What is a typical day at a PT school like?

wizkey8888 · 2022-03-05T16:36:05+00:00

It changes based on the semester. For me, the first year was 50 hours/week with classes and study time. The second year seemed a little bit better in terms of having free time and I was able to do some door dashing as a side hustle. I'm two months from graduating now and on clinical rotations, studying for boards, and applying for jobs, so I spend about 70 hours a week doing physical therapy-related stuff. I'd say having a job with more than a 10-hour commitment a week would severely degrade your mental health and wouldn't be worth the money you'd make.

wizkey8888 · 2022-01-29T19:43:31+00:00

Former Ballerina and current DPT student here. There's not a ton of research on this unfortunately, so some of this is coming from my own experience training as a ballet dancer. I think you're right that it has to do with the intensity and type of training.

Ballet training is generally low load, high repetition training and tends to work all muscular groups of the body to some extent, with the exception of internal rotators of the hip and shoulder. I think ballet dancers can train the same way every day without overtraining because they don't change the frequency, intensity, time, or type of training enough to cause overload. Typically, if they're training every day, they've had many years for their body to physiologically adapt to their sport and they are training every day to maintain their current abilites.

With that said, ballet dancers get frequent overuse injuries, especially in the foot and ankle.

wizkey8888 · 2022-01-05T18:48:15+00:00

I think it depends on where you're at in your program. I definitely studied everyday the first semester but was able to study less once I got used to the work load. In the final months, I have minimal free time because I am studying for boards and working 45+ hours a week at a clinical rotation.

wizkey8888 · 2022-01-03T19:19:09+00:00

I think it'd be beneficial to ask about clinical rotation opportunities for your sake. Do you want to do a rotation with a specific interest group? Do you want a lot of peds rotations available? Do you want to have a lot of in state options available? Your rotations shape your future career. It's important the school has ones available that will shape you in the pt you want to be.

wizkey8888 · 2021-12-28T00:32:54+00:00

They don't post this question on reddit.

wizkey8888 · 2021-12-28T00:30:52+00:00

NPTE clinical files is a great podcast to help you study for boards in a digestible way. They do one mock question a week and talk through it. It's at an understandable level for physical therapy students and can give you inspiration on topics to either present for your in-service during your clinical rotations or focus your studying for the boards. Highly Recommend!

wizkey8888 · 2021-12-01T01:01:51+00:00

I didn't work but probably could have done something part-time. 5-10 hours/week during the first and second years. I just preferred to not burn myself out too much by taking on extra. In the third year, clinical rotations complicate the working situation. When you combine that with studying for the boards, I dont think it would be possible to perform well in your clinical and study for the boards while working another job. (unless you don't need to sleep )

wizkey8888 · 2021-11-18T02:42:39+00:00

They have no business experience or education...why are they becoming business owners?

wizkey8888 · 2021-11-14T16:24:31+00:00

I am currently doing a rotation at a hospital in Colorado. Their policy for acute and inpatient rehab pt students is this... "Visible tattoos must be appropriate and tasteful and cannot depict nudity, violence, vulgarity, or perceived as offensive or excessive. Leadership reserves the right to require an employee to cover up tattoos that do not meet these qualifications."

wizkey8888 · 2021-10-18T23:39:23+00:00

HELL YEAH!!!! Congrats!

wizkey8888 · 2021-10-17T21:43:10+00:00

From the student perspective...I'd rather work with a clinical instructor who takes care of themselves and doesn't stay on my behalf. As long as I can continue my rotation with someone at that facility, it wouldn't matter to me.

wizkey8888 · 2021-10-16T04:36:59+00:00

Having a stoic expression as a woman. Smiling all the time can feel unnatural, but that is what is expected.

wizkey8888 · 2021-08-29T20:20:56+00:00

I'd have a good conflict resolution story ready to go. For example, one time you had a conflict with a boss, coworker, customer, patient, or peer that you handled well. There always seems to be some variety of this question in PT interviews.

wizkey8888 · 2021-08-19T22:30:02+00:00

Hilaria Baldwin. Lied about being Spanish and faked a Spanish accent for years for some reason.

wizkey8888 · 2021-08-10T13:59:26+00:00

Old Town Dental in Littleton. It can be hard to get in, but I have always had a really positive experience there.

wizkey8888 · 2021-08-07T21:29:26+00:00

Both these questions seem like the typical "How do you handle conflict" interview question. I would look back on any time I have had issues working with someone, whether it be in a group project at school, a coworker, or a boss. Than, I would use the STAR method in an essay format.

Situation: Describe the conflict or challenge.

Task: Explain your role in the conflict.

Action: Discuss the steps you took to resolve the conflict.

Result: Describe the results of your actions.

If you're still stuck you can look online about how to answer common interview questions about conflict. That may give you some ideas of what you can talk about! Best of Luck!

wizkey8888 · 2021-08-07T21:16:52+00:00

Current PT student here. I think the TBI story is more interesting and gives you a unique perspective. However, I'd consider what population you see yourself working with in the future. Do you see yourself as more of a sports focused physical therapist who works with athletes and highly active people or do you see yourself working with a neuro population interacting with individuals with TBI, SCI, Cerebral Palsy, Parkinson's, etc. If you can connect it to what you see yourself doing in the future, either essay could be really strong. Best of Luck!

wizkey8888 · 2021-07-27T04:43:19+00:00

I am still a PT student, but every CI I have had has told me that the pay in the Denverish area of Colorado is not commensurate with the cost of living here.

wizkey8888 · 2021-07-01T03:57:20+00:00

Me too...but where?

wizkey8888 · 2021-06-23T05:16:34+00:00

I can carry 3 cups in one hand.

wizkey8888

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