Hi Everyone,
This is my first time posting on SDN so please forgive me for all these simple-minded questions. I am also EXTREMELY new to the PT field so bear with me.
1) If you are a student, practicing PT, or have any experience in the following fields, can you briefly describe the duties/typical day of someone who has a speciality certification in: NCS, WCS, CCS, ECS. How many patients do you see roughly per day? What kind of setting are you in?
2) With the exception of private clinics, which setting has the fastest pace (# of patients) - inpatient or outpatient? Which speciality would offer the fastest pace?
3) Is there any way you can rotate in different settings? For example, could you work in both ortho AND neuro settings? Could you work both acute care and also outpatient?
4) Would getting a CSCS cert from NSCA help you as a PT?
5) How doable is it to have a second job? I really want to be an EMT on the side if it's even possible.
1. As you probably know,these are specializations. Since no one else has, I'll answer as best as I know.
NCS: Neuro Clinical Specialist: most likely works in acute care (when patient is NEW to the hospital--sees new strokes, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries). Might also work in inpatient rehab--this is where the pt goes AFTER the intial acute stay. They go to inpatient rehab for several weeks to several months to learn how to live their new life--wheelchair, transfers, etc. Neuro acute care will probably see 7-10 pts per day, while neuro inpatient rehab will see far fewer, but for a larger amount of time each. (sometimes two 45 min sessions per day with each patient)
WCS: PT will be doing wound care, debriding wounds (removing non-viable tissue to allow the wound to heal), applying dressings, etc. From my experience, usually sees 1 pt per hour.
ECS: Very rare in the PT realm, as most Nerve Conduction Studies/Electromyography studies are done by neuro MDs. However, still an option for PT if you can find an opportunity. Very, very lucrative (we're talking 200k-500k) because doing these studies has a very high rate of reimbursement. Most people don't know about this one. There is a school in Utah called Rocky Mtn University of Health Professions where the President of the University is a ECS PT, the program has an available program to train PTs in electromyography.
-Basically, you don't need the specialization to work in that setting of PT (with i think the exception of ECS, might need the cert to practice), it just means you are a specialist. Some companies might pay you more if you have the specialization.
2. Without a doubt, private practice outpatient ortho would be the fastest pace... possibly seeing 20-25+ patients in a day. Below that probably non-profit or hospital system outpatient ortho (probably 10-14 pts a day). Acute care hospital you could expect to see 7-10, inpatient rehab probably 4-5ish (but seeing them for long amounts of time). SNF 6-10 depending on how long pt's need to be seen for. (some pts need to be seen for 30 min, some for up to 72 min)
3. Probably the easiest way to do this would be to work PRN (contract work as needed) for several different hospitals/clinics. I know a few PTs that work only PRN, and they just go to different clinics whenever they need someone to fill in. You could also do short term traveling contract work, taking assignments (~13 weeks at a time) at different types of clinics. If you want to work in different settings at the same time, there is absolutely all sorts of different opportunities available to accomplish this, depending on where you're at. Especially in rural settings, I have seen all sorts of offers for working 1/2 acute and 1/2 outpatient.
4. It would probably help you to be a better clinician, and might make you more attractive to ortho PT jobs. But keep in mind that a PT is a PT in insurance's eyes. No PT's services are reimbursed more than anothers. If a new grad bills 2 units if manual therapy, those 2 units get reimbursed the same money as compared to if a PhD, Ortho clinical specialst PT billed them.
5. It all depends on your goals. Many PT jobs are hourly, so you won't be working more than 40 hours a week. Many places are flexible and allow you to work four 10 hour shifts instead of five 8 hour shifts, so you could work as a EMT on 1 day per week or something like that if you want. Or, as I stated above, plenty of PRN jobs where you work as much as you want. Also lots of part time jobs available.
Hope that helps!
