Rehabilitation and 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

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

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 …

Understanding Autonomous Practice, Tamara Gravano, Greg Hartley, Heather Mattingly, Joseph Libera, Sabrina Camilo, Jason Hardage

Physical Therapy Faculty Research

What is autonomous practice? As one of the elements of Vision 2020, au­tonomous practice is one whose mean­ing may not always be readily under­stood. The confusion can stem from the meaning of autonomy, which is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that the physical therapist (PT) practices in a vacuum, without coordinating and com­municating with other health care pro­viders. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, many PTs might be surprised to learn that they already prac­tice autonomously.