Physical Therapy Commons^™

Nationwide Acute Care Physical Therapist Practice Analysis Identifies Knowledge, Skills, And Behaviors That Reflect Acute Care Practice, Sharon L. Gorman, Ellen Wruble Hakim, Wendy Johnson, Sujoy Bose, Katherine S. Harris, Molly H. Crist, Karen Holtgrefe, Jennifer M. Ryan, Michael S. Simpson, Jean Bryan Coe

Sujoy Bose

Background and Purpose. Acute care physical therapists have experienced the effects of dramatic changes in health care reimbursement systems and population demographics. Acute care hospitals now serve a patient population of much older, chronically ill patients who are hospitalized for shorter periods of time in a practice environment in which physical therapy staffing resources are often inadequate. The purposes of this study were to document common experiences in the practice of acute care physical therapy and to identify differences in the perceptions of physical therapists with varying levels of experience and in various sizes of acute care facilities. Subjects and …