RehabCare

A Man's Best Friend

After working in skilled nursing facilities for about 3 years,  I have definitely seen the positive effects animals have on the geriatric population. Whether it is the patient's pet coming in for a visit or an organization bringing these dogs, cats, etc.. in, the smile it brings to these patient's face is unbelievable. This article, as stated in The Gilbert Guide Blog, describes some of the therapeutic benefits these animals have on patients both physically and emotionally.
The Healing Touch Of Animals

Studies have found that simply having an animal present or visiting a long-term care facility can provide multiple health benefits to residents. Some skilled nursing facility residents have shown increased communication, decreased anxiety, lower heart rates, and a decrease in depression following interactions with animals. Alzheimers patients who often experience behavior disorders such as agitation and aggression have exhibited fewer episodes of verbal outbursts and anxiety and increased positive socialization when a therapy dog was present.

No wonder there you always hear " A dog is a man's best friend."

Calm Your Worries Over the NBCOT

You have finally made it through all your classes and fieldwork and now it is time to take the last step into becoming a licensed Occupational Therapist.... it is time to take the NBCOT.  For many OT students, thoughts of taking the 200 question exam conjures up feelings of fear and apprehension, but there is no need for any of that.  I came across a great blog on Occupational Therapy, a blog about OT, posted by Nathan titled "Preparing for the NBCOT Exam".  Nathan prepared for the exam, took the exam, and passed the exam a little over a month ago and is now giving his words of wisdom on how to prepare.  He lists the books he used in preparation for the exam, stating which ones are worth using and which ones you can do without, and also gives some useful tips on how to study.

"I utilized the following four books:

· OT Exam Review Manual (4th ed.), by Karen Sladyk

· Occupational Therapy Examination Review Guide (3rd ed.), by Caryn Johnson

· OTR Study Guide and Study Guide Supplement, by NBCOT (pdf order form)

· National Occupational Therapy Certification Exam Review and Study Guide, by Rita Cottrell ...

... Now that I've covered which textbooks I used, I'll just say a little bit about the actual studying. First, do not study alone! Initially, I was going to study alone, but I got myself a study partner, and believe me, it helped! I would not have passed without her. With a study partner, you can set goals, test each other, cover material out loud, and review things that you may have problems with. "

If you are an Occupational Therapy student getting ready to prepare for or take the NBCOT, take a moment to check out Nathan's blog.  He has some great first hand advice, and we all know every little helpful hint can only help. Good luck!

Minnesota PTA Licensure Now A Must

Believe it or not, but several states do not regulate licenses for certain health professionals.  Colorado doesn't require a state license for Speech-Language Pathologists or Occupational Therapists.  Minnesota doesn't require a state license for Physical Therapist Assistants.  At least until now.  Previously, the only way to confirm a PTA license in an unregulated state such as Minnesota, was to verify with the school they graduated from that they completed the program.  Now PTA's will be regulated with their own license just like their Occupational Therapy Assistant counterparts.  The Aquatic Therapist reports that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed this major healthcare bill into law.

Minnesota joined 37 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in licensing physical therapist assistants (PTAs) when Gov Tim Pawlenty recently signed into law a major healthcare bill.

Physical therapists are now able to delegate patient treatment procedures to qualified licensed physical therapist assistants as a result of language from the state's House and Senate legislation, filed by Rep Kim Norton and Sen Patricia Torres Ray. This language is included in the omnibus Senate File 26.

Horse Fanatics

Horses' beauty and delicate movements are definitely something to admire from afar, let alone a child to be able to be up close and personal while developing their own beauty and movements. Hippotherapy is becoming more recognized as a therapy treatment around the world and has shown great benefits especially in the developing child. Schatze Rasmussen from Suite 101.com has some great things to say about Hippotherapy.
Hippotherapy

Positive responses from patient's have repeatedly been recorded in not only posture and motor skills of patients, but also coordination and tone of muscles, respiration (breathing), cognition or thinking skills, sensory processing (making sense of different stimuli-everything from rhythm to smells), balance, affect (facial expression related to inner feelings), arousal (excitement/enthusiasm level) and use of speech/language skills. It is also another way to do therapy in a more natural surrounding rather than in the four-walled therapy room that is usually painted white. Patients are out in the community socializing with others. Not to mention this is FUN!!

Next time you go horseback riding or pass a horse farm on your way to vacation hopefully you will not only see the horses' beauty but will know the therapeutic value they have in many people's lives.

Online Continuing Education

For the last several years, RehabCare has offered its employees the chance to take continuing education units(CEUs) online through our program called DevelopU.  It has received rave reviews from our therapists who enjoy the convenience of being able to take a CEU course without having to leave their home.  Tonie Roux at Key Degree describes the increased interest in online CEU courses.

Physical therapy continuing education online is a growing boom for the industry. What with thousands of physical therapists seeking quality education, but have been hampered by time, money, or simply being too far away, physical therapy continuing education online is proving to be a very good way to further physical therapy studies.

The online CEUs offered through DevelopU can be deducted from an employee's PCA (Professional Choice Account) making payment for them as easy as clicking a mouse.

Student Loans & Scholarships - Choose Wisely

The majority of students today are faced with the same dilemma - rising tuition cost and educational expenses.  As the fall semester begins and tuitions are due it is again time for them to figure out how they are going to pay for everything?  It seems that the answer for many is take out a student loan or apply for a scholarship with the first organization that offers aid. But now everything isn'€™t that easy or safe. Now students have to find a loan, and or, scholarship backed by a company who has their best interest in mind rather than $$$$. In the last couple of weeks I have come across a multitude of articles speaking on the troubles brewing in the world of student loans and scholarships. Two recent articles on this subject were posted on MSNBC.com titled Student Loans Still Pose Plenty of Pitfalls by John Schoen and BBB Warns Students Of Scholarship Scams, by Herb Weisbaum.

"As direct student aid and federal grants failed to keep up with the rising cost of tuition, that loan volume became an increasingly lucrative stream of cash. Today, the student loan market is an $85 billion business."

"This is the time of year when families scramble to assemble the funds to pay for the fall semester. “People are desperate for money,” says Jim Boyle, president of College Parents of America. “They’re looking for help wherever they can find it, which makes them especially vulnerable to scholarship scams.”

"The Better Business Bureau says consumer complaints against scholarship, loan, and grant services jumped 60 percent last year."

RehabCare realizes the financial debt that students and their parents can accrue while trying to obtain a degree. With this in mind, we have created a program to aid in tuition cost and other educational expenses.  Opportunity U is our tuition assistance or tuition forgiveness program where students can apply for as much as $5,000 or $10,000 (depending on their discipline) to be paid towards their schooling.  If you a€™re interested in learning more about Opportunity U give us a call or visit our website and apply online.

A Different Kind Of Rehab Gym

Treadmills, weights, canes, walkers, parallel bars, bouncy balls and ultra sound machines are all things that come to mind when thinking about a rehab gym. But step into Mid-America Rehab and you will see a whole new kind of physical therapy rehab gym filled with road signs, moving cables, semitrailer cabs, ladders, bricks and much, much more.  It is called industrial rehabilitation and its purpose is to help injured workers get ready to go back to work by incorporating activties related to their profession into their therapy sessions.   

Industrial rehabilitation takes physical therapy a few steps further by incorporating job-related activities during therapy. They can range from simple repetitive motion exercises to climbing in and out of a semitrailer for drivers, moving riverboat cables for barge workers and lifting road signs for Missouri Department of Transportation employees.

When someone is injured on a job, the company loses a worker to the recovery process, thereby losing some productivity. Industrial rehabilitation ensures that when workers return to the job site, they pick up where they left off.

"That's the ultimate goal," said Matt Rubel, a physical therapist with Mid-America Rehab. Mid-America Rehab has a truck cab, ladders and a boat suspended on springs to help different workers practice for the return to work. Other physical therapy facilities have barge cables, ratchets, bricks and cinderblocks for patients to move in order to build their abilities after an injury.

No longer is therapy just confined to the same old gym setting. So remember as a Physical Therapist you have a lot of options, just pik the one that intrigues you the most.

Bump Set Spike Round 2

We have an exciting announcement to make in regards to our Volleyball Tournament being co-sponsored with Duke University's Student Special Interest Group -  RehabCare is matching dollar-for-dollar the $20 team entry fee up to $200.  All funds raised are going towards a scholarship fund for North Carolina PT and PTA students.

For more details on this event, check out our previous entry.  If you plan on being in the Chapel Hill, NC area on September 8, we hope to see you with volleyball in hand.

Helping Those In Need

While searching through many blogs, I found a very interesting and inspiring blog from a PT class at Belmont University. This blog talks about a trip members of their PT class took to Guatemala to work in the rehab department of a hospital. How great is to be to able to help others not only in your country but in another country and provide services to them that may not otherwise have. Here is a bit  from Rebekah, one of the PT students on the mission trip, about the life of a student PT in a third world country:

Touching Lives In Guatemala

After lunch, three members of our team went to another part of the hospital to observe surgery. There is a team of plastic surgeons from Virginia working in the hospital this week while we are here. They were gracious enough to allow us to observe them. Today, our team members saw repairs on cleft palates and an ear reconstruction.

It is amazing how a PT class came together to use their skills to help those in need. Image all the great things they learned too while they were there.

Bump Set Spike

If you live in the greater Chapel Hill, NC area and have a love of volleyball, then keep your calendar open for Saturday, September 8.  RehabCare is sponsoring a Volleyball tournament in conjunction with several Physical Therapy schools in North Carolina:  Duke, Elon, Winston-Salem, East Carolina, Western Carolina and University of North Carolina.

This is a great way to get in one last hurrah before the fall season sets in.  So gather up your other volleyball-fanatic friends and join us for an afternoon of fun and free food on September 8 from 10am-2pm at the Chapel Hill Community Center, 120 South Estes Dr, Chapel Hill, NC.  We'll also be raffling off an I-Pod shuffle among other door prizes.

A $20 entry fee is requested of each team with half of all money raised going to the North Carolina Physical Therapy Association Scholarship Fund for students in the PT and PTA programs throughout North Carolina.  Send me an email for more information on how to register.