Damn, I should just work at a gas station! The APTA needs to get their heads out of their asses! Reimbursement is a joke.

So I’ve been a therapist for ~2 years now, and I feel like it’s too early in my career to say this but I’m getting so frustrated and burnt out. When I first started at my current SNF I was treating 8-11 people a day for 30-45 minute sessions and it was not bad at all. My coworkers are great and our DOR was good as well.
But now there have been so many changes and while the rehab staff is still great, my caseload is now 12+ daily with at least 1 of the 12+ (maybe more) being an eval. Treats are 20-30 minutes now and the caseload we get just seems to be so sick and overall not the most appropriate. Plus a rehab meeting every week on top of the treats.
This has been such a difficult change for me and I now feel like it’s more impossible than before to meet productivity. Groups and concurrent are pushed really hard but it’s impossible because people are always in bed or don’t want to leave the room or just aren’t ever ready.
I find myself being way more stressed and absolutely dreading work. After work, I feel like I’m unable to do anything other than just crash on the couch because I’m exhausted. Maybe I’m being dramatic but it just feels like such a crazy amount to treat
Sorry for the rant I just feel exhausted and am curious how everyone else’s caseload looks as well

Would you try it. No expiration date. Just 23 days after thawing unsure of when it was thawed.

Title says it all. I’ve been a PTA for 2 years in an outpatient clinic and I’m regretting this career choice deeply. It sucks because I genuinely like a lot of my patients and despite the burnout Im proud of the actual clinical work we do.

What’s the problem?

-minimum career advancement: despite companies swearing there’s opportunity for growth. It doesn’t matter how many certs or courses you take. generally speaking you’re only going to earn more by taking another job.

-literal poverty raises: for a whole year an extra 30 cents, I’m literally more broke than I was last year in terms of purchasing power

-productivity metrics: If i knew Id have to care abbot spreadsheets so much I would have gone into accounting.

-insurance fraud: companies all but flat out tell you to bill as much as possible, with ethics being a mere suggestion. Ive seen my clinic manager bill 2 units (25 minutes) for: sidesteps, 6 minutes treadmill walk, step ups. Are you kidding me???

-No standard of care: school wastes precious weeks on modalities which are near-useless in terms of patient outcomes. Meanwhile from clinicians it’s essentially a dice roll for patients in terms of what outdated bs fear-mongering bs they’ll hear (never let your knees go past your toes, never bend your spine under load, running destroys your joints, leg extensions aren’t functional).

Interesting article I was reading today and made me wonder how do physios in the field incorporate PNE? I'm a current student and just trying to gain perspectives and appreciate and thoughts on the subject!

site: physeldaily.com

paper doi: 10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.11.016

My coworker wants a secure lock to lock the dumbbells in place. This is the rack that we use for the Physical Therapy gym clinic for the dumbbells. He suggested a chain/bike lock, but I don't know how that will secure the dumbbells in place. He suggested to loop around each of the dumbbells, but I still can't paint a picture how that is going to stop "outsiders" from using the dumbbells when all they have to do is unloop it. When I said "outsiders," we been having things from our PT gym go missing, and I have to constantly replace a lot of stuff. It is easier said than done if I can just drill a hole and attach a steel bar, but because it is company's property, the alternative is to find a secure lock. Any suggestions, because I can not seem to think 3-4 bike lock can do the job, even if we secure it, there are like a few methods I can picture of how to remove the dumbbells already.

Or are you allowed to deviate slightly? By 15 minutes, or maybe even 30+ minutes?

I’m new to acute, salaried, five 8 hour shifts. Curious if your hospitals therapy department lets you arrive within a window of time as long as you get your 8 hours in, or if you are expected to be sat down starting chart review at the same specific shift start time, on the dot every day.

Hi everyone,

I’m a licensed Physical Therapist from the Philippines. I graduated from a 4-year BSPT program in 2024 and currently have around 2 years of clinical experience working in both hospital and home health settings.

I’ve been seriously planning to move to the United States, specifically Nevada, but honestly, I’m finding it incredibly difficult to figure out the correct process.

Every website seems to give different information. There are also agencies that advertise complete packages, but it’s hard to tell what’s actually required versus what they’re simply offering as a service.

One thing I know is that I don’t want to go through agencies if I can avoid it. I’d rather handle the process myself if it’s feasible, even if it takes more effort.

For those of you who have successfully moved to Nevada as foreign-trained PTs, especially if you also graduated from a 4-year BSPT program in the Philippines, could you explain the actual sequence of steps?

For example:
1. What should I do first?
2. When do I apply for FCCPT (or another credential evaluation)?
3. When do I apply to the Nevada PT Board?
4. At what point do I take the NPTE and the jurisprudence exam?
5. When do I start looking for employers?
6. When does the visa sponsorship process actually begin?
7. Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

I’m hoping to hear from people who have gone through the process recently, especially those who did it without using a recruitment agency.l

Thanks in advance! It feels like there’s a lot of scattered information online, and I’m hoping to get a clearer roadmap from people who’ve actually done it.

I worked at Spear Physical Therapy in New York City and the most bossy terrible clinical manager. She was aware she will be leaving this clinic in the next 3 months and would be starting the new branch in Long Island in January 2026 yet decided to make my life hell during the onboarding phase. Everyone at the clinic hated her. There was a whole shift in the atmosphere (i mean like the vibe) the moment she left at 4PM everyday. The Assistant Director and my mentor individually also hinted and told me she leaves soon and things at the OP clinic will be better. I tried my best to put up with her but I just could not. I honestly slept no longer than 3 hrs every night. Nightmares of her in every night. I would take up shivering. I cried on my way to the work and back. My 1 hr long commutes in the subway where just crying. I lost my appetite, (I really enjoy food, I love eating). Eventually as weeks passed, I had zero energy over the weekend to even cook or do laundry or basically get out of bed. When I think of those days, I still shiver, the thought of that clinical director still makes me uncomfortable. No wonder in the last 6 months of that director working in the clinic 10 employees left the firm. I am trying my best to give USA another shot and work in another state. Looking at Boston/North Andover, Massachusetts or something in New Hampshire but closer to the MA border or Columbus,Ohio.

People working in these neighbourhoods please share your experiences, any kind of realistic motivation would be great and appreciated.

Edit: Open to suggestions of changing office style. Thoughts on Home Care, SNF, OP, Hospital Based with location area would be quite helpful. Feel free to DM if you don’t feel comfortable to share on this post.

I've worked as a PTA in the same SNF for 3 years. Productivity expectations were 92%, which was difficult but somewhat doable. This year the SNF contracted with a new company, and they recently upped productivity standards. Technically it's still 92% on days where we don't do group and concurrent, but on days that we do group and concurrent the productivity expectation is now 96-98%. And now the manager has to schedule us with group and concurrent nearly every day, so the daily standard more or less is 96-98%. My boss tried to make it seem less bad by telling me that it's doable and a lot of SNF therapy companies are already adhering to this standard, but I haven't heard of any. SNF PTAs, what are your productivity standards? Is my boss BSing me so I shut up and stay at the job? I am actively applying to other jobs anyway, but I'd like to know.

Is there a name for this type of gait: slight trunk flexion, knees flexed, toe walking??

I have a patient with an unknown neurological issue going on and I would like a better way to document it to her referring provider

I'm probably about 90% sure I'm going into travel PT as a new grad; my loans are not bad but being able to pay them off relatively fast and invest is a big priority for me at this point

How was the travel experience as new grad? Were there any resources you used that helped the process? What would you prioritize in terms of pay, location setting etc?

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I am a physical therapist assistant at a mid size community hospital, we have 12 bed PCU and 25 bed ICU. No mental health resources in our hospital other than consulting palliative care, a lot of time “mental health struggles” are not being addressed. Most of the time my OT counterpart and I try to work with nursing to improve QOL, get patients in the sun if able, but there’s not much we can do as far as resources. If anyone has any tips on anything to bring up to management or things they have implemented at their hospital please let me know as I am trying to get the ball rolling as best I can!

So I’m going to PT for posture issues, he assessed me today and said I have tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors, tight mid/upper back and forward head. Tomorrow I have my first session working on correcting all of these issues but I’m unsure what to wear. I was going to go with sleeveless shirt, sweatpants and hi top Converse as that’s what I wear to the gym but now I’m wondering if I should wear things that showcase my problem areas more like tank top, shorts and low top athletic shoes. He said to dress athleisure. If anyone could help me out I’d greatly appreciate it, thank you

To all the HH PTs - besides the necessities. What are some of your EDCs that either make the patient or your life easier

Absolutely love my outpatient job, but in this economy? I am getting paid horribly and I know it. I’ve been at my clinic treating 140-150 visits a week with my PT for over 6 years. I’ve learned so much and truly feel like I’ve become an amazing clinician.

I’m paid 28 an hour in PA. Yes after 6 years at a company. I’m looking into home health in MD and the pay is pretty darn appealing. Now I’m trying to decide if I would be happy doing this.

Give me your feedback!

Hi everyone! I’m a physical therapist currently looking into options for pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

I’m trying to find employers in Southern California (especially Inland Empire, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ontario, Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, etc.) that qualify as PSLF-eligible employers for PTs.

I know hospitals, government agencies, and certain nonprofit organizations may qualify, but I’m hoping to hear from people who have firsthand experience.

For those working as PTs in the area: What employer do you work for that qualifies for PSLF?

I'm seeing a lot of job listings in Spokane WA listing 28-45ish as their pay range, then I'm being offered 29-30 hourly, even for HH. What's going on?

For context I've been working hybrid outpatient and HH for 1.5 years with a 66k salary right out of school. I'm wanting 33-36 hourly. Are my expectations wack? Am I being lowballed? If anyone in the area can weigh in, it would be appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I'm a backend software developer looking to build software that solves a real problem for people in this community.

Instead of guessing what people need, I'd rather hear directly from the people who deal with these challenges every day.

What's one repetitive, frustrating, or time-consuming part of your work that you think could realistically be improved with software?

If you're willing, it would really help if you could include:

• What is the task?
• How often do you do it?
• How do you currently handle it? (Paper, Excel, WhatsApp, another app, etc.)
• What's the most frustrating part?
• Have you tried any existing software? If so, what was missing?
• If a tool solved this well, would you actually use it? If not, why?

If I notice the same problem being mentioned by a lot of people, I'll build an MVP around it and share an early version with this community first so you can try it and give feedback before it's released more broadly.

Thanks in advance! My goal is to learn from the people who actually do the work and build something genuinely useful—not just another app looking for users.

Has anyone here made the jump from clinical practice into Customer Success, account management, or another commercial role?

I’m a PT considering a move into a non-clinical role and came across the position below. I don’t have a Customer Success background, but a fully remote role with a salary up to $177k definitely caught my attention.

I’d love to hear:
What are the biggest pros and cons?
What surprised you after making the transition?
What skills from being a PT translated well (or didn’t)?
Are opportunities like this fairly common, or are they pretty rare?

Curious to hear any advice from people who’ve made the leap.

https://tonal.com/pages/careers?srsltid=AfmBOooSS340jl7x4sAHYpF7WStiOjCH_3qkw2CqQdpH8iejC5QtpSg2&ashby_jid=4ef5a75b-7747-4e92-8b94-c8a73352b138

This is for if/when I plan to open my own practice: One of my doctors uses the Athena EMR and I just noticed that a payment option is to set up a payment plan to pay my bill which I thought is really cool as a built-in EMR feature. Are there any EMRs for PTs that have the same functionality?

What are PT schools using these days?

Thanks in advance!

Has anyone done any good wound care CEUs? I am interested in starting to learn basics but not sure where to even start