Observation Hours

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

j306c954

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
413
Reaction score
74
So I am applying to a program that does not require observational hours. I was wondering if anyone knows how they look at applicants whose observational hours could count as actually being a patient? While I have not officially observed a PT, I have been a patient and received physical therapy nearly all my life, so I have spent a lot of time seeing firsthand what they do on a daily basis.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm fairly certain you can't count hours as a patient for observation hours. Perhaps others can chime in on this.
 
I'm fairly certain you can't count hours as a patient for observation hours. Perhaps others can chime in on this.
One of my mentors is a professor for the DPT program at that school, and when I asked her she said she wasn't 100% sure, but she didn't see why not? I mean to me, that's the most hands-on observation you can get :p
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Most admissions offices will probably tell you no, as unfortunate as that is from an admissions chances standpoint. See thread linked above. I will say, when I was applying I was pretty ripped that all my hours as a pt didn't count (as you will notice in the above thread), but now looking back I totally see where they are coming from.

For one thing, it's really not fair to give any extra points in the admissions process because someone happened to require PT treatment whereas other applicants didn't. Schools have to strive to have a more fair and objective way of comparing applicants. People applying to medical school don't get to count all the times they've had a doctor's appointment as "shadowing". If it were true that having been a pt in PT throughout your life has made you aware of what being a PT is like, it would also follow that practically everyone in the population has a good idea what being a physician is really like - we've all been to the doctor throughout our lives!

But that's not how it is - you only see one segment of the professional's daily work life as a pt, whereas the goal of observation hours (assuming the school requires them) is for you to see the profession you are entering from the other side of the fence, through the professional's eyes. So though I was irritated when I was applying, I can see now how the experience you get from watching several different PTs treat lots of different pts for say 100 hours and having them explain a bit of what they are doing and thinking is very different than what you get from attending your own therapy sessions with your own PT. The experience of having seen what PT is like as a patient (especially if you have been treated in different settings) is very, very valuable, it just doesn't accomplish the same goal as observation hours.

Also, only things you've done while in college can be put on PT school applications, so any experience from before that is just a good interview talking point. And to be honest, most faculty/interviewers have heard applicants tell the story about how "their experience as a pt in PT benefited them soooooo much and it just really inspired them to go into the field" ten thousand times over, so you don't win a lot of brownie points for that kind of story, even if it may be true.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thank you for the detailed feed
Most admissions offices will probably tell you no, as unfortunate as that is from an admissions chances standpoint. See thread linked above. I will say, when I was applying I was pretty ripped that all my hours as a pt didn't count (as you will notice in the above thread), but now looking back I totally see where they are coming from.

For one thing, it's really not fair to give any extra points in the admissions process because someone happened to require PT treatment whereas other applicants didn't. Schools have to strive to have a more fair and objective way of comparing applicants. People applying to medical school don't get to count all the times they've had a doctor's appointment as "shadowing". If it were true that having been a pt in PT throughout your life has made you aware of what being a PT is like, it would also follow that practically everyone in the population has a good idea what being a physician is really like - we've all been to the doctor throughout our lives!

But that's not how it is - you only see one segment of the professional's daily work life as a pt, whereas the goal of observation hours (assuming the school requires them) is for you to see the profession you are entering from the other side of the fence, through the professional's eyes. So though I was irritated when I was applying, I can see now how the experience you get from watching several different PTs treat lots of different pts for say 100 hours and having them explain a bit of what they are doing and thinking is very different than what you get from attending your own therapy sessions with your own PT. The experience of having seen what PT is like as a patient (especially if you have been treated in different settings) is very, very valuable, it just doesn't accomplish the same goal as observation hours.

Also, only things you've done while in college can be put on PT school applications, so any experience from before that is just a good interview talking point. And to be honest, most faculty/interviewers have heard applicants tell the story about how "their experience as a pt in PT benefited them soooooo much and it just really inspired them to go into the field" ten thousand times over, so you don't win a lot of brownie points for that kind of story, even if it may be true.


Thank you for the detailed feedback. If it comes down to it and I need to put in some PT hours, I will do so. It is just difficult to do this while working one job full time and having a second job on the side :\ I was thinking of just asking my PT if he would sign off on my PT hours counting as observational. When I was going through PT, it almost seemed observational to me because my PT knew I was interested in what was going on, so he would explain and walk through what he was doing with me.
 
Top