Acute Care Practice Settings

Kelsy Buttke

Introduction Physical therapy in this setting is provided to

individuals who are admitted to a hospital for short-term patient care. Examples: illness, surgery, accident, or recovery from

a trauma

The goal is to discharge the patient as soon as he or she is medically stable and has a safe place to go.

Only 8.6% of practicing PTAs are in the acute care setting

Salary The median income is $49,000 per year

Types of Patients The types of patients can range from

infants to the elderly with all types of diagnoses. Mean percent of time spent with patients in

each age group Elderly – 51.8% Adults – 38.6% Children – 2.2% Toddlers – 1.4% Infants – 1.9%

Diagnoses and Treatments Patients who have undergone joint replacement surgery

is the most frequently seen patient group. Cardiac disorders and stroke victims are other high frequency patient group. Mean percent of patient conditions

Joint replacement – 13.6% Cardiac disorders – 7.7% Stroke – 7.4%

Re-training the patient to walk, assessing the patient for the need for assistive devices such as walkers or crutches, teaching joint protection, addressing balance issues and safety awareness with transfers are a few areas addressed in this setting.

Special Skills PTAs have the opportunity to become recognized for advanced

proficiency though APTA. This program is voluntary and PTAs are not required to be recognized

in order to work in a specific area. There are some areas that would be beneficial to the acute care

setting. Example: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary, Neuromuscular, Integumentary,

Geriatrics, and Musculoskeletal

Recognition via APTA Acute Care Section awards Lecture Award Mary Sinnott Award for Clinical Excellence in Acute Care James Dunleavy Distinguished Service Award Fellowship Award Resource Guides, including Lab Values Interpretation

Resources

Testimonial

http://youtu.be/od7GQN64ppw

References http

://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Prospective_Students&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=74690

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Workforce_Salaries_and_Stats&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=455&ContentID=71470&DirectListComboInd=D

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Workforce_Salaries_and_Stats&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=455&ContentID=71491&DirectListComboInd=D

http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Surveys_and_Stats1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentID=47284

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od7GQN64ppw http://www.lakesidehospital.com/CustomPage.asp?guidCusto

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