I met Joel more than 25 years ago when I was still a student and were attending rival PT schools. Joel and I shared the same dream — to become the best physical therapists we could and to positively impact people’s lives through our work. Although we lost contact as the [...]
The aerator for my aquarium went out again! This is the fourth time I’ve had to replace it in the last 10 months. Replacing an aeration system is an excruciating process for me, because there are so many options to choose from. But it adds oxygen and circulates the aquarium’s water [...]
As a few friends and I met for coffee one weekend, our conversation gravitated toward the value and contribution of the professional discipline that each of us represented: physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, nursing, respiratory therapy and radiology. During our spirited discussion, we realized the invisible thread that connects [...]
It never ceases to amazed me when someone asks what I, a physical therapist educator, am doing in the area of institutional research and strategic planning in academia. Years ago, when I transitioned to academia, my colleagues questioned why I would leave clinical practice to be an academic when the [...]
Earlier this spring, I visited an athletic training facility of a university in Florida. The facility is staffed with several athletic trainers, and it was abuzz with athletes as I was being given a tour. Out of curiosity, I asked Kaley, one of the trainers, what attracted her to pursue [...]
While attending a local Rotary Club luncheon recently, I sat next to Bob and Jean, a married couple in their mid-70s who recently moved to the area. Upon learning that I am a physical therapist, Bob told me he had recently been receiving physical therapy treatments. Last November, he fell [...]
Every year during the holidays, my blogs and editorials for TodayinPT.com have focused on asking the question, “What have you done lately?” and then sharing with readers the volunteer work and community-based activities that I have selected to engage in during the holiday season. This personal tradition has given me [...]
Although we have not entered a licensure renewal cycle for PTs and PTAs here in Florida, I have begun to actively plan where and how I will acquire 24 continuing education hours necessary for licensure renewal in 2017. A national APTA conference is always at the top of my list. There [...]
I am often consulted by physical therapists and PT assistants regarding patient treatments, difficult patient situations and ethical dilemmas in practice, to name a few scenarios. At times, I find myself arbitrating a disagreement between therapists who cannot agree on treatment philosophies. A nursing home administrator once told me, “Sometimes [...]
Since I transitioned to academia several years ago, I am often asked if I still work as a PT. Clearly, those who are asking want to know if I remain involved in clinical practice. I have always responded by describing how I juggle my teaching schedule with working in an [...]
