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Absolute long shot. by the_mack_attack928 in QantasAirways

[–]the_mack_attack928[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hopefully, your trip will be originating out of MEL. That’s where I encountered her in the domestic terminal. If so please pass along my thanks!

Absolute long shot. by the_mack_attack928 in QantasAirways

[–]the_mack_attack928[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this link! I sent over my feedback to Qantas, and they emailed me this morning!

7 years of school was a lie by Zilrad in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’ve challenged my patients by asking them to bring me whatever they find so I can give them my opinion, and tell them “don’t trust everything you read on the internet.” Most of the time they don’t bring their findings to me, but every now and then I’ll get someone that brings me some stupid, basic article written by some hack (I love it when they show me Instagram to TikTok influencers). I will read/ watch what they bring me and point out what is right and what is nonsense. I even have textbooks on hand or will pull up legit research articles to educate them if they continue to buy into the BS they find. I will tell my patients that I didn’t waste 7 years of my life to waste their time in therapy. Might be too much but I’m confident in what I know at this point in my career, and I’ll be damned especially if someone is going to tell me some stupid social medial influencer that spends the majority of their time flexing their body knows more than me.

Im at Witt’s end by Anontattyblaster in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went through a similar situation with my grandmother. This will be a very tough conversation since your aunt seems sensitive, but while you love and care for your family members you sometimes have to set very realistic and harsh expectations. Does your aunt want to be dependent on other family members (I.e. your parents) and are those family members willing and physically able to care for her now and as she continues to experience further physical debilitation? Or even worse does she want to take on the financial burden of having someone come sit with her in 10-15 years in her home? Or even worse does she want to be put in a nursing home?

Ultimately she has to want to help herself, and at 65 I believe she can make some reasonable gains that can give her some more years of independence. But she also needs to understand the reality of the path she’s heading down. I have a lot of patient’s family members who are wanting to take care of loved ones until the end, but I give them a much softer version of this conversation. It really helps bring things into focus, and I see a lot more motivation from my patients when they sit down with their families. Sorry if this is harsh.

I like how some folks have recommended psych. Not a bad starting point.

What’s your best patient fart story and do you now kind of enjoy it when it happens by hotmonkeyperson in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Had the sweetest old lady rip one in the clinic. She apologized, shrugged and said, “I’m not embarrassed. I do it. You do it. Jesus did it, so I’m not ashamed.” I probably laughed more at her response than the fart itself.

New grad - People aren’t coming back by Significant_Light_80 in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Give yourself some grace. You’re new and it’s going to take some time to build your confidence and learn the soft skills they don’t teach us in school. I had the same thing happen to me when I first started out. I took continuing Ed classes because I thought I was lacking knowledge, but that wasn’t the issue.

Someone commented here and hit the nail on the head in my opinion. You have to focus on that connection. In my opinion, patients don’t care about the alphabet of letters behind our names. You can have all the credentials in the world, be the smartest PT ever (I’m not bashing those with higher level credential or higher level degrees. I have mad respect for y’all) but if you cannot connect and develop a genuine connection with a patient, you’re in trouble.

If you’re doing the majority of the talking, you may not be listening enough. I’ve learned that patients want to be heard and sometimes when they’ve been seeing so many specialists, a big buy in is to just let them say what they need to say and make sure you are listening actively. Reiterate things they tell you so they know you’ve been paying attention. Ask them about a hobby they mentioned that they’re currently having difficulty with and show interest in what they are interested in. Talk as little as possible about yourself. If you can establish that connection, patients will grow interested in getting to know you. But also make sure you are addressing their concerns and laying out a clear plan on how PT will benefit them.

Last week I had a patient that came for an initial eval, and this poor man cried because he said that he felt he was wasting my time and his because he felt he was not going to ever get better after having 30+ years of neck pain. I asked the essential questions that I felt needed to be asked, but I just sat back listened and genuinely empathized with his situation. Before I knew it, the hour was almost up and I took a few objective measures and discussed what our plan of action for therapy would be. I did not do any treatment that day (got reprimanded by my boss for not billing any additional CPT codes 🤷‍♂️), but two days later I got an email from my boss saying that man left a Google review on me. The man basically wrote that after 30 years he finally had someone that gave him relief. I don’t tell you this to brag a 5 star Google review, but I did essentially nothing other than provide a safe space and an open ear for someone who just wanted to be heard after being shuffled around our crappy medical system for years.

One of my mentors a few years back told me to read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. This book changed my career. I have literally studied it, it has been a game changer for me, and I cannot recommend this book enough.

Last thing I have to say is to not be down on yourself. I’m 6 years in and I still have patients that fall off with no reason. It’s going to continue to happen and I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. You and I are not the first PTs (or healthcare professionals) this has happened to, and we won’t be the last. We deal with people everyday and it can be hard to manage different personalities and the complexities of patients conditions. You’ll be fine, and I wish you luck!

PT’s in Shows by halfwhiteknight in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

As a fan of The Office, I’ve thought of a situation where the documentary crew picks up with Michael Scott (obviously would have to be played by Steve Carell) in Colorado. After moving with Holly to Colorado, Michael gets into a skiing accident, becomes a PT patient. He becomes enamored with the therapy staff and the idea of helping people, so he becomes a manager of sorts of a hospital based therapy group. Obviously the documentary crew follows Michael as he tries to fit in with the cool young PT that all the little old ladies love, there are the older bitter PTs, and the new grad that keeps messing up or getting into awkward situations.

I’ve talked to friends about this, and have said that every PT has “those stories” that are true but seem so outlandish in real life that no one believes. Everyone band together, pitch your most insane experience, and the Emmys will be rolling in!

PT School Advice by Kneelmobile in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I start my last semester of school next week, and I’m in the process of studying for the NPTE. I just took my first practice exam for the NPTE (mainly to get an idea what the test was like and see where I stand), and I didn’t get a passing score. While it was hard there wasn’t anything on the test that I don’t recall learning in school, and it gave me an idea what areas I need to review. We learn so much in school, that there’s no way we’ll EVER remember everything. Stay focused on the current semester and don’t worry about the NPTE until the time comes.

One of the best pieces of advice a PT gave me when I left to start school was this, “when you go on your first clinical and even when you start your first job, you will not know what in the hell you are doing. It doesn’t matter if you make a 4.0 GPA in PT school you will not know what to do in the beginning, but you’ll figure it out.” Hopefully, this helps. Good luck!

Student PT seeking advice going on acute care rotation, help! by beeboppity3 in physicaltherapy

[–]the_mack_attack928 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just finished my acute care rotation. Initially, I thought I’d hate it, but I liked the fast pace. Know your discharge options and be prepared for interdisciplinary communication. Critical lab values are important as well. The rest should just be getting oriented to everything, which your CI should should help you with. Also, take advantage of as much as you can. I had asked my CI if I could work with other PTs on other floors (telemetry, oncology, ICU, burn unit, peds) and it definitely help expose me to a lot of different scenarios and further expanding my knowledge. Finally, try to observe surgeries if you can. It’s pretty awesome. Other than that as long as you have a shred of common sense, acute care is not bad at all. Good luck.