Graduated……but “Got Goods?”

I had the pleasure of attending my first APTA Private Practice Section meeting this past week….what a great group of people and great professionals (and at a great location to boot!). If you haven’t yet been and are a PPS member, mark it on your calendar for next year (even those who aren’t in private practice could benefit greatly from many of the issues this section deals with on a regular basis). I have always been impressed with private practitioners as they are quick to pick-up the nuances as well as the eye-sores of physical therapist practice that others overlook or often ignore.  Perhaps part of the reason (a BIG part of the reason) is that their financial rear-end is on the line and they are keenly a-tuned to anything that even smacks of being a threat to their survival (or that will impact profitability). As a nascent private practitioner coming out of academia and clinical research who still wears both those hats on a part-time basis, it is interesting to now be a regular  “customer” of the product(s) I have had a hand in producing over the last several years.

One troubling issue that came up during the course of conversation at the meeting was the fact that some programs still graduate students who have trouble performing a sound clinical examination and formulating an intervention plan (ie. the “Goods” as Tony Delitto would say). Have any of you experienced this first-hand? It is very unpleasant to say the least, not to mention expensive and embarrassing. Evidently, some programs still think that their mission is to make sure students have every bit of didactic information and theoretical construct crammed into their heads before graduating but miss the essential fact that these have to be integrated with psychomotor skills before the product (therapist) is complete. I have even heard some educators and clinicians alike ascribe to this model as evidenced by comments like “you (student) have all the basics now and will have a chance to build your skills the first few months you are in the clinic”. Refine yes, aquire no! 

Well, this type of thinking and the clinician that results from it are no longer acceptable in our profession, especially with the move to the DPT. Clinicians in private practice certainly won’t put up with this nor should employers in any other setting. The best way to remedy this is for educators and clinicians to engage in frank dialogue, partner together in the education and training process (yes, training is not a 4 lettered word), and be willing to hold EVERY student to a standard. Because at the end of the day, employers should be able to smile at the new graduate they have just hired with that hypothetical milky white “Goods” moustache and see one smiling back.

 

Rob : )

Comments

[Elizabeth Regan, SPT]

As a DPT student preparing to graduate next month, I have two comments related to the "goods" from my perspective. First, I can speak for my DPT program at Elon University, that being able produce the goods is absolutely required to graduate. Not only do we spend an entire year performing clinical internships, we must demonstrate at least 6 weeks as an entry-level therapist carrying a full case load. That being said, it does concern me that as I enter the work force as a capable therapist (certainly still with plenty to learn!), that I might be generalized into a category of those less prepared. Or worse as one of those DPTs who think they know everything. So while generalizations are certainly a part of professional life, I would encourage all clinicians hiring new graduates to evaluate us based on our programs, and as individuals.

[Jason Silvernail]

To piggy-back Elizabeth's comments, I would say that I do not intend to judge any graduate based on the program they came from. I have found this to have very little to do with competence.

I think Rob makes a good point that closer partnerships between academic instructors and practicing clinicians is necessary. This is really best accomplished both during planned clinical experiences and regular class and lab time during the academic sememsters. I wonder how many programs are seeking to bring in local practicing clinicians to use as lab instructors or oral/practical exam graders, etc.

I can speak for my school (I admit it was 8 years ago) in that we had frequent access to instruction in lab settings from locally practicing PTs in all areas of practice. We even had a chiropractor speak to us on several occasions, and act as a lab instructor for us.

I wonder how many schools or clinics reach out to each other in this way, when so much might be accomplished for our students?
J