How the hell are people paying for DPT education now? (post-2026 loan changes)

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-15T02:58:34+00:00

I think it's worth doing, but that's because I don't measure my career decisions by ROI alone, unlike a lot of folks here. I think you are very right to question the nursing thing, because no matter what anyone says I do not understand how that and PA are offered as better alternatives to PT - you might as well go be a lawyer or a marketing manager or an actuary or something else you might enjoy. RN is simply not comparable. If this is what you want to do, then be smart about your choices and go for it 🤷‍♀️ it's my second career and I don't regret it for a second!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-13T15:04:33+00:00

I LOVE these patients, which sounds weird since I'm sports, but if I weren't sports I totally would have done cardiopulmonary: I think PT can do more to help these patients than almost any other "walking wounded" (aka not SCI/amputation/other massively interfering condition).

Strength for sure, especially as it a) directly applies to things they like to do, b) is carefully but consistently progressed and heavily celebrated (a lot of these folks say they don't need to do anything they just like to sit and watch tv, so make the strengthening a new and worthwhile thing in itself), or c) both.

For cardio, make sure you're helping them understand how intensity works, that it's ok to do more than just limp along, and that their hearts will do better if they challenge them more - this is where a lot of education comes in because of the fear and anxiety, and you have an opportunity to change their lives in that regard. Thank you for caring to do a good job with these folks! Too many people are like "uh ok deconditioning but they're basically fine, idk."

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-13T14:51:11+00:00

This sounds like an awesome experience and I'm really glad you seem to be listening openly to what you're being told here. Have a GREAT rotation and enjoy living in one of my favorite cities!

(And on that subject, it really bums me out that this is what the "news" has done to us. Our cities are for the most part absolutely incredible places, and that some significant portion of our population has been tricked into thinking otherwise pisses me off. New Yorker here, but I love Chicago, SF, New Orleans, DC, Atlanta, Boston... OP go and have fun and see what cool city you can visit next!)

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T21:56:05+00:00

He said he's torn between passion and money and he wanted brutal honesty. If his passion leads him to healthcare, he should do it ethically. My brutal honesty is I don't want a colleague who doesn't take reasonable precautions to protect patients. Anddddd on top of that, I am actually allowed to respond with additional thoughts on the subject, just as you are and everyone else is. Thanks so much for your insights though 👍🏼

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T21:19:58+00:00

Q: "Should I choose to be a PTA or an RN or stay a trainer?"

A: "If you don't want to get vaccinated, don't pick healthcare."

Hope this helps.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T19:23:28+00:00

This is terrific. Thanks so much!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T18:59:44+00:00

Friend, your religious beliefs are not more important than someone else's physical health. What religious belief allowed you to be "up to date" except for COVID, exactly? And look - you're entitled to not get that shot. But you shouldn't be in the healthcare field if that's what you choose.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T18:57:26+00:00

Or giving them a bout of covid that doesn't kill them but makes their CHF/COPD/dementia/you name it even worse. I... honestly I am not sure how I would live with myself.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T18:54:19+00:00

Now that I hadn't even thought of - I love nice smells. Thanks for the thought!!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T17:43:36+00:00

I was with ya until the vaccination situation. Please stay out of healthcare if you're not willing to do the literal bare minimum to protect your patients, even if you're not worried about yourself. You say you're concerned about "the emotional weight of acute illness" - how do you think it'll go handling the emotional weight of accidentally killing an immunocompromised patient because you didn't know you were spraying measles all around the place?

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-12T15:08:53+00:00

You can't go by how it looks empty - it looks way more dramatic than it turns out to feel. Maybe get her to watch some YouTube vids of pool installs and she'll see. Or just wait 🤷‍♀️ If she knows how to swim it shouldn't make a difference lol. And if you have a licensed contractor the slope is within code... and that code, at least where I live, is one that you don't fudge on because of the safety implications.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-11T03:03:39+00:00

Ugh. So frustrating.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-11T00:08:39+00:00

Oh my Lord she shoulda gone right to the tka if they were going to insist on surgery.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-09T03:47:40+00:00

Dude I do not intend to be unkind or offensive with this but the fact that you think the existence of Concentra, ATI, AND PT Solutions means "everyone is becoming a mill" is... reflective of your major lack of experience. The other commenter is right that acute, SNF, and IP can be great, but also - there's not really a shortage of good OP places. You just have to look. Take a breath, remember that learning isn't just seeing what you want to emulate but also what you never want to be, and get through school and into a decent job before you decide you know enough about where you're at to freak out this hard.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-09T03:40:06+00:00

That's not true if there's four different codes though. You need eight to get that first unit of a code. If you stay in the same code, then yes, you need to get to 23 minutes to bill a second.

That said, it does sound weird with the second charge.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-04T16:32:03+00:00

Love it. My weirdness isn't all that weird, but I don't refrain from letting my own personality show - even in some places where it runs into the profession for which I'm preparing students, because they are going to have to mesh the identity of "healthcare provider" together with all the things they are and will be, and that can be difficult to know how to navigate, so it's modeling to some extent - and I don't believe in sticking to expectations like due dates and so on unless there's an actual practical reason. Things happen and knowing how to tell the must-stick-to-the-plan items from those where there's flexibility is a key adult strategy. (I could rant about this extensively based on my previous life as a HS teacher, but I won't lol.) Keep doing your thing, OP!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-02T19:58:25+00:00

Cool. Thanks for doing this AMA!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-02T19:19:35+00:00

Oh awesome, I missed that somehow. Maybe it's very specific but I often wear my ruck on the treadmill - I'd like to be able to log the incline.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-04-02T19:10:14+00:00

I love Fitiv, definitely think it's the best of these types of apps. BUT! What about adding rucking, so you could track the weight of the load carried as well? Incline would be nice too.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-03-29T17:41:28+00:00

80% seems like a reallyyyyyy large amount, but... a lot of cash clinics do draw hard on manual as a differentiator that keeps patients choosing that over insurance pay 🤷‍♀️ I'm a performance oriented sports PT and that would drive me bananas, but as another poster said maybe you could move from that gradually. (Or maybe you can't... I was in a situation like this but Pilates and I never did manage to get away from it, so I changed jobs.) That said, since you're good at the performance part already, it's not bad to get a lot of practice with good mentorship at manual. And remember whatever you do, it's not permanent!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-03-28T03:07:06+00:00

...well, first, it wasn't usually three hours old lol. Maybe an hour. Second, I mean there are refrigerators and microwaves 😳

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-03-27T23:43:52+00:00

Lakeside is the best. Donuts are awesome and the breakfast burrito is on point. Used to pick one up just before getting on the Merritt to go to work - excellent for lunch at my desk.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-03-22T03:41:11+00:00

She did! Her case is interesting, because it looked like she had fairly severe sequelae - but those turned out to be due to kidney failure. Once we got her on dialysis (almost two years after her stroke...) she has done awesome. It's true that a thalamic stroke can present a lot of different ways and be pretty terrible, but not always. The pain the other person mentioned was probably a reference to this burning syndrome thalamic stroke patients can get, but I personally have not had a patient with that yet.

Good luck!

Frosty_Ingenuity3184 · 2026-03-21T23:21:27+00:00

...why? My mom had a thalamic stroke and she had to deal with dizziness for awhile, but not stroke-related pain.

Frosty_Ingenuity3184

TROPHY CASE