Volunteer Hours?

[beachgirl865]

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I recently switched from pre-med to pre-rehab sci, and I have a ton of hours of observation at a cardio clinic, but I need some for PT.

I observed in a PT clinic yesterday, but I was wondering how you go about getting volunteer hours at in all different PT settings.

I also saw that quite a few people mentioned being a PT aide. What exactly do you do as an aide, and do you need to be certified?

 

[kdpt3]

Hi - I'm currently an applicant for DPT programs for Fall '09. I've been working as an aide for about a year and a half. You do not need certification, but the extent of what you can do varies from state to state. I knew I wanted to go into PT and I searched for physical therapy on craigslist and happened upon the job. It's a great way to get experience, observation hours, and networking all at once. What exactly an aide does varies from setting to setting. Some directors and supervisors have aides work primarily with patients. I do way more insurance paperwork than I would like and spend less time in the gym working with patients, but it's actualyl been very valuable for me to learn that side of the field, too. It's not something I would have learned just volunteering in different settings.

As far as volunteering in various settings, I've discovered that patience and persistence is necessary. I looked up various physical therapy places and local hospitals on the internet and just started contacting people, either by phone or by email. I had more luck with email because calls tend to be forgotten and numbers misplaced, but it was a bit of a crap shoot overall. Email also allowed me to explain exactly what I was looking for and gave the PTs a chance to respond on their own time. The best advice I would have as far as hours is diversity of setting. It's probably not in your best interest to visit 3 or 4 different orthopedic settings, for example.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Bigshoguns]

Volunteer at a teaching hospital's PT department. There you can ask the people in charge that you want to observe/volunteer at different places and they will most likely allow you.

This is what i did, and I got to do In-patient, Out-patient, Pediatric, Vestibular, etc.

I recently switched from pre-med to pre-rehab sci, and I have a ton of hours of observation at a cardio clinic, but I need some for PT.

I observed in a PT clinic yesterday, but I was wondering how you go about getting volunteer hours at in all different PT settings.

I also saw that quite a few people mentioned being a PT aide. What exactly do you do as an aide, and do you need to be certified?

 

[callmecrazy]

I think this is along the same lines as the previous post, but I've found that the easiest way to see various settings is to go through a hospital (the only one I've worked with is a teaching hospital). Most have their own volunteer department and coordinator that will help place you in various settings. As an extra perk, they usually also have a system for tracking hours, which is nice if you need hours verified.

 

[PREMEDWOAHS]

It is extremely important to diversify your time while volunteering in PT. For the purpose of applications, I would not stay at a single speciality for more than 50 hours. That is usually the minimum required. Generally, hours are divided between Outpatient and Inpatient. As you may have already researched, there are different specialities - Pediatric, Geriatrics, Orthopedic..Review the STICKY with residencies for different specialties. You can contact a hospitals volunteer department to be put in the right direction. Often times they require a physical and some standard TB testing before you can begin, as well as reference checks. Stay on top of your time span!


Here is the link to the specialties STICKY
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=496369

Contact the volunteer department. Let them know you are an aspiring PT student and would like to focus on the area of your desire. Depending on your hours and requirements they will do their best to accomodate your requests. Afterall, you end up working for free!

Also, dont forget to personally keep track of your hours in volunteer PT settings. I had volunteered a total of 110 hours at single place and they could only find documents proving about 80 of them. Luckily becuase of my history with the hospital, they honored my personal schedule documenting 110 hours. When you apply to PT school they request a document proving your hours. Just becuase you have 110 written down does mean they do!! Things get lost!! SO ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK. It pays off in the end.

Good luck to you.

 

[PharmDan2]

Hey! I did about 25 hours of observation from 3 different settings; which came out to 75 hours. 25 from a pediatrics place, 25 hours at a privately owned orthopedic center, and 25 hours from a sports center with aquatics.