How to be an Effective Acute Care PT: Demystifying Our Role

1. Introduction

The instructor will review the role of the acute care physical therapist and give examples of the many challenging issues that must be integrated during an episode of care (e.g., lab values, catheter attachments, and patient response to activity/exercise).

2. Patient Management Model Examination

Performing an initial examination on a hospitalized patient can be intimidating, especially if there are procedures, tests, or diagnoses you are unfamiliar with. This chapter provides a stepwise approach to form a safe foundation on which to proceed. Examination must include: patient history, review of systems, and tests and measures (data collection).

3. Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prognosis

You have just examined your patient and collected considerable data such as muscle strength, blood pressure, distance walked, and a timed value for the “Timed Up and Go” outcome measure. What does it all mean? How do the parts fit together, and with whom should I discuss my assessment? Integrated within your evaluation is a process of defining a PT diagnosis, which is the primary limiting factor(s) to achieving independent or pre-hospital mobility, as well as making a functional prognosis for length of hospital stay and, frequently, for levels of care beyond the hospital.

4. Intervention

After examination and evaluation, you have concluded that your patient requires hospital-based physical therapy intervention. Considering the principles of frequency, mode, and intensity, you create a plan of care. Where there is evidence-based-literature to support interventions and outcomes, you use it.

5. Discharge Planning

You have examined, evaluated, treated, and spoken to the right people about your findings and recommendations. Now it is time to discharge your patient from the current episode of care.