy AT ALL, and I was wondering if anyone knew about any good/educational books that I could read to learn a bit of anatomy/exercise/etc.

So far I've looked into Anatomy of Movement but this isn't available anywhere and I'm not sure if it is too advanced of a book for a beginner.

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[markelmarcel]

Make the APTA website your best friend. LOTS of information on there.

And...I have no idea if this book is any good but I had it on my amazon wishlist around a year and a half ago...
"Physical Therapy The Truth: For Students, Clinicians, and Healthcare Professionals" ---http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Therapy-Truth-Clinicians-Professionals/dp/1425924646/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IAV96CMM2N4SJ&colid=158SEOR1CN2EM

 

[Yohan]

Here are a few websites that might be useful:

http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/sec01/ch007/ch007c.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=nw...ypes of transfers in physical therapy&f=false

and of course the APTA website (as was mentioned before).

You could also go to your local library and do a search there.

 

[callmecrazy]

I'm beginning to shadow a PT at an outpatient clinic on Saturday. I really don't know much about physical therapy AT ALL, and I was wondering if anyone knew about any good/educational books that I could read to learn a bit of anatomy/exercise/etc.

So far I've looked into Anatomy of Movement but this isn't available anywhere and I'm not sure if it is too advanced of a book for a beginner.

Honestly, I don't think you'll get much out of studying "anatomy/exercise" for a day or two. There is too much out there, and the chances of what little you can look at actually applying to particular patients that walk in the door is slim. I think you're time would be better spent reading up a little bit about what (in general) PTs do and what some of PT hot-button topics currently are.

If you plan on shadowing regularly though, you could ask (down the line) if the PT can let you know what type of patients he/she has scheduled for a particular day that you're coming in. Then you would have the ability to narrow you're reading significantly to prepare for your next visit.

 

[johncronejr]

First off....you are not going to be allowed to do anything with regards to patients.

Secondly, just ask questions. When I went in for my observations I met the PT before we started and asked them how the observation would work. Would I be allowed to ask questions during the session, etc... On one of my observations I was told patient background before we went into the hospital room. Once in the room, I was to just "stay out of the way" basically. At my other two observations, I was allowed to ask questions during the treatment.

I don't know how everyone else felt, but my observations were incredibly boring due to the fact that I was not able to actually do anything. It was helpful in that I got to observe the work environment, patient/PT interactions and paperwork involved. It doesn't take very long to take all that in, then the rest was just following the PT around. During break times you can ask what the hours are like, job availability, etc.... Again, that takes very little time.

For me, the purpose of the observations was to check out the environment and verify that I did indeed want to work in that environment. It was not a "show me how to do PT in a couple of days" exercise. I only had to have 45 hours and I was thankful it wasn't any more than that. I love working and I will like working as a PT, but I abhor just watching other people work.

 

[markelmarcel]

I don't know how everyone else felt, but my observations were incredibly boring due to the fact that I was not able to actually do anything. ..... I love working and I will like working as a PT, but I abhor just watching other people work.

I agree!!!! I can't wait until I have the knowledge and can DO instead of just taking a backseat and watching!

And, nice use of "abhor" a GRE popular vocab word!

 

[goyo1010]

I agree!!!! I can't wait until I have the knowledge and can DO instead of just taking a backseat and watching!

And, nice use of "abhor" a GRE popular vocab word!

just 'cuz i hate the GRE so much: i didn't get a single word from the Kaplan 500 GRE Vocab flashcards AND the Princeton review Practice Book... Well, I did get like 2 or 3 of the words i learned in the first couple of questions, then it just went downhill from there... I think that odious Computer Adaptive whatever just had something against me.