Are you looking for variety in your daily work? Do you have the confidence to handle surprises, the ability to communicate well, and the flexibility to work with patients of all ages? The varying opportunities of a hospital setting may be for you. For the past 9 years, Michael Brickens, PT, has worked as a physical therapist (PT) in the Level 1 Emergency
Medicine Trauma Center at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although APTA identified emergency and urgent care as an emerging practice a few years ago, only a few emergency departments include a PT as part of their fulltime staffing. The Methodist emergency department is a large center with 78 beds that includes a "fast track" or urgent-care setting and a 23-hour observation area. Brickens is often called upon to consult on critical-care patients. He may be involved in fracture splinting, various musculoskeletal sprains/strains, vestibular dysfunctions, and wound care.
Brickens is especially proud of the collaborative setting and the emergency department's ability to treat the full patient.
Physicians seek him for a physical therapy consult because of his differential diagnostic skills. It's a consultation, not an order, he stresses. This teamwork allows the physician to focus on the immediate injury such as a head bleed or fracture, and the PT focuses on the rehabilitation and the safety, evaluation, and screening of the patients to ensure they can be successful when they return to their home environment. It's a true team effort.
Brickens learned about emergency room physical therapy when he attended sessions at one of APTA's Combined
Sections Meeting (CSM) presented by colleagues from an Arizona emergency room. His range of skills and background, which includes previous work at Methodist Hospital, as a travel PT, and a two-year stint for a local registry company that treated workers at their worksite, were great training for emergency room physical therapy work. This variety, in addition to experience working in nontraditional settings without access to typical equipment, prepared him for the emergency room setting where, once again, he treats patients in an atypical setting within a short time.
When Brickens returned to Indiana from CSM, he learned that Pauline Flesch, PT, director of rehabilitation for Clarian
Health Partners, which includes Methodist Hospital, was placing PTs in the emergency department, and he joined the team. Brickens feels it's important to have a PT in the emergency department. He says the keys to success are confidence and a well-rounded knowledge base. Working in the fast-paced environment has taught him to think more autonomously and understand the complexities of the health care system. If your facility doesn't have a PT in the emergency department, he advises that you be proactive and make it happen.
Across the state line in Ohio, Jeff Taylor-Haas, PT, MPT, OCS, CSCS, is a physical therapist at the Cincinnati Children's
Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. He works in two locations, the main hospital and its sports biodynamic center as the sports/orthopedic outpatient physical therapist. He, too, treats a wide variety of patients, ranging from 5-year-olds with
Legg-Calves Perthes disease teenagers with ACL reconstructions to older employees with chronic pain disorders.
Taylor-Haas is especially proud of the Children's Hospital core pillars of quality care, which include research, education, community outreach, and leadership. Before moving to the hospital, he researched its reputation and learned it was "the place to go" if a child is sick or injured. Prior to moving to Children's Hospital, he worked at AthletiCo, a private outpatient orthopedic facility, where he developed his skills treating orthopedic and sports medicine patients, specializing in treating endurance athletes. After AthletiCo, he spent a year at Good Samaritan Hospital as an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist.
On a typical day, he has evaluations in the morning and afternoon because the hospital's patients are primarily in school during the day. Afternoons are usually taken up by seeing follow-up patients. Taylor-Haas spends time on research and educational projects and is currently working on a case report from the hospital's Runner's Clinic. Taylor-Haas is proud of the Runner's Clinic and the community outreach the team does by providing complimentary running screening at local running-shoe stores. The clinic is devoted to evaluating, treating, and preventing running injuries in adolescent and adult runners. He enjoys being a part of the team to safely and effectively return an injured runner to competition.
Taylor-Haas says the keys to success in the hospital setting include the ability to be an effective communicator, motivation to learn new approaches to patient care, and flexibility to work with patients from all age groups and development stages of life. He also feels it's important that evidence-based care is the standard of care and finds that at Children's Hospital. In both instances, these PTs found their work in hospitals to be valuable because of the strong commitment to the patient, community outreach, and education. Both are proud of the teamwork atmosphere among physicians, PTs, and the patients. In addition, both have gained a further appreciation for the challenges in the health care system.
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy,
January 2010, pages 27-28

When you think of being commissioned into a uniformed service, the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) may not be the first service that comes to mind. However, as one of the seven uniformed services, USPHS gives physical therapists
(PTs) the chance to fill public health leadership and service roles within the nation's federal government agencies and programs.
LT Heidi Fisher, PT, USPHS, joined USPHS as a commissioned officer in 2005. Currently working within the Tuba City
Regional Health Care Corporation, she serves the Indian Health Service (IHS) in Arizona. When a corps officer from the
Winslow IHS came in uniform to teach a seminar at her PT school, Fisher began researching more about physical therapy opportunities in the USPHS. Later in her PT program, one of her clinical rotations was at the Northern Navajo Medical
Center in Shiprock, New Mexico, working with IHS on the Navajo reservation. "I was very impressed with the caliber of the officers I had met and worked with on my internship, providing me with built-in role models of the quality of PT I'd like to be,"
Fisher said. "I felt that the USPHS has a strong and positive mission to bring health care to underserved individuals and to act as leaders in the advancement of health care." The USPHS began as the Marine Hospital Service, part of a 1798 act establishing a federal system to provide health care and hospitals for America's sick and disabled seamen. Over time, its responsibilities expanded to include additional public health responsibilities such as quarantine and medical inspection of immigrants. Now called the Public Health Service, it is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. IHS is one of the eight operating divisions in the department.
Fisher selected her career path due to a desire to use her broad-based interest in neurology and orthopedics physical therapy in a general-practice setting. "The military-equivalent benefits, including retirement and health care as well as the possibility of loan repayment through the Indian Health Service, were an added incentive, although not my primary motivation for enlisting," she says.
IHS serves members of the 562 federally recognized American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, approximately 1.9 million people. Most facilities are located in isolated stations, some in the Bureau of Prisons, and others in research. "Working for the federal government, we are able to be licensed in any state, so there are fewer difficulties when changes are made in duty station," Fisher said.
LCDR Alicia Souvignier, PT, DPT, GCS, USPHS, APTA member and physical therapist for IHS, enjoys the opportunity to provide the much-needed services to the remote areas. "I enjoy where I work, whether it is in a federal prison or out in an
American Indian community, because I feel I am providing a needed service that might not otherwise be available,"
Souvignier said. "I believe in what the Commissioned Corps stands for, and this gives me the pride to come to work every day and give my all."
The IHS area where Fisher works serves the western part of the Navajo reservation or about 40,000 beneficiaries. Her facility provides inpatient and outpatient services from acute to subacute to chronic across multiple areas including pediatric, geriatric, vestibular, neurological, and orthopedic. "Being in a rural, lower-socioeconomic setting, we have a high no-show rate for scheduled patients, often due to gas prices, lack of transportation, or poor road conditions," Fisher said.
"For this reason, it is hard to abolish the walk-in or urgent care services completely. Many of our patients come from 30 to
80 miles away, so we try to get all of their health care taken care of in one trip."
In her work with IHS, Fisher has developed a close peer-working relationship with physicians and other health care practitioners. "We participate in daily rounds with the orthopedic surgeons and are well-respected as the musculoskeletal experts at the hospital, frequently called for consultations about patients," Fisher said.
USPHS members can be deployed in times of need. Fisher has been in the rotation to deploy several times but has not been called or has been deemed "mission critical" to help maintain services at her local duty station. Her supervisor was called up last year for the Texas hurricanes. Other USPHS officials were sent to the World Trade Center on September
11, 2001, as part of the relief efforts, and many were deployed in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in
2005.
For Fisher, Souvignier and other PTs working for USPHS, serving their country —and their patients—is all in a day's work.

By Katy O'Grady
Work is play for New Jersey physical therapist Marc Suznovich, PT, DPT. By bowling, playing ring-toss on the boardwalk, golfing, and making music —all using the Nintendo Wii system—Suznovich helps his subacute geriatric patients stand longer, improve balance, and expand their range of motion.
"You want to get patients to increase their standing time, which makes them able to walk longer. Patients find the Wii enjoyable and motivating; they will stand twice as long as if you just have them reach for cones or another activity,"
Suznovich says. He uses the Wii as he deems appropriate as an adjunct to more traditional treatments and limits its use to one hour per day in the afternoon.
As the designated "Wii Champion" for Genesis Rehab Services, Suznovich works directly with patients and serves as a resource for physical therapists (PTs) at the 20 Genesis facilities across New Jersey. Genesis PTs who are considering the Wii in patient treatments can call on Suznovich for game recommendations to help patients achieve specific objectives, such as improving balance or increasing strength or range of motion. Suznovich rents and tests games to determine their usefulness in physical therapy.
"I try them with a couple of my patients to see whether they like the game, if it's good with geriatric populations," he said.
"I find good games that everyone enjoys."
Suznovich was introduced to the concept of using the Wii in physical therapy practice by his professor, Judith E. Deutsch,
PT, PhD, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Deutsch led a research project that augmented a rehabilitation program with use of the Wii, as an alternative to motion-capture virtual reality systems that are designed for rehabilitation. In the intervention, researchers guided an adolescent with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy in playing the Wii
Sports games.
Treatment objectives included improvement in visual-perceptual processing, postural control, and functional mobility.1
The study provides details on the therapeutic application of the various Wii activities. For example, "The boxing activity required bilateral upper extremity reciprocal movements that promoted midline trunk alignment. The boxing activity was selected early to establish good postural control before playing more challenging unilateral upper extremity activities such as bowling or tennis."
Researchers measured improvement in all three of the objectives, with functional mobility continuing to increase even after the training ended. They emphasized that "essential clinical decisions were made by the therapist throughout the training, and —at least for this patient—it would not have been advisable or safe to have him train on his own."
Suznovich says Deutsch's was the first published research project on this topic. Like the research subject, Suznovich's patients respond well to incorporating Wii Sports into their treatment, he says. The wireless Wii remotes make the system a tool that is particularly suitable for use with older patients. The system also allows PTs to easily track patients' individual progress, and it can be used with patients at many levels of ability. "I have people at a higher level sit on the physio balls and play the Wii," he said. Low-level patients who have a hard time sitting up in bed can be placed on a mat, "and they play the boxing game, moving their arms, working on sitting balance."
For standing balance, Suznovich suggests that PTs can use the Wii as a tool with a patient "who has a rolling walker, as long as they can stand with a little bit of assistance and can let go with one hand. I'll be on one side helping them to stand up, and they can use the remote with their other arm." The oldest patient with whom Suznovich has used the Wii was 88 and recovering from a hip fracture. He became the top bowler at the facility.
What's next for Suznovich and his gaming patients? His facility plans to buy a Wii Fit, which uses a balance board in games focused on strength training and balance, and for aerobics and yoga.
1 Deutsch JE, Borbely M, Filler J, Huhn K, Guarrera-Bowlby P. Use of a low-cost, commercially available gaming console
(Wii) for rehabilitation of an adolescent with cerebral palsy. Phys Ther. 2008;88:1196-1207.
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy, May
2009, page 28

By Keith Loria
When tennis superstar Pete Sampras won the 2000 Wimbledon championship, one of the people he made sure to thank was his physical therapist Robert Forster, PT. It was Forster who treated the tennis great's several injuries, helping him garner the strength to make it back on the courts when many in the sport thought he should simply retire.
"I was treating recreational tennis players when George Fareed, the Davis Cup doctor, referred Pete Sampras to me," said Foster, who has practiced sports physical therapy in Santa Monica, California, as owner of Forster Physical Therapy
Clinic for more than 20 years. "I began working with Sampras on some minor injuries. He had hurt his disc in 1999 at the
U.S. Open, and there was a long rehabilitation. People doubted he could ever come back, and I made my mark in tennis because he came back and won his 13th Grand Slam [event]. I continued treating him the last years of his career."
After his success with Sampras, Forster was asked to work as a physical therapist for the tennis tournament in Los
Angeles (currently called the Countrywide Classic), and subsequently other tennis players came calling for his private services.
The next was Maria Sharapova, who came to see Forster for a chronic overuse injury to her right pectoral muscle. During one match in 2005, Sharapova complained that she felt pain in the muscle when she struck her shots, and the harder she hit the more painful it became. Eventually she was forced to withdraw from the match.
After an evaluation, Forster prescribed a rehab program for Sharapova's pectoral injury. The plan of care was to reassess the injury every couple of months to determine the best way to strengthen her muscle. When the pectoral muscle fibers are injured, the body attempts to heal by building up scar tissue, leading to a loss of function in the muscle. "Most important to her treatment [was] specific manual therapy techniques to break up the scar tissue, and then we implemented a strengthening and stretching program," he said. "When she got to the Open she was pain free in her right pectoral muscle."
The Russian superstar came back strong to win her first 4 matches, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Kim
Clijsters. "I was not going to play the U.S. Open if I was not 100% fit, and Bob helped me get there," Sharapova said.
While working at the tournament events each year, Forster's goal is to return players to full function immediately. During the 3 weeks, he sees a full range of injuries and performs many interventions, from recovery massage to compressing symptoms.
"At a tournament, someone comes in and says they have a chronic knee problem; well, I can't fix the meniscus, and a lot of the doctors will diagnose this," he said. "There's a lot of guarding and spasm in the gastroc in the calf and hamstring, and I work on that and get the knee to work better and that guy will get through a few more rounds."
As one of only seven physical therapists employed full-time by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Clay Sniteman,
PT, MSPT, knows quite a bit about treating the tennis players on tournament day, since he spends most of his year traveling around the world to the different tournaments.
In 2008 Sniteman worked 20 tournaments (averaging about 2 weeks each) and has dealt with nearly every type of injury.
He needs to be ready for anything and everything, since often he is the only PT on hand for the entire field.
"It's an all-encompassing job. We need to do all the treatments before they go out onto the court. Sometimes the players will stick around, and we will work with them before the next tournament," he said. "You're guaranteed to see a couple of shoulder problems, some lower back hip, maybe some elbow or wrist."
One might expect tennis stars would have their own PTs with them, but that is rare; Sniteman is just as likely to work on top-ranked Roger Federer as he is on 215th-ranked Benedikt Dorsch.

On the women's side of tennis, Kathleen Stroia, PT, overseas the Sony Ericsson Women's Tennis Association Tour's
Sport Sciences and Medicine program as well as PRO U, the tour's umbrella program for education and professional development.
"On the tour, the athletes we treat already are in 'tennis shape,'" Stroia said. "However, even these elite athletes —or especially these elite athletes —require preventive and maintenance management to allow them to avoid injury, recover more quickly from injury, and maintain their 'tennis shape' for optimal performance." The focus for these athletes is education and prevention; unfortunately, injuries may still occur.
"Tennis is an all-around sport that requires execution of speed, agility, power, strength, flexibility, and endurance, and as such we see a wide variety of illnesses and injuries, both acute and/or chronic," Stroia said. "Surface changes and modifications to the balls and racquet string tension are just a few of the factors to consider when assessing an injury and its cause in a tennis player."
"The tour's primary health-care providers offer an objective and measurable approach to prescribing individualized, sportspecific therapeutic exercise programs for each athlete. These exercise programs begin by focusing on the timing, stability, and strength of core muscles followed by functional and tennis-specific exercises that, when combined, are key to unleashing power and minimizing the risk of injury."
As director of sports medicine for the Association of Tennis Professionals' ATP Tour, Todd Ellenbecker, PT, DPT, MS,
SCS, OCS, CSCS, has something of a dream job —he gets to combine his loves for tennis and physical therapy.
"I go to about 5 to 6 tournaments a year, and we perform physicals and musculoskeletal screenings," said Ellenbecker, who works by day in Arizona at Physiotherapy Associates. "I look at their flexibility and put together customized exercise programs ... to help their performance and hopefully ... prevent injury to the lower back, hip, and shoulder —areas we know are problematic in tennis."
"One of the most common things we see is shoulder injuries, primarily overuse injuries, just like in baseball. Most of the players have a very strong internal rotation from hitting forehands and serves," Ellenbecker said. "They break down with all the overuse. We evaluate shoulder range of motion and rotary cuff strength, and many times we find out that the rotary cuff is weaker than it should be."
One of the challenges that PTs have with the future Chris Everetts and Andre Agassis of the world is that many strength and conditioning areas don't really cater to tennis players.
"For the tennis player, the muscles in the front of the body, the pectorals, and a lot of these muscle accelerators are very strong and developed and imbalanced relative to the very weak decelerators of the scapula and back of the shoulder.
They need to work on the scapula muscles and rotary cuff and ... normalize the balance of those muscles," Ellenbecker said. Another example is the core. Tennis players have strong abdominal muscles from serving, but it's not enough for a tennis player to do only abdominal strengthening for core training. Tennis players "need a lot of back extension work and rotational work to stabilize and normalize the muscle ratio in the core."
For those looking to follow in the tennis footsteps of these physical therapists, Ellenbecker offers this advice for the hardto-come-by positions: "The best thing is to be very sound in orthopedic and sports physical therapy. Spending time in the athletic training room, understanding how acute injuries are managed from ankle sprains to soft-tissue injuries, blister tear…all the things you deal with as an athlete. A keen sense of exercise progression is also important because these athletes do need help with their exercises."
Forster maintains that the most important thing to do is to be around the sport as much as possible and dissect the players' methods. "I think the best thing for young therapists to do is observe the sport, and apply your basic knowledge,"
Forster said. "Evaluate and apply basics, and measure results. There's no one better than a physical therapist to design and build training programs, because we know how the body works —and breaks."
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy,
January 2009, pages 27-28

By Nancie C. Menapace
In a packed circus tent, the lights dim, and the bell horn rings, signaling "Showtime!" Lights come up, and Cirque du Soleil performers fly through the air from all directions, eliciting great cheers from the rapt audience. But while the audience sees only the thrilling stunts,
Cora Maglaya, PT, ATC, CSCS, stands quietly backstage, walkie-talkie in hand, watching every move for signs of injury, ready to spring into action as needed.
What might seem like a dream for many PTs was just another typical day for Maglaya, who worked for Cirque du Soleil on its South American tour. Referred to as a physiotherapist by the Canadian based company, Maglaya says Oprah Winfrey inspires her with the statement, "Preparedness meets opportunity." She describes the Cirque experience as her dream job turned into reality. "Working on tour is a great life lesson, not only learning your craft treating elite performers who do superhuman feats with their bodies, but also navigating in a different culture. Your survival instincts turn on immediately, and you find solutions to complex problems both in and outside of your job."
Before flying high with Cirque du Soleil, Maglaya, born and raised in Palos Heights, Illinois, worked as a physical therapist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a staff athletic trainer at the University of Southern California's
Center for Athletic Medicine. She holds undergraduate degrees in both athletic training and kinesiotherapy from the
University of Illinois at Chicago and a physical therapy agree from Daemen College in Amherst, New York, and she completed a sports physical therapist fellowship from Duke University specializing in Division I athletics. While a Fellow at
Duke, she conducted research on dancers at the American Dance Festival. She played an active role in sports medicine for Duke's sports.
But it was her interest in performing arts that led her to tour with Cirque du Soleil. Working backstage and behind the scenes was, for Maglaya, spectacular. "It is an adrenaline rush watching a new skill being practiced in training, then seeing it debut in the show." She would memorize the timing of the skill and know, in a split second, when the trick either hit or missed. This intimate, detailed knowledge of every act in the show enabled her to anticipate and react to injury based on the mechanics of the fall. She exclusively treated the performance artists, determining their workload changes, performing advanced emergency response treatments and providing rehabilitation treatments before, during and after the show.
Her patient list on the tour included acrobats, high-flying aerialists, contortionists, trapeze artists, singers, characters and musicians. Many of the athletes came from a competitive national or Olympic-level background and thus already had a long list of injuries and previous surgeries that needed to be closely monitored.
Her mentor, Cindy Bailey, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, ATC, EMT, assistant professor of clinical practice in the Department of
Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California, notes that Maglaya's Cirque du Soleil experience was certainly a unique opportunity for any healthcare practitioner.
"She took on this task with enthusiasm not only for the unique, fun nature of the job but for the challenges of treating elite athletes and performers. She excels in situations in which she must take her knowledge and apply it to different situations."
Around her 6-day workweeks (usually including two shows per day and ending as late as 11:30 pm), Maglaya found time for sightseeing at local museums, waterfalls, shops, and tourist attractions.
"The Cirque tour is like a portable traveling city and an extended family," she said, and some of her favorite memories are of just spending relaxed time with her tour friends or the locals she met.
"You learn not to get attached to material things in life," she said. Whatever she bought had to fit into her luggage. "So buying that trendy lamp at the local flea market was not going to work."

Working on the tour and traveling around South America wasn't all bright lights and excitement, however. There were barriers to overcome, such as being away from family, friends, and favorite shops and restaurants. But for Maglaya, the tradeoff was being able to fall in love with the daily challenges of adjusting to a new language, culture, food, and climate, even though hotel life meant constantly having to locate the nearest laundromat, post office, and grocery store. She also had to learn to adjust to life without some of the "givens" to which she had been accustomed, such as purified water, riding in a car, and even speaking the same language. She was challenged by language barriers both within the Cirque tour and in Brazil.
Because she played such a vital role on the tour and was the connection to the local medical community when referrals were needed, she learned to speak Portuguese to help her communicate with local medical personnel, as well as bits of other languages, including Russian, to communicate with many of the performers. Artists came from all over the globe, so it was not unusual to have a patient's chart come to her written in multiple languages.
"Cora is a perfect fit for practicing physical therapy in an international setting," says Kerry Mullenix, PT, ATC, LAT, director of athletic rehabilitation at Duke University, "She is sensitive to diversity, caring of the individual, and dedicated to providing a high level of care."
With her time on the tour over, Maglaya is now back in Southern California and enjoys her current position at Athletic
Physical Therapy, where she continues to treat high-performance athletes, building on her experience on the Cirque tour.
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy, May
2008, pages 27-28

By Stephanie Stephens
"It has some karma to it." That's Phil Page, MS, PT, ATC, CSCS, speaking about the undeniable global success of the versatile Thera-Band product line, its motto being "The shortest distance between therapy and fitness." Simple idea, great concept, and indeed surveys show, says Page, that "almost 100% of physical therapists (PTs) use elastic bands."
Thera-Bands are developed and manufactured by The Hygenic Corporation. Page, who is also an athletic trainer and certified strength-conditioning specialist, is manager of clinical education and research for the company, which is based in
Akron, Ohio. Married and a father of four, Page lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He travels the world —with his conveniently portable Thera-Band —to observe firsthand how PTs work in other cultures and gets to learn as much as he teaches from his international colleagues. He has trained physical therapists to teach Thera-Band courses in more than
20 countries.
"I enjoy creating these clinical solutions for the issues we [as PTs] face," he says, "and the needs that exist. I get a kick out of helping more than one person at a time now, as when I help 10 or 20 physical therapists that, in turn, help others."
This isn't a commercial for Thera-Band, but as a PT, you may well share Page's enthusiasm for the product. "It's so versatile, and can do so much with limited space, limited reimbursement, and limited time," he says. "It can solve problems for clinicians who have to make a patient better in a shorter period of time, with less money."
Not bad for a little product that was conceived over 25 years ago when two PTs who approached the parent company,
The Hygenic Corporation, with their now-big idea. "We've branched into exercise balls, balance training devices, aquatic therapy, hand rehabilitation and hot and cold therapy. It's all very exciting."
Page and his employer are a good team, and in fact his résumé includes tenures with the NFL's New Orleans Saints and
Seattle Seahawks and with athletic programs at Tulane University. He's also certified by the National Athletic Trainers'
Association (NATA) and was awarded its Otto Davis Postgraduate Scholarship in 1991.
Being a PT has meant that with Thera-Band, he can use his experience to positively affect the profession and its clientele.
"You have to direct a business to meet needs of customers, and sometimes it's hard to really understand those needs unless you're actually there with clinicians. I get to represent the profession and be its voice, which is very diverse, and I help our company provide products that can help everyone across the life span."
He thinks frequently about where our profession is headed and recognizes new opportunities all the time. "Coming from an orthopedic and sports background, I've become very interested in public health, older adults, and chronic disease management with exercise," says an enthusiastic Page. He's also a member of APTA's Task Force on Promoting
Physical Therapists as Exercise Experts for the Aging Population, the National Blueprint to Increase Physical Activity in
Older Adults and an adjunct to the traditional rehabilitation focus.
He's a believer that "as PTs, we're the professionals with the best abilities to create these exercise programs for special populations."
You'd think Page has enough on his professional plate, but he's also completing his PhD in kinesiology at Louisiana State
University, focusing on fall prevention at the community level —"taking my passion for translating exercise into the realworld community and blending that with the older adult population. This job has supported me to do that," he says.
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy,
June 2007, pages 27-28

By Stephanie Stephens
She's living her dream and fulfilling her career fantasy. Stephania Bell, PT, MS, OCS, CSCS, of Redwood City, California, tackles the 24-hour day, even when it's not totally planned. "I can't wait to see what happens next," she says.
She carries the distinction of being the only female physical therapist who professionally analyzes injuries and player performance for fantasy football. Bell is a huge sports fan whose current career began as a hobby, after a referral from a friend connected her to this ever-expanding fantasy sport and multimedia opportunity.
New to fantasy sports? You and 11 buddies pick a team composed of players from real teams. Players score points for you based on how they perform. "Strategy plays a big part," Bell says, adding that the National Football League (NFL) endorses the pastime that's become "a multimillion-dollar business in a very short time. It parallels the real football season."
Bell, who grew up in Palo Alto, California, holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master of science degree in physical therapy from the University of Miami, Florida. "Stephania is a leader, an innovator, a clinical expert, a holistic and empathetic practitioner," says Sherrill H Hayes, PT, PhD, professor and chair for the Department of
Physical Therapy at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, and Bell's longtime friend and mentor. "Her career trajectory has always been upward. She has been an excellent teacher and a published author and now holds a position that is likely envied by many, but few could carry it off so well."
Bell taught at the University of Kansas 5 years before returning West to join Kaiser-Permanente San Jose, where she happily sees patients on Wednesdays and mentors younger therapists. This physical therapy ambassador teaches a sports medicine elective at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California, on Tuesday afternoons. Thursdays, she flies to
ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, to do her shows, and then —whew!—returns home on Monday night.
Sundays, it's a 15-minute player injury update on Fantasy Insider on ESPN News Network, as well as camera face time on ESPN.com and its wildly popular Internet endeavor, Fantasy Football Now, dispensing late-breaking game information.
She spent 2 years getting her fantasy feet wet as an injury analyst at Rotowire.com and appeared weekly on XM Radio's fantasy sports show. Early on, she figures she worked for "approximately 25 cents an hour and often until to 3 or 4 am."
The payoff? Fans crave her insightful and authoritative commentary. "Fantasy audiences want insights as to what current injuries exist, how they may impact players, and how long players may be out," Bell says. In fantasy football, you can add and drop players and make trades, and injuries are important. Bell makes sure to be respectful when making assessments based upon information released. "I'm not evaluating the player," she says.
Clarity and accuracy are job one, sparked with imagination and enthusiasm. "I make my life up as I go along, and I like that. My message to my students: Think outside the box. Find what you're passionate about, and connect your skills. My passion was sports, my skills, manual therapy and sports medicine."The mix matched beautifully. Just ask John Walsh,
ESPN executive editor. "Her approach is far-reaching, inclusive, and insightful. She's not afraid to take a strong viewpoint on any topic, based upon her knowledge and her interpretation." "In three, two, one!" Red light on, and an elated Bell is introduced on-camera as a "licensed physical therapist." "It's great for our profession, which usually goes about quietly doing what we do so well. The general public can now understand more of the wealth of knowledge we all bring to the table."
Perspectives for New Professionals of the American Physical Therapy Association, Supplement to Physical Therapy,
February 2008, pages 27-28

Physical therapists ( PTs ) are health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.
PTs examine each individual and develop a plan using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. In addition, PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.
Physical therapists provide care for people in a variety of settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, sports and fitness facilities, work settings, and nursing homes. State licensure is required in each state in which a physical therapist practices.
Physical therapy is a dynamic profession with an established theoretical and scientific base and widespread clinical applications in the restoration, maintenance, and promotion of optimal physical function. For more than 750,000 people every day in the United States, physical therapists:
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Diagnose and manage movement dysfunction and enhance physical and functional abilities.
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Restore, maintain, and promote not only optimal physical function but optimal wellness and fitness and optimal quality of life as it relates to movement and health.
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Prevent the onset, symptoms, and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities that may result from diseases, disorders, conditions, or injuries.
The terms "physical therapy" and "physiotherapy," and the terms "physical therapist" and "physiotherapist," are synonymous.
As essential participants in the health care delivery system, physical therapists assume leadership roles in rehabilitation; in prevention, health maintenance, and programs that promote health, wellness, and fitness; and in professional and community organizations. Physical therapists also play important roles both in developing standards for physical therapist practice and in developing health care policy to ensure availability, accessibility, and optimal delivery of health care services. Physical therapy is covered by federal, state, and private insurance plans. Physical therapists' services have a positive impact on health-related quality of life.
As clinicians, physical therapists engage in an examination process that includes:
 taking the patient/client history,
 conducting a systems review, and
 performing tests and measures to identify potential and existing problems.
To establish diagnoses, prognoses, and plans of care, physical therapists perform evaluations, synthesizing the examination data and determining whether the problems to be addressed are within the scope of physical therapist practice. Based on their judgments about diagnoses and prognoses and based on patient/client goals, physical therapists:
 provide interventions (the interactions and procedures used in managing and instructing patients/clients),
 conduct re-examinations,
 modify interventions as necessary to achieve anticipated goals and expected outcomes, and
 develop and implement discharge plans.
Physical therapy can be provided only by qualified physical therapists (PTs) or by physical therapist assistants (PTAs) working under the supervision of a physical therapist.

"Transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience."
There are many reasons you should consider a career in physical therapy.
Make a Difference.
"Being a physical therapist is very rewarding. You will work with patients one-on-one, see them progress through treatment, and know that you are really making a difference in their lives," said APTA spokesperson
Meredith Harris, PT, DPT, EdD. Whether the patient's problem is a result of injury or disease, the physical therapist is a rehabilitation specialist who fosters the patient's return to maximal function. Physical therapists also will work with individuals to prevent loss of mobility by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.
Be a Movement Expert.
Physical therapists are highly educated experts in the movement and function of the human body. The goal of a physical therapist is to promote the patient's ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. Physical therapy is an essential element of patient care. Therapeutic exercise and functional training are the cornerstones of physical therapist treatment. Depending on the particular needs of a patient, physical therapists may
"mobilize" a joint or massage a muscle to promote proper movement and function. Physical therapists may use other techniques such as electrotherapy, ultrasound (high-frequency waves that produce heat), hot packs, and ice in addition to other treatments when appropriate.
Enjoy Job Security.
For Americans looking for a rewarding career in a struggling job market and down economy, a career in physical therapy could be the perfect answer. The soaring demand for physical therapists can be attributed to the aging American population, particularly baby boomers who are more vulnerable to chronic and debilitating conditions that require physical therapist services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for physical therapists is expected to spike upward by an astonishing 30% between 2008 and 2018 —a much quicker rate than average. Currently, there are approximately 185,500 licensed physical therapists in the United States, and that number is expected to jump to
241,700 over the next 10 years.
Love Your Job.
Helping people to attain or regain the ability to walk and carry out daily life can lead to a great feeling of personal satisfaction. Physical therapists report one of the highest job-satisfaction levels in the country! So says a recent
National Opinion Research Center survey, which was chronicled in an April 17, 2007, article of the Chicago Tribune . With more than three-quarters of physical therapists polled reporting to be "very satisfied" with their occupations, PTs were second only to clergy, and were the only health care professionals in the top 5.
Choose Your Location.
Physical therapists work with patients of all ages all across the country. Choose from a wide range of locations and work settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, sports and fitness facilities, employer settings, and nursing homes.
Be an Entrepreneur.
Do you want to be your own boss? More than twenty-one percent (21.6%) of physical therapists are owners of, or partners in, a physical therapy practice.
Patients, clients and physicians demand the talents of physical therapists for the management of a wide variety of conditions. Patients and clients pursue physical therapy services so they may benefit from the highly individualized,
"hands on" approach that characterizes physical therapist care. Physical therapists examine patients and develop a plan of care that promotes movement, reduces pain, restores function, and prevents disability. The physical therapist works with the patient, family members, and other health care providers to ensure the goals of the plan of care are met and the patient outcomes are optimal.
Therapeutic exercise and functional training are the cornerstones of physical therapist treatment. Depending on the particular needs of a patient and client, physical therapists may "manipulate" a joint (that is, perform certain types of passive movements at the end of the individual's range of motion) or massage a muscle to promote proper movement and function. Physical therapists may use other techniques such as electrotherapy, ultrasound (high-frequency waves that produce heat), hot packs, and ice in addition to other treatments. Physical therapists can also help to prevent the loss of mobility by developing fitness and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.

Although many physical therapists practice in hospitals, more than 80% practice in other settings.
Acute Care - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals who are admitted to a hospital for short-term patient care for reasons such as illness, surgery, accident, or recovery from a trauma. The goal in this setting is to discharge the person as soon as he or she is medically stable and has a safe place to go.
Rehab/Subacute Rehab
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Rehabilitation Hospital - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals who are admitted to a facility or rehabilitation unit. The goal is this setting is to provide intense therapy to improve the person's ability to care for himself or herself (typically 3 hours or more per day).
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Sub-Acute Rehabilitation - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals who are admitted to a special hospital that provides medical and/or rehabilitation care. The rehabilitation is less intense (typically less than 3 hours per day).
Extended Care Facility /Nursing Home/Skilled Nursing Facility - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals who are admitted to a facility that typically cares for elderly patients and provides long-term nursing care, rehabilitation, and other services.
Outpatient Clinic (also known as a Private Practice ) - In this common physical therapy setting, individuals visit a physical therapist in a clinic, office, or other health care facility primarily to address musculoskeletal (orthopedic) and neuromuscular injuries or impairments.
School/Preschool - In this setting, physical therapy is provided within an educational environment, including preschool, elementary, or secondary education (high school and vocational) facilities.
Wellness/Prevention/Sports/Fitness - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to individuals with a focus on wellness. This approach to health care emphasizes preventing illness and injury and promoting a healthy lifestyle, as opposed to emphasizing treatment of diseases. Settings may include but aren't limited to fitness centers and sports training facilities.
Home Health - In this setting, physical therapy is provided in the patient's place of residence. While the majority of patients are senior citizens, there also are pediatric patients with developmental disabilities and other conditions, and individuals of all ages who need rehabilitation because of injury or other causes. Home care may actually be provided in the patient's residence, the caregiver's home, a hospital emergency room, skilled nursing facility, residential facility, group home, hospice, or elsewhere in the community.
Hospice - In this setting, physical therapy is provided to patients in the last phases of incurable disease so that they may maintain functional abilities for as long as possible and manage pain.
Industrial, Workplace, or Other Occupational Environments - In these settings, physical therapy is provided to individuals primarily to help them return to work or for the purpose of enhancing employee health, improving safety, and increasing productivity in the workplace.
Local, State, and Federal Government - In these settings, physical therapy is provided to civilians and military personnel. PTs are employed by federal agencies, including the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA), Department of
Defense, and Indian Health Service (IHS).
Research Center - In this setting, physical therapists and other professionals conduct research to improve patient/client care outcomes and support the body of knowledge in the field physical therapy.

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Arthritis
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Back Pain
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Balance
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Burns
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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Developmental Delays
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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD)
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Dislocations
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Fractures
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Hand Injuries
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Headaches
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Incontinence
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Lymphedema
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Osteoporosis
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Pelvic Pain
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Sports Injuries
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Stroke
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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Forbes ranked physical therapists as having 1 of " The Ten Happiest Jobs ," according to articles published in 2013 and
2011. Physical therapists also have high job satisfaction according to the 2007 results of the University of Chicago's
National Opinion Research Center survey, as reported in The Washington Post . More than three-quarters of physical therapists polled reported to be "very satisfied" with their occupations. Physical therapists were second only to clergy and the only health care professionals in the top 5.
US News & World Report has repeatedly included physical therapists among it's best 100 jobs in terms of employment opportunity, good salary, manageable work-life balance, and job security: 2014 (#7) , 2013 (#8), 2012, and 2009.
CNNMoney.com also included physical therapists among its list of the top 10 " Fastest Growing Jobs " in November 2012 and ranked the profession as one of the 100 "Best Jobs in America" in 2013.
There is a high demand for physical therapists in the workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of physical therapists is expected to grow by 36 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. While demand for physical therapists varies by geographical region and area of practice, the unemployment rates are low across the country. The need for physical therapists is expected to remain strong into the foreseeable future as the US population ages and the demand for physical therapy services grows.
More than 204,000 physical therapists are licensed in the United States today. The median salary for a physical therapist is $85,000. Salaries vary based on position, years of experience, degree of education, geographic location, and practice setting. (Source: APTA 2013 Median Income of Physical Therapists Summary Report.)
After graduation from an accredited physical therapy education program* candidates must pass a state-administered national exam. Other licensure requirements for practice vary from state to state according to physical therapy practice acts or state regulations governing physical therapy. Visit the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) website for more information about PT licensure requirements.
*The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) is the only accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education for PT education programs.
Visit the physical therapist education overview to learn more about residency, fellowship, and clinical specialty opportunities for physical therapists in various practice areas.

APTA's vision statement for the physical therapy profession is " Transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience.
" The guiding principles to achieve the vision demonstrate how the profession and society will look when the vision is achieved.