PT ranks will be reduced

[PT Dad]

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Time to Act: CMS Proposes Significant 8% Cut to Physical Therapy in 2021

Together we are building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.

www.apta.org

 

[truthseeker]

I'm not joining this year for the first time in 28 years

 

[theheartyroots]

This is terrifying to read. We are already struggling, especially with new graduates, to find decent paying (and quality) jobs to pay off our outrageous debt. I understand it was our choice to take on student loan debt to get in this profession, but why are other medical professionals rising in pay and ours is going down?

It's become less and less appealing to get into this field solely because of passion. I went into the field because I found most reward in a hospital setting, where at least most things are regulated in regards to patient care and billing. The idea of me using my hands and knowledge to affect a person's life amazed me. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to work with individuals in such a fragile state of life. I also get to actually help patients significantly to regain function....exactly why I went into this field. I love my job but it is getting very hard to love it like I used to.

I am thankful I graduated in 2017. Even in the short span of 2 years, I have noticed the corruption and extensive difficulty of finding a completely ethical work environment. This means an environment that provides quality care and a positive work environment for the therapists (not 4 patients an hour, not unpaid doc time, not unpaid overtime, not excessive prescription of therapy to get reimbursement). Honestly, when I read the cuts were happening in 2021, I was relieved, because I was already planning on spanning outside clinical care and into other outlets for income by that time.

I'm not sure how much changes by joining APTA. The support is clearly not enough. Hopefully the entire system restarts and they find more value in therapy vs. invasive interventions as a quick fix. Thank you for sharing the article!

 

[PT Dad]

This is terrifying to read. We are already struggling, especially with new graduates, to find decent paying (and quality) jobs to pay off our outrageous debt. I understand it was our choice to take on student loan debt to get in this profession, but why are other medical professionals rising in pay and ours is going down?

It's become less and less appealing to get into this field solely because of passion. I went into the field because I found most reward in a hospital setting, where at least most things are regulated in regards to patient care and billing. The idea of me using my hands and knowledge to affect a person's life amazed me. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to work with individuals in such a fragile state of life. I also get to actually help patients significantly to regain function....exactly why I went into this field. I love my job but it is getting very hard to love it like I used to.

I am thankful I graduated in 2017. Even in the short span of 2 years, I have noticed the corruption and extensive difficulty of finding a completely ethical work environment. This means an environment that provides quality care and a positive work environment for the therapists (not 4 patients an hour, not unpaid doc time, not unpaid overtime, not excessive prescription of therapy to get reimbursement). Honestly, when I read the cuts were happening in 2021, I was relieved, because I was already planning on spanning outside clinical care and into other outlets for income by that time.

I'm not sure how much changes by joining APTA. The support is clearly not enough. Hopefully the entire system restarts and they find more value in therapy vs. invasive interventions as a quick fix. Thank you for sharing the article!

Thank you for your honesty. Others on the forum think I am just a disgruntled boomer. The reality of the PT profession today is that students get into the field with massive student loan debt, an oversupply of therapists, no salary growth, impossible productivity requirements, being forced to stretch ethical boundaries to the point of fraud, and widespread burnout after 5 years.

 

[Nickerson15]

Are/were you a physical therapist? Or are you just the parent of one. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and bash something with a bias. For every 20 articles supporting PT and 1 article speaking about a concerning detail, you choose to go with the 1 negative article. It is confirmation bias in action.

 

[truthseeker]

As a rehab manager, I just don't see salaries going down. If anything they are going up. Maybe its because I live/work in the rural Midwest.

 

[DPT5466]

My friend’s mom is a PT and owns and manages 3 clinics in northern california. She tells us every week that she’s counting the days until we graduate so she can hire us and won’t worry with at least 2 of her therapists leaving after 2 years because some other clinic or hospital will be paying more and better benefits.

She said that it’s veryyyyyyyy difficult to find therapists and therapists who will stay for more then 1-2 years because there will always be someone else that will pay them more or give better benefits even tho she usually starts new grads at $50 an hour!!
it does depend where you are as well

AND if you are working for a clinic where u are seeing multiple patients every 30 min etc. or other issues like that u can always quit and work somewhere else where it’s not like that. Not all clinics are like that. Some PTs actually enjoy that fast type of environment

 

[Smash Atoms]

Enormous student loan debt is endemic in the US right now and not at all exclusive to PT. Almost any health care profession or graduate degree will carry a substantial burden. Physicians, nurses, PAs, business managers, investors, accountants, ALL experience burnout. That is exactly why a lot of people end up leaving a career to do something else.
How do you effect change? By soap boxing online about your subjective experience with the field? Fear mongering on speculation about what could be in the future of a field you are not even working in? Or would it maybe be more productive to campaign for various things like student loan forgiveness, better wages for therapists, etc....?
I get it. Its the internet. People will do what they will, but if you really have any sort of legitimate concerns about the field your daughter went into there could certainly be some more productive uses of time as opposed to ranting on SDN to try and dissuade prospective students.

 

[MilknCheerios]

Pharmacy has been feeling the burn of a glut of new grads and not enough or decreasing number of jobs. Insurance reimbursements have been falling and tuition has only gone up. It doesn't seem that PT is anywhere near that level yet, but it is worth monitoring, hunkering down, and/or taking action before things get worse.

 

[PT Dad]

Enormous student loan debt is endemic in the US right now and not at all exclusive to PT. Almost any health care profession or graduate degree will carry a substantial burden. Physicians, nurses, PAs, business managers, investors, accountants, ALL experience burnout. That is exactly why a lot of people end up leaving a career to do something else.
How do you effect change? By soap boxing online about your subjective experience with the field? Fear mongering on speculation about what could be in the future of a field you are not even working in? Or would it maybe be more productive to campaign for various things like student loan forgiveness, better wages for therapists, etc....?
I get it. Its the internet. People will do what they will, but if you really have any sort of legitimate concerns about the field your daughter went into there could certainly be some more productive uses of time as opposed to ranting on SDN to try and dissuade prospective students.

My daughter won't post on these forums because she has witnessed retribution against PTs who have filed complaints against unethical behavior with CMS and state regulators. The state of the profession will only improve when therapists organize as a union to demand change and higher compensation. APTA does zero for PTs but they like to talk about it.

Study: Burnout Comes at a (Literal) Cost to Organizations

A study of physicians adds another dimension to concerns about burnout: it also comes with a hefty price tag.

www.apta.org