Receptionist job at pt office

[pnwclimb]

Hey Everyone!

I saw an ad for a receptionist job at a local Orthopedic center and was hoping for some input. Would being a receptionist in this setting count towards observation/volunteer hours for DPT programs?

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[ptlover]

This would not qualify for observation hours. You would have to physically observe a PT and learn from them. Unless they offer you time to observe while working if its slow, or let you come in during your off hours.

 

[pnwclimb]

This would not qualify for observation hours. You would have to physically observe a PT and learn from them. Unless they offer you time to observe while working if its slow, or let you come in during your off hours.

Thank you. That's what I was thinking. I currently volunteer at an outpatient clinic, so am getting some hours there, but am hoping to find a paying job that will give me more hours. is PT aide the only job that really would help gain hours?

 

[ptlover]

Essentially. But there is always volunteering!

 

[starrsgirl]

Even though all your work hours wouldn't count, depending on the clinic setup, this might be a great way to put yourself in position to get PT observation hours. Maybe is a very small clinic and you come back to help or observe a patient between manning the desk/phone. Or maybe you can stay after shift few hours to observe. Or maybe they give you a lunch break but you observe patients. Either way, you are going to gain valuable experience with insurance and billing and develop longer relationships with the PTs. (So even if your reported observation hours from a PT there might not be massive, the PT might still know you well enough to do a letter of recommendation). I truly believe you don't need a ton of hours on your application. Exceed the school's minimum, get quality hours....but overkill does not help in my opinion.

 

[DesertPT]

is PT aide the only job that really would help gain hours?

If you want to get paid to do observation hours, then yes.

Realize though that you do not have to be a PT tech to get into PT school. Only do it if you really want the job regardless. You can get the hours you need through volunteering, and variety of settings counts more than tons of hours. PT tech jobs give you no variety. But if you need the job anyway then by all means!

 

[PNWisthebest]

Make sure that the "receptionist" job is in fact a receptionist job and not a receptionist/aide job. A lot of clinics will use receptionists to also do some aide duties. If you never leave the front office, then you may not be able to count the hours as observation hours. However, if you are ever in the gym or setting patients up on modalities, that job can totally count toward your hours. I counted mine and it was a receptionist/aide job. I answered phones, did scheduling/insurance related tasks, and also set patients up on ice/heat/stim. I think that the reception part of that job really did help though because I learned more about what goes on behind the scenes in the PT clinic and not just in the treatment room. You need to have some understanding of the inner workings as well as a PT so I totally considered that to be "observation," and so did the schools I applied to from what I can tell.