Maddie Landstrom is the outreach marketing manager at Fusion Medical Staffing helping new grads and first time travelers start their adventures in therapy jobs around the country. Don Briganti is the therapy manager at Fusion Medical Staffing and works with all travel therapists with their contracts. Rachel White is a 2019 DPT graduate from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is a current #travelPT with Fusion Medical Staffing.  Maddie and Don dive into what travel therapy is and the current job market throughout the country. With COVID-19, the team has been creative to ensure interested therapists land a worthwhile travel contract. When traveling, therapists should consider these factors when considering travel PT such as licensing, housing, stipends, and pay packages.  Top reasons to a new grad should try travel PT: The experience Networking opportunitiesVariety of PT settings Mentorship programNo long term commitment Building growth and confidence  Reach out to the team at Fusion Medical Staffing to begin your journey in #TravelPT!  PARTING SHOT 43:45 “Reach out. No pressure conversation.” - Maddie Landstrom  44:05 “The job market is there now.” - Don Briganti  44:30 “Realize to be comfortable in the uncomfortable.” - Rachel White

PT Pintcast - Physical Therapy

No More Secrets! Real Answers About Travel Physical Therapy

Uchenna Ossai is a pelvic physical therapist, professor at University of Texas Austin Dell Medical School and founder of a sex education platform called You See Logic (Youseelogic, LLC)  Uchenna uses her social media platforms @youseelogic to provide pelvic/sexual health education and answer questions for people in a comfortable space.  She recommends for therapists to form a sex team to treat and educate needed for patients in their sexual health. She highlights people who have a sexual dysfunction will view their own health lower than a person without a sexual dysfunction.  Uchenna describes intersectionality as power structures that intersect to impact people’s health in various ways. Teaching intersectionality starts with foundational knowledge as topics related to a person’s health impacts their behavior and response to health. In the clinic, ask your patients  the real life events that can affect them directly (racism, sexism, other factors related to social determinants of equity).  She questions how to create workplaces that are equitable and also inclusive. If work places already begin with exclusion, the problem is coming from the root of the company. She recommends for individuals in a company to understand their own power to create change in a company’s values.  To learn more about this topic, Uchenna recommends listening to Allegories on Race & Racism TED Talk.  Uchenna course Intersections of Racism and Power: Healthcare Redefined on sale now! PARTING SHOT 59:05 “Learning about racism and sexy time is a process. You’ll always learn something new.” - Uchenna Ossai 

How to Be Woke from Sex to Racism

What Every Physical Therapist Should Know About Vestibular Rehab Danielle Tate and Abbie Ross are both vestibular physical therapists at Balancing Act Rehab providing vestibular telehealth treatment and hosts of the podcast “Talk Dizzy To Me”, the basics you need to know but also the complexities of vestibular rehab. Danielle created Vestibular Today to provide evidenced-based vestibular resources for patients and professionals. Abbie started a vestibular therapy company via telehealth to treat patients all over the country , increasing access to care, and providing treatment she believes patients deserve. Danielle and Abbie talk through the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction and conditions commonly seen in the clinic or telehealth (BPPV, vestibular migraine, post-concussion, balance dysfunction).  They discuss research related to treatment for this population that extends beyond treating using the Epley maneuver. The guests emphasize that our inner ear is made up of 3 canals and each should be checked with testing.  If interested in how you can add vestibular therapy into your practice, check our Vestibular Today which provides research, resources, and education for the treating therapist.  Listen to Abbie and Danielle on Talk Dizzy to Me Podcast.  PARTING SHOT 59:13 “Get into vestibular therapy. Just get into it. Get comfortable with it.” - Danielle Tate 59:40 “Persevere because you will not know everything in the vestibular world.” - Abbie Ross

What Every Physical Therapist Should Know About Vestibular Rehab

? 2021 Foundation Donor Reception We're really excited to host our annual donor reception virtually this year with such a great group of PT researchers. Tamara Keeny, PT, PhD, DPT, CCS Rich Severin, PT, DPT, PhD (c), CCS Jason Falvey, DPT, PhD Douglas Haladay, PT, DPT, PhD, CSCS RSVP today (it's free!) and join us on Feb. 10 at 6pm EST!SHOW LESS

Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Donor Reception

Leslie Bonci is a registered dietitian and sports nutrition consultant to the Kansas City Chiefs, lecturer for the DPT program at the University of Pittsburgh, founder of her blog Active Eating Advice, and co-founder of a sport nutrition consulting group called Performance 365. Leslie begins with emphasising nutrition does have a role in PT’s scope of practice as we help prepare our patients for recovery. PT’s can improve PT outcomes by integrating nutrition therapy.  Integrating rehabilitation nutrition, Leslie recommends to ask these questions to your patients to learn about their diet habits: When? What? How much?  As society has found ways to learn from diet trends, nutrition myths were established which may not meet end health and nutritions goals. Leslie identifies what foods do not cause extra inflammation, what foods do help, and why food should be part of the healing plate to recover from injury.  In the future, physical therapists and registered dietitians should increase collaboration to optimize nutrition therapy for patients. Check out Leslie teaching on Medbridge with new released nutrition courses!  PARTING SHOT46:05 “Food is what unites us. It should not divide us.” - Leslie Bonci 

How To Integrate Nutrition Into Your PT Practice

Danielle Pittaluga is a physical therapist and contractor for a Special Warfare unit and embedded in the Tactical Air Control Party Unit of the United States Air Force at Fort Bragg/Pope Army Airfield. She is also a nutrition Coach and recently started her own blog called Fit 4 the Fight educating on topics such as performance, recovery, nutrition, and rehab.  Danielle discusses the different types of military jobs and settings for physical therapists and the perks that come with this position that are not typically seen in the civilian world - lack of working with insurance, increased autonomy, treated as specialist, order imaging, and order certain types of medication.  As a nutrition coach, Danielle has become an educator on performance, nutrition, and rehab for any individual to conquer their own fight. She remains active on her website by writing blogs and having a presence on social media platforms to spread her insight on human performance and optimization.  PARTING SHOT 26:58 “Don’t give up if you know what you want if you have a dream or a goal.” - Danielle Pittaluga

Inside Physical Therapy Embedded In The US Air Force

Brett Neilson is a physical therapist and full time educator with Evidence in Motion and is completing his Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy (DScPT) at Bellin College with a research focus on sleep health and pain. Katie Siengsukon is an associate professor in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science Department and Director of the Sleep, Health and Wellness Lab at the University of Kansas Medical Center.  They discuss strategies and sleep hygiene interventions to incorporate sleep health into practice and why this is essential for physical therapists to discuss sleep health with their clients.  The experts have pro and con viewpoints on using wearable technology for sleep. Pros include discussing sleep, behavior change, and use as a tool to improve sleep. Cons include accurate results/data, may increase anxiety from results, and patients interested in the data collected.  In physical therapy research, there is a limited amount published on patient’s beliefs related to sleep if seeking therapy services for a musculoskeletal condition.  According to the APTA, the House of Delegates’ position on sleep health states “supports collaboration to promote education, research, and practice between physical therapists and sleep medicine professionals to enhance the health and well-being of society.” This motion was proposed by the Washington and Kansas delegates.  Check out Katie’s article in PTJ “Sleep Health Promotion: Practical Information for Physical Therapists.”  PARTING SHOT 54:32 Recognize the role of the physical therapist that we can play in improving sleep health for our patients in the community.” - Brett Neilson 55:02 “If you are not sure where to start or have those conversations, there are a lot of great resources. Start having the conversation. That is the very best and the very first step,” - Katie Siengsukon 

What Physical Therapists Have To Know About Sleep Health

Kylie Ahern is an award-winning science publisher and launched COSMOS Magazine, an Australian science magazine. She is also the CEO of STEM Matters, publisher and Editor in Chief of The Brilliant, and Board member of the Australian Center of Robotic Vision.  She launched The Brilliant to showcase our global leaders in STEM communication and engagement. These people however do not follow the traditional public relations handbook.  Universities perform science and research yet have a difficult time communicating this to the world. She emphasizes every university should have a publishing strategy to support the current science and research as 99% of STEM organizations continue to PR compared to building an audience.  Kylie recommends Lumen5 Video Maker which will turn your content into a visually engaging explainer and attract your target audience.  Pro tip to improve your science communication:  What is your business objective? Who is your audience? What do they need to know? PARTING SHOT 56:09 “Challenge in the next year for one of you to have really cracked this and be a destination point around physical therapy.” - Kylie Ahern

How To Be A Great Clinical Communicator

Joe Reinke is the CEO and founder of Fitbux which helps professionals, like physical therapists, strategize, conquer and ultimately save money on their student loan repayment.  Justin Berry is a physical therapist who recently wrote a research report in JOPTE called “a national survey of accrued student loan debt by doctor of physical therapy students.” Mike Makher is a physical therapist who has an interest in finance after receiving his BS in Economics and finding it essential to study the banking and financial industries.  Joe discusses President Biden’s executive order to extend the payment pause and 0% interest on federal student loans. This means that direct loan borrowers do not have to make a loan payment and interest will not be accrued until September 2021. Through Justin’s survey, he found shocking statistics to the student loan borrower: The average student loan debt at time of graduation was around $103,000 (public) and over $138,000 (private)75% of student loan participants would not meet a 10 year repayment guideline21% of participants would not meet 25 year fixed or graduated repayment guidelines  As a physical therapist with a background in finance, Mike got tactical into what students and therapists should know about their student loans, strategies to pay down their loans, and minimize their student loan debt.  PARTING SHOT 49:10 “Don’t refinance. Try to save your money. Be smart. Be careful.” - Mike Makher 

What You Need To Know About The Current Student Loan Situation

Shelby Miller is a second-year DPT student who posed the question on Twitter “How do you respond to a patient who tells you they are ready to die?” Megan Eldridge, Sharon Gorman, Talia Pollok, and Julie Skzrat, all physical therapists who work and/ or teach in the acute care setting, responded by providing assistance and insight to Shelby on this topic.  Shelby shared her experience responding to this patient’s question. Shelby as a second year PT student was finishing up her first full time clinical rotation in an acute care setting.  Megan had a similar situation as a physical therapist new to the acute care setting and wanted to give Shelby insight from her experience. Megan also suggests looking into your hospital's protocols for these situations and looking at it from a multidisciplinary standpoint. Sharon put her professor hat on as this is an area she teaches at Samuel Merritt University. She recommends screening and referring for depression using two questions. The PHQ and the geriatic depression scale are two great resources to learn more about how your patients are feeling.  Talia emphasizes for therapists to be prepared and aware these conversations will occur in any setting. She discussed the importance of maintaining resilience of therapists in these situations to prevent burn out. She believed physical therapists do play a role in end of life care.  With extensive work in cardiopulmonary physical therapy, Julie encourages all therapists to be aware this is a conversation we will have more frequently due to our current environment with a global pandemic. She recommends therapists increase their understanding of positive intensive care syndrome to understand a patient's experience post-COVID.  Other resources provided by the experts include  PARTING SHOT 50:30 sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up - Talia For you today is ordinary, for you pariet is extra, be patient - Julie Remember to always listen to your patients - Megan  Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes - Sharon  Just because we are physical therapists, we don’t just treat the physical , we also treat the mental…. Listen again?? - Shelby  

When A Patient Tells You They Are, “Ready to Die”

Katie Butzu is an occupational therapist and assistive technology mentor for the Bay Arenac ISD (intermediate school district), Michigan Chapter Leader in Makers Making Change and currently collaborating with Makey Makey to use their tool as assistive technology.  Makey makey is an easy to use invention kit that combines everyday objects with the internet. Katie’s youtube channel Creative Makers demonstrates how to use your everyday object with Makey Makey for rehab purposes.  Working in the pediatric setting, Katie found 3D printing as a tool to improve patient outcomes. In Makers Making Change, Katie is a creator of 3D printing to build assistive devices for individuals with disabilities.  PT Pintcast and The Onco PT are holding the first Virtual Oncology Physical Therapy Summit. Register here today.  PARTING SHOT 49:40 “When you think it is impossible, it’s possible.” - Katie Butzo 

How to Use Assistive Technology to Advance Your Clinical Practice Into Overdrive

Lisa VanHoose is a physical therapist, researcher, educator, and equity warrior in the front lines addressing health disparities. She is founder of the Ujima Institute which is an inclusive space to improve health and wellness and raise the voices of Black communities.  The Ujima Institute created three villages with support and a focus on female healthcare providers, individuals in underserved/non-served communities, and community based research.  The Ujima Institute Toolkit is available for resources and guidance on anti-racism discussion and personal growth.  100 multidisciplinary healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers collaborated to create the Black Rehabilitation Manifesto with a purpose to express the needs of the black rehabilitation community.  Lisa and Mica Mitchell, PT, lead together Mindful Mondays to provide mindfulness and discussion for rehabilitation students and clinicians. See future dates by following the Ujima Institute on Twitter. PARTING SHOT 1:01:30 “Health disparities matter especially for our front liners working in the middle of COVID. We have to commit to health disparities...Do what you can within your village.” - Lisa VanHoose   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUOTES 12:56 “I love listening to everyone’s commentary comparing the policing from January to the summer. That’s everyday in America.” - Lisa VanHoose  16:34 “When you look around in a room and you keep saying that someone should do something about that. Then that someone is probably you.” - Lisa VanHoose  18:09 My role as a human is to use that privilege to help elevate somebody else because you can’t be in all the lanes of traffic.” - Lisa VanHoose  18:20 “A leader does not create more followers. A leader creates more leaders.” - Jimmy  26:40 “COVID is just a manifestation of all these injustices that we’ve not addressed.” - Lisa VanHoose  33:42 “How do we insert ourselves into places that maybe we don’t belong because that is where you make change.” - Jimmy   AUDIOGRAM  6:59-7:54 I grabbed on to it because that was how I was raised… with the ujima institute we’re really focused on health and wellness in black communities  11:30-12:10 Our congressional leaders were othered…. January 6th was definitely a wake up call  30:56- 31:40 In my mind I see the ujima institute as a guide…. A big part of that conversation is provider bias 32:34-33:12 You can’t talk about transforming society if we don’t double down….who is the APTA of urban planners

It Takes A Village to Change the World For the Better, So This PT Built One.

To begin APTA’s Centennial Year, APTA will open a new headquarters, the APTA Centennial Center. Watch live on Facebook on January 15 for APTA’s Centennial Cutting Ribbon Ceremony. Tracie Harris is the marketing director at APTA who worked with Fitwel to create a healthier work environment. Joanna Frank is the President & CEO for the Center of Active Design who is the operator of the Fitwel building certification.  Fitwel was created by the CDC to provide building certifications to support healthier workplace environments to help improve occupant health and productivity. The Fitwel team assesses projects against seven health impact categories. This call to action to create a healthier work environment allows APTA to directly tie to their mission and vision - APTA mission “improving the health of society” and vision “to optimize movement.”  What are fun facts behind a healthy environment?  If you see the stair, you’re actually 50% more likely to take the stair just because you see it.6 flights of stairs a day is enough to offset the average annual weight gain of an American.  PARTING SHOT 39:44 “Stop by 3030 Potomac Avenue, the APTA Centennial Center.” - Tracie Harris 40:13 “Your physical environment has as much impact on your health as your genetic code” - Joanna Frank

The New APTA Centennial Center is Creating A Healthier Environment For The Community

Jaime Mor is a performance physical therapist and certified athletic trainer at EXOS with a passion for movement and body mind connection. He has been in the sports medicine field for 7 years. Jaime defines a performance physical therapist as treating and preparing the elite athlete to their peak optimal level. Each year, Jaime works with the athletes that participate in the NFL Combine – a weeklong competition of prospects to be drafted to the NFL. As a PT, he prepares the athletes 8 weeks ahead by either treating impairments or improving the performance of tasks required. He recommends a PT, PTA, or student interested in this field to have a performance clinical rotation and reach out to professionals to gain experience and learn about performance. QUOTES “Don’t be uncomfortable making random connections.” – JAIME “Find out the people you want to learn from and learn from them.” – JAIME PARTING SHOT “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Reach out to people and find your own mentors. Find people you wish to learn from. From a clinical side, don’t neglect the basics. ” – JAIME 

How Top NFL Prospects Prepare for the Combine

Social Justice Lessons from Roger Williams by Dr. Lisa VanHoose Keynote Presentation at the Northeast Regional Virtual Annual Conference  Michelle Collie is CEO of Performance Physical Therapy and APTA President of Rhode Island introduces keynote speaker Lisa VanHoose. During the conference, Michelle will be speaking on the “Telehealth Panel: The Role of Telehealth in the Future of Our Profession.” Lisa VanHoose is an Associate Professor and Program Director in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She speaks on “Social Injustice Lessons We Learn from Roger Williams.”  She focuses on the “Five Principles of Social Injustice” by Roger Williams AccessEquityDiversity ParticipationHuman Rights  Mic Drop “If you know better, do better.” – Lisa VanHoose

The Five Principles of Social Injustice You Need To Follow

The best conversations happen at happy hour, welcome to ours! Conversations about Physical Therapy over a beer.

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PT Pintcast - Physical Therapy

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