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"Cutting Edge" schools?
- Thread starter PhysioMD
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Pretty sure every US school has the same curriculum so unless they have invented some new body parts you are gonna see the same stuff everywhere.
Yes, I understand that pretty much all schools in all fields have the same curriculums.
I'm wondering, is one school known to be better for neuro, ortho, acute care? For instance, are there particular schools where really well known professors / researchers also teach? perhaps because there are better hospitals in that area etc? Where are the leading neuro and ortho centres in the US? Not all schools are equal in terms of "rank" or potential to offer better learning opportunities, placements, access to research labs, access to world-renowned faculty.
In the US, what are those really well known PT schools??
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I feel like most schools say you do not specialize during PT school. This happens a year or two after your career begins.
My .02
My .02
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There's some variance as you say between schools. There would be subgroups of schools that are more geared toward orthopedics, and this is going to be the most common focus. There may be association between a greater focus or higher quality education in a particular area with established physical therapy residencies at those particilar universities. See http://www.abptrfe.org/ResidencyPrograms/ProgramsDirectory/
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I had an interesting conversation with a PT the other day (he's running his own clinic and staying very busy....largely ortho). He noted that various programs in the state seemed to have a different emphasis in how they prepare students. Some get heavy McKenzie, some a lot of manipulation, some the idiosyncratic theories of the program's director. He lamented that he wouldn't take on any students because he didn't have the time or emotional energy to convince them that (regardless of the emphasis) what they learned in school might not get them through the real world.
Maybe that's a little off topic from what you're asking. Just something that's been rattling around in my head.
Just because something is "cutting edge" doesn't necessarily make it good. And you might end up in a program that has great researchers who are terrible teachers. For developing as a clinician, it would probably be better to get through school inexpensively, get some experience in some clinical settings, choose a focus and then go for a residency.
If you get into a cheaper school, it might keep your debt down and make the prospect of a residency easier to stomach once you have to start making payments on loans.
FWIW
Maybe that's a little off topic from what you're asking. Just something that's been rattling around in my head.
Just because something is "cutting edge" doesn't necessarily make it good. And you might end up in a program that has great researchers who are terrible teachers. For developing as a clinician, it would probably be better to get through school inexpensively, get some experience in some clinical settings, choose a focus and then go for a residency.
If you get into a cheaper school, it might keep your debt down and make the prospect of a residency easier to stomach once you have to start making payments on loans.
FWIW
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My school is based on the philosophy of a manual therapist (Paris) but I imagine we learn what everybody is learning. Accreditation standards pretty much make sure all schools teach the same thing. I recently went to a conference and PTs who graduated from schools all over the country were speaking the same language. Some schools might be leading the way in research but I don't think any school is "cutting edge" and years ahead of everyone else.
Kevin
Kevin
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In regards to schools that produce lots of research, the national rankings of PT programs are mostly based on research alone and how much research is done by that program. My program is taught mostly by ortho PT's and has one of the nations most well known manual therapists. Like previous posts have mentioned school curriculum is similar no matter what program you go to. I personally rather have a more well rounded educational experience due to the licensing exams wide variety of questions dealing with different specialties. Choosing your clinical rotations is when I would be more concerned about this type of question because this is where your really going to get the exposure and hands on experience.
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Sounds like that PT is an idiot and a little heavy on the idiosyncrasies himself.
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eh...or maybe a busy and successful professional/small-business-owner who got burned with some frustrating experiences. Or maybe my account is a mischaracterization of the conversation. Or some other strange possibility. Who knows? But your confidence and brevity is certainly eye-catching. Kudos.
I think this question requires a deeper answer than 'Accreditation = same curriculum.' CAPTE requires a set of MINIMAL standards. But I think all schools will tell you they certainly teach more than the minimum. If you want to know what schools 'specialize' in, you have to go no farther than looking at faculty publications, as well as their research labs. Thsi should all be online. For example, Regis probably does a better than average job on the foot due to Tom McPoil. Univ of WI running due to Brian Heiderscheidt. Etc, etc. It may be hard to find this information for some PT schools since so many school have been hiring non PhD trained people and they often do not do research of note, although there are exceptions. Or as someone else said, ask clinicians in the area. The clinicians in my state certainly know what my school does 'better' and what we do 'minimally well.' And they know the same for all schools in my state since they take all of the students. As another said,schools with residencies have proven expertise in an area. Finally, you could always make an appointment with a faculty member at a school you are interested in and ask them.
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I don't, obviously, have a horse in this race but let's not lionize PT clinic owners. That is a huge pet peeve of mine.
The dude runs a PT clinic; to aggrandize him as a "successful small business owner" (whatever that means) is a little ridiculous. It's not like these people run a Fortune 500 company. Basically, he micromanages the front desk staff, stumbles through daily operations without any tangible business knowledge, and schedules patients. Oh, and was able to finagle a small loan from a bank. Kudos to him.
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Last I checked, if the outcomes are + and the utility bills, mortgage and wages are paid, your business can be described as "successful". He'll be out of business or on his way out, if not. Have you worked as an executive for a Fortune 500 company? How about 100? Clinic owners aren't changing the world, but it's not easy. The two roles are not even comparable and micromanaging can be found anywhere. It's funny that you have a peeve of something that you're ignorant or bias of. How do you know this particular owner has no tangible business knowledge? Quite an assumption.
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Like the others have mentioned, it's pretty difficult to answer your question on "which program is cutting edge". Hopefully, ALL programs are keeping up with recent research and are producing new research for the field. Like leonidas23 said, look at the research being produced by the program and the type of faculty it has. Also, check if the program is partnered with any hospitals/systems/or medical centers.
Somebody had a late week case of the mondays...
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As an executive? No. Mid-management/department management? Yes. That's not meant to impress anyone; just stating a fact. My assumption was pretty hard-lined, because it's not easy running any type of small business. I may be biased against the deification of people who own a single PT clinic but I'm certainly not ignorant of that type of business model. And yes, that experience gives me a "late case of the Mondays" when I hear pre-PTs or SPTs put random single-PT-clinic owners on a pedestal. All the poster stated that the clinic was "busy," nothing about outcomes or bottom-line as you've added.
Just throwing that out there. As with most things on these internets, take it or leave it.
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I have been at the same level and have contributed to our family business in finance/operations, and I have no idea where you are coming from. I'd bet that more often a small business owner can transition to a mid-management level position in the same field quicker, to include an additional generalized skill set, than the other way around. Also, he mentioned "successful", which was what got you going. As a person with your experience, you should know that within this field, success is usually synonymous with "+ outcomes" and the "bottom-line". Or as I mentioned, he's out or on the way out. I also understand that you had to grab on to something.
But in the interest of discontinuing a post jump, by all means, assume on.
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The turn this thread has taken is a real head scratcher for me. I try to not get worked up about stuff said on the internet so part of me wants to not even bother with a response. But at the same time, I'm sitting here with a bottle of wine and procrastinating on a documentation assignment, so…
My original post here was just some rambling comment trying to make this point: any program will give you minimum standards and each program will probably have some story about what they do best. But the preparation you get in school will probably not distinguish you from your peers and it might be better to prioritize an inexpensive school to make pursuing a residency easier, as a residency would probably have a much greater impact on someone as a clinician.
Maybe that's good advice, maybe it's not. I don't know. It's just something that sounds reasonable to me so I blathered. But things seem to have gone down this side path.
The PT in question employs a few people from what I can tell (front office person, a couple other PTs and a personal trainer...rents out space to a massage therapist). I don't know about his outcomes or his bottom line. His standard process is an hour with each patient one-on-one. He's booked a month in advance and he's been supporting himself and his family with the practice for about 10 years.
In my book, that's a successful small business owner. If someone disagrees, than we may just have a fundamental difference over what words mean, at which point there's not much that can be done.
When I listen to someone who has built a practice on the basis of their one-on-one work, their opinion carries weight with me--much more than my own professors who often seem to be more oriented to the grind of academia than the demands of clinical practice. I wouldn't say that this means I lionize or deify such a person, but again, we may just have different ideas of what words mean.
Prior to my return to school, I spent 7 years in corporate consulting and discovered the horrors of middle management. So don't worry about appearing like a braggart. Having suffered through that nonsense, I assure you I am not impressed
But someone who strikes it out on their own and makes a living without just being a drone and picking up a check? Yeah, that person has my ear. Not to say I'll agree with everything they say, but they have my attention and I'll mull over their words.
My original post here was just some rambling comment trying to make this point: any program will give you minimum standards and each program will probably have some story about what they do best. But the preparation you get in school will probably not distinguish you from your peers and it might be better to prioritize an inexpensive school to make pursuing a residency easier, as a residency would probably have a much greater impact on someone as a clinician.
Maybe that's good advice, maybe it's not. I don't know. It's just something that sounds reasonable to me so I blathered. But things seem to have gone down this side path.
The PT in question employs a few people from what I can tell (front office person, a couple other PTs and a personal trainer...rents out space to a massage therapist). I don't know about his outcomes or his bottom line. His standard process is an hour with each patient one-on-one. He's booked a month in advance and he's been supporting himself and his family with the practice for about 10 years.
In my book, that's a successful small business owner. If someone disagrees, than we may just have a fundamental difference over what words mean, at which point there's not much that can be done.
When I listen to someone who has built a practice on the basis of their one-on-one work, their opinion carries weight with me--much more than my own professors who often seem to be more oriented to the grind of academia than the demands of clinical practice. I wouldn't say that this means I lionize or deify such a person, but again, we may just have different ideas of what words mean.
Prior to my return to school, I spent 7 years in corporate consulting and discovered the horrors of middle management. So don't worry about appearing like a braggart. Having suffered through that nonsense, I assure you I am not impressed
But someone who strikes it out on their own and makes a living without just being a drone and picking up a check? Yeah, that person has my ear. Not to say I'll agree with everything they say, but they have my attention and I'll mull over their words.
