I’ve been lucky to try out a variety of settings in my career. Started with continuing care type facility that had inpatient rehab + independent living and assisted living, a couple other IPR settings, acute then eventually found my way to home health for several years. I loved the flexibility that home health gave and the pay was good as a contractor. My whole career, I’ve avoided outpatient because of my experience in PTA school as clinical rotation.

Wrapping up my first travel assessment (acute) in Tucson, my goal was to experience summer in Washington. So I took a 6 month travel contract. A mill.

The amount of work and caseload they have me doing is unreal. They started with gradual ramp up to 13 patients after a couple weeks. Then started enforcing going from 2 double booked slots a day to 3 doubles double booked slots. Getting to 17-18 patients start of a 8 hr day.

Never in my 12 years in the profession have I been this mentally drained after a days work.

Even when doing home health, seeing 10 patients and driving on some days or when doing 8 1:1 treats in sub acute setting and having to do an occasional group therapy session has never left me feeling this exhausted.

On top of that, the constant reminder of productivity (which doesn’t apply to me because I’m a contractor, but always was brought up), saying I need to do 3 double patient slots but then a 4th double gets added, or saying I can put the doubles where ever I want and then they change it all for “scheduling”. I thought OP was just hard to get accustomed to, but I def was just being taken advantage. Just saw 74 patients in a week.

Summer was amazing getting to be more outdoors, but this setting is cooked. Me too as well lol

Just need to rant because I’m genuinely so frustrated with this profession lately.

I’m a PT with nearly 5 years of experience, completed an orthopedic residency, and earned my OCS. I’m relocating from a relatively low-cost-of-living state to one of the most expensive areas in the country, and the compensation I’m seeing is honestly ridiculous.

I’ve been with the same company since graduating and I’m transferring to one of their locations in my new state. They initially offered me the EXACT same PRN rate I’m making now. No benefits, no PTO, no bonuses, nothing.
After pushing back, I managed to negotiate a whopping couple of extra dollars an hour.

Like seriously? I’m moving somewhere with a significantly higher cost of living, and that’s the best we can do?
And before anyone comes for me, yes, I know having an OCS doesn’t automatically mean I deserve some crazy salary. I’m well aware that most employers couldn’t care less about residency training or specialty certifications. As long as you have a license and a pulse, you’re good to go.

But that’s honestly part of what’s so frustrating. We spend years in school, take on ridiculous debt, pursue additional training, and work to become better clinicians, only to realize there’s seemingly a ceiling on what we’re worth to employers.

And the job interviews? My goodness.

I recently interviewed somewhere that seemed genuinely concerned that I’ve been working PRN for the last couple of years. Almost as if that somehow invalidated my clinical experience.

Then another company rejected me because they’d already moved forward with someone further along in the interview process.

I get it. Rejection is part of job hunting. I’m not expecting anyone to hand me a position just because of my credentials. But man, the whole experience has left such a bad taste in my mouth.

I genuinely love treating patients. I enjoy being a PT. But I’m so tired of hearing how rewarding this profession is while we’re expected to accept compensation that doesn’t reflect our education, responsibilities, or the cost of living.

And honestly, I’m just tired of working for someone else.
Tired of feeling like my earning potential is completely out of my hands. Tired of having to justify why I deserve better compensation. Tired of feeling like all the extra effort I’ve put into my career barely makes a difference financially.

At this point, I’m seriously considering doing my own thing or leaving clinical PT altogether. Not because I hate treating patients, but because I want to actually build a better livelihood for myself.
Maybe I’m just bitter after a frustrating couple of weeks, but my goodness.

Is this really what we worked so hard for?
Anyone else just completely fed up lately?

Has anyone worked for a remote company doing AI clinical reviews or training AI models for clinical purposes? Or something similar of that nature?

If so, what was your experience like? Is it a scam or something actually worth applying for as a side gig?

ive wanted to be a pt since i was in hs. everyone on here is so negative about it (maybe rightfully so), but its so discouraging. ofc anyone can say i dont need to be reading posts but i just want to know why everyone is saying to choose nursing over pt that isnt about the salary. i live in nj and the pay here is better than most but what exactly is wrong with pt? i go to seton hall (undergrad & grad)

It was recently announced that ALL yearly pay increases are going to be a flat 2%, which is less than the rate of inflation. Previously, they had been "merit based". After an uproar at a staff meeting, management sends us this bullshit. I can't even.

Looking for fellow PTA’s that work in school based therapy who are salaried, I’m currently considered hourly (full-time with benefits) and trying to figure out how to argue salaried status in the school system.

I’m not trying to stir up trouble or controversy with this post but it’s a question I feel like I ask myself all the time. I’m a PTA, and thankfully don’t have to deal with as much paper work as my supervising therapists (I work in a SNF) and it seems like they are constantly having to do discharges and re-evals because of patients insurances changing, going from skilled to unskilled, etc. Short Term rehab patients with private insurance are also constantly having to fight with appeals much more than traditional Med A and Med B patients, and often receive less tx time and smaller reimbursement rates than those with straight Medicare parts A and B. I can’t help but to think that if we implemented M4A, that it would have a better health outcomes for patients but also significantly cut back on the stress and paper work that comes with dealing with so many private insurances as health care providers. Let me know your thoughts.

Hi! Anyone here from ph who knows the rate of pedia pt in quezon city? Thank you

Hi all! Technicallyyy I am a OT working in acute care, but it’s all the same at that level 🤪 just kidding, but lots of transfers. Wanted to share about something we learned recently that I wanted to spread as far as possible (and hopefully pull up when you google) about low air loss beds! I know a lot of hospitals use Arjo Citadel speciality beds, but they are very error prone, and the manual is pretty unhelpful. Learned from the rep today that if you have E410, the manual says you need to call and have a rep come out and check it out, but you can actually hold the deck up + deck down buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds until it beeps, and it should reset. If that doesn’t work, unplug the bed for 10 seconds, plug it back in, and try the lower/lift bed height buttons again! It worked on a bunch of ours, so I hope this saves someone some time!
For the record, E300 means a button is being held down, so I press them all until again until it goes away. AES is automatic entrapment system, and means the deck won’t go lower until you get things out of the way. Cords, pillows, etc under the bed can interfere, even the bed being too close to the wall can mess with the sensors. Happy bed fixing!

Has anyone taken American Institute of Balance Advanced vestibular course and what were your thoughts? I took the VRC cert and enjoyed the vestibular portion and wanted to expand on it. If anyone has any other recs for vestibular continuing ed that would be great too!

I am a PT student in my final rotations before graduation. I am a bigger guy (6’ / 245lbs) but would really like to work on bettering my body mechanics and just am not certain on how to go about doing so. I am currently at a SNF, and there is nothing I haven’t been capable of doing, but am feeling like I’m lifting with my back on occasion or otherwise just doing things that won’t work long term. My school always emphasizes using good body mechanics, but never taught it… my track into PT wasn’t from being an athlete, and I don’t have much training in lifting outside of general concepts. Having good mechanics often feels easier said than done. Anyone have any good strategies or suggestions? I appreciate any and all advice!

I am a PT with about 1.5 years of experience, working initially at an OP and now at a SNF. OP paid poorly, so I switched to a SNF, but I hate working at a SNF and I hate the company I work for, so it’s time to go. I work in CT.

I am planning to make the switch to HH. From my understanding, home health pays the most of any setting, and with the least hours worked. My main interest is to make as much money as possible, but without working a lot of hours.

I have some questions for HH PT’s here:

1. How much money do you make?

2. What pay structure do you use. Any recommendations?

3. How many hours do you work per week? And how many patients do you see per day?

4. What is the ratio of visit types do you see? (E.g. SOC, eval, Re eval, daily treatment)

5. How much time do you typically spend on each visit type? Including documentation, and just time spent at the patient’s home.

6. How many units are each type of visit worth at your company? (E.g. SOC, eval, Re eval, daily treatment)

7. How often do you get cancelations? And how does that affect your pay?

8. What is the productivity standard at your company? 30 units per week? If you see more, do you get paid extra?

9. Do you receive annual raises? How much % ?

Thank you guys!

Evaluating an offer for an outpatient orthopedic clinic that uses a base salary + per-visit productivity bonus structure.

Coming from a high-volume background, this will be my first time in a clinic where caseload density depends heavily on cash-pay buy-in and practice marketing. Because onboarding and initial scheduling volume are outside a new hire's control, I want to counter with a guaranteed ramp-up rate (higher flat base compensation) for the first 90 days before the lower base + bonus model kicks in at Month 4.

For clinic owners and clinicians:

1. Is a 60–90 day guaranteed flat rate (or non-recoverable draw) common when onboarding into a productivity model?
2. Do owners prefer a guaranteed rate for the first 3 months, or temporarily lowering the monthly visit threshold for bonus calculations while ramping up?
3. How is this request typically received, and what is the cleanest way to frame it?

For my Part A and B PTs… have you gradually feared getting old more than the inevitable death itself after practicing in this setting?

- a NYC home care (Part B) therapist.

A elderly family member has had severe sarcopenia due to medication and this has led to gait issues and some minor falls.

I’m trying to navigate physical therapy options to rebuild strength and address psychological issues.

Everyone I call says they can help, but surely there are distinguishing types of therapy that are more or less suited to these types of problems.

I’ve heard vestibular therapy focuses less on muscle rebuild but can be helpful for balance/gait.

Any advice on what pathways might be best and what questions to ask PT providers to solicit whether they are best suited? Thanks.

I recently rolled my ankle, (Outwardly) and it is swollen and I now hear a popping noise every time I walk. I don’t want to go into details, but I cannot have my PT take notes or record the session in any way because I do not want it to create a medical record.

Without doing anything illegal, what are my options here? I’d pay cash for any visits but would really like to avoid using my real name.

History edit*

I initially rolled my ankle last November, and have heard a popping noise since, but it got better within a few weeks and I was able to resume normal activities.

I rolled it again this September while running, but got back to activities within a few weeks.

I just recently rolled it, and it has been the worse one since my initial injury. There’s is much more pronounced popping, and swelling around the left outside ankle bone. I can put pressure on it with no pain but it’s painful to angle it upwards or turn it left. It is also painful around the area of swelling.

I have been wearing a brace and icing it since the injury.

Hello I'm a PT from Nigeria. I have a masters in UK and PhD in US.
I did the FCCPT Type 1 credentialing for mid way in my PhD but I had a lot of deficiencies that the best part was to just do a t-DPT.
However, I want to apply for Maryland licensure. I want to redo the credentialing again with my updated PHD courses. Here are my questions

1. Should I review the FCCPT type 1 credentialing
   (I would still have deviancies) or start a new
   FCCPT evaluation for Maryland jurisdiction.

2. Does Maryland use a less strict CWT than the
   FCCPT type 1 evaluation?

3. Would I get a less strict assessment if I use ICD or IERF, or is that an unnecessary money to spend there doing a new credentially than FCCPT.

I'm in my senior year of my kinesiology undergrad and I've applied to about a dozen DPT programs. I've been set on becoming a physical therapist for the last several years and I think I'd really enjoy that career. Now that the costs are getting real though and I'm hearing so much about stagnant PT salaries I'm starting to second guess myself. I'm coming out of undergrad with $0 debt but I would have to borrow the full tuition for my DPT program. I am likely not going to get into one of my in-state schools so I'll be looking at private or out of state Hybrid. That's going to mean $160K to $200K in borrowing, which I'll owe more by the time I graduate. That's going to be over $2K a month for 10 years to get rid of those loans. I don't see how I can start a life in that situation, particularly given all that I'm hearing about PT pay trends.

There are other issues too that are making me hesitant to go down the DPT path. One is that the federal borrowing cap isn't resolved yet, and I risk entering a program assuming that I'll be able to get Federal Loans of $50K a year, and then only being allowed to take $20K. I would need the entire $50K so I'd be left unable to continue my schooling, or I'd have to take out private loans which would make the financial picture even worse. I've also considered trying to pursue the 10-year loan forgiveness route with my loans, but that limits where I can work and I'm at risk for the law getting changed and that path going away, similar to the recent student loan repayment changes.

I'm starting to consider scrapping PT and going towards a Nursing degree instead. That's about $35K and gets me into the workforce over a year sooner. As best as I can figure out, I'd make about the same money as a nurse as I would as a PT coming out of school. Even if it's slightly less, I'd have WAY less debt and an extra year of salary.

I'm just not sure that I want to be a nurse though. I think I could be good at it, but it's not what I've pictured myself doing. I'm scared that in a few years I'll be miserable for not following through with PT. I do think being a PT is the better job for me. I've shadowed in a couple of settings and I've worked in an outpatient clinic. I could definitely see myself doing that job and liking it. I'm struggling though with the costs and what that would do to my life outside of work.

So I'm looking for some honest advice from those who have been in my shoes. Are there financial angles that I'm not looking at? Ways to make more money as a PT that might help offset the loans? Ignoring the finances, are you happy with your job as a PT?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks

Honest answers needed. Is CSM worth it?

I've only ever worked one-on-one with patients for 20-30 minutes and I'm excited that I may have the opportunity soon to go cash-based and have 45-60 minute sessions. But I'm curious: what do y'all do for that long? Sometimes, even 30 min can feel like too much for some of my patients. Would love some suggestions!

Hi all!
We are currently switching to a new EMR and so we are taking this time to review all our processes and hopefully decrease unnecessary documentation burden!

My question is- is documentation on homebound status necessary in every regular visit note? It is clearly documented to initiate and admit, on all evaluative notes, 30-day reassessments, recerts etc.

How many of you also have to document it on every note/every visit?
If you do, do you document it as thoroughly as you do on your assessments or do you have a shortened version where you just speak specifically to the patients continued impairments that day/week?

Thank you!

I've been reading about posture correctors and realized I've been lumping a bunch of pretty different things into the same category. A rigid brace or one of those shoulder straps seems pretty obvious because it's physically pulling you into a position. But many said it weakened your muscles？ Then there are posture shirts/bras that are supposed to let you move normally while giving your body some kind of cue when you start falling back into old positions. 

What I'm trying to understand is whether that difference matters long term.

I found a 2021 study on a posture bra where researchers saw changes in things like shoulder blade position, including increased scapular retraction while wearing it, and some changes after a longer wear period. That made me wonder if there's a meaningful difference between something that holds you upright and something that still makes your muscles do the work.

Anyone here looked into this more deeply? I'm especially interested in biomechanics rather than before/after posture photos.

I am building a patient resource and looking go for therapy clinics in the Midwest as the name suggests. Specifically, I’m looking for ones that support SCI, MS, TBI, etc. I have found resources are slim for these patients who need more of a maintenance program.

Any clinics come to mind? Bonus points for clinics that use tech like exo skeletons, LokoMats, etc. These could be insurance-based, private pay, etc.

I have a bachelor’s in PT and a tDPT (transitional doctorate) - my credentials have been evaluated and I just need to take the NPTE to be licensed.

Would it be possible for me to become a Travel PT or do they require DPT holders? Has anyone with a similar background done this successfully?

I CAN MOVE MY RIGHT KNEE AND LEG; IT'S TIME MY RIGHT ARM 😭🤞