Guest guest Posted May 11, 2011 Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 A question to those in the group who have implemented complete women's health programs: We have considered gynecological PT in the past in our clinics, but the roadblock was staffing. Some of the existing staff were willing to be trained in many aspects of this, but absolutely no one was willing to do the internal exam and treatment, which kind of put a kibosh on developing the program. This is not something I feel comfortable as a manager and a PT in forcing someone to do. We also have found it difficult to recruit for this sub specialty. Our worry is that if we do finally get someone trained or recruit an experienced gynecological PT, that there will be no backup- if this person leaves, the program dies. This scenario actually did happen at a neighboring clinic that had 2 women's health therapists who left to start their own business. The program subsequently died. Do others have difficulty with this staffing aspect for these programs? Any words of advice? Thanks, Meryl Freeman, MS PT Manager, Rex Hospital Outpatient Rehab From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of Ehlert, Sara Sent: Monday, May 09, 2011 1:51 PM To: PTManager Subject: RE: Women's Heaolth Mike, a great resource is the Women's Health Section, APTA. www.womenshealthapta.org You should be able to find a regional resource there as well as other resources. Sara Ehlert, PT North Valley Hospital Physical Therapy Columbia Falls, MT (fax) From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Kai Pedersen Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2011 8:48 PM To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: RE: Women's Heaolth Mike, I have allowed another PT who wants to start her own women's health practice to use my office to get started. We worked out a percentage agreement we each were happy with, it was my space and my billing. She has not done a good job of marketing and has only a trickle of work (she maintains full time work elsewhere and takes clients one afternoon a week at my office). There seems to be both turfism and ignorance of PT specialty in this area. I do not expect her to make a go of it since she is not aggressively marketing. There is definitely a need however. She has good results with the few patients she has. Seems like the OB and GYN people want to keep it in house. Good luck. Kai Pedersen PT South Mountain Physical Therapy Wernersville, PA _____ From: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of ptspecialists@... <mailto:ptspecialists%40myembarqmail.com> <mailto:ptspecialists%40myembarqmail.com> Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2011 5:17 PM To: PTManager <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:PTManager%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: Women's Heaolth Dear group, 2nd attempt. I was hoping to talk with someone that has introduced Women's Health into their private practice. Thank you for your response. Mike D. Moreau, M.S.P.T., Cert. MDT Physical Therapy Specialists 1344 N. Center St., Suite B Hickory, NC 28601 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Meryl, We started our women's health program with one PT in 2001. You are correct in that when you have only 1 PT providing a specialized service you are taking a risk should that PT leave, but that's the case for other specialties, too (e.g., vestibular, lymphedema, etc.). We still have our PT that started our program, and until year 3 or so she was our only women's health PT. Did I fret about her leaving? I knew that was always a possibility, but with frequent communication and providing her with plenty of growth and development opportunities, along with the ability to essentially run the women's health program and begin a fitness class for pre and post-natal moms, she and the program flourished to the point that we now have four PTs providing women's health services. As for the internal exam, that is definitely a turn-off to many therapists, but I've found that those with a passion for women's health have no problem with it. So the task then becomes finding those passionate PTs. Mark Dwyer, PT, MHA Director of Rehabilitation Services Olathe Medical Center Olathe, Kansas markdwyer87@... Re: Women's Health <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PTManager/message/51406;_ylc=X3oDMTJybzhyMGYyBF9T\ Azk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzExMDA3ODEEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYxMzQ3BG1zZ0lkAzUxNDA2BHNlYwNk\ bXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEzMDUxOTk1MjQ-> Posted by: " Freeman, Meryl " Meryl.Freeman@... <mailto:Meryl.Freeman@...?Subject=%20Re%3A%20Women%27s%20Health> platysma1 <http://profiles.yahoo.com/platysma1> Wed May 11, 2011 6:57 am (PDT) A question to those in the group who have implemented complete women's health programs: We have considered gynecological PT in the past in our clinics, but the roadblock was staffing. Some of the existing staff were willing to be trained in many aspects of this, but absolutely no one was willing to do the internal exam and treatment, which kind of put a kibosh on developing the program. This is not something I feel comfortable as a manager and a PT in forcing someone to do. We also have found it difficult to recruit for this sub specialty. Our worry is that if we do finally get someone trained or recruit an experienced gynecological PT, that there will be no backup- if this person leaves, the program dies. This scenario actually did happen at a neighboring clinic that had 2 women's health therapists who left to start their own business. The program subsequently died. Do others have difficulty with this staffing aspect for these programs? Any words of advice? Thanks, Meryl Freeman, MS PT Manager, Rex Hospital Outpatient Rehab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Meryl, We started our women's health program with one PT in 2001. You are correct in that when you have only 1 PT providing a specialized service you are taking a risk should that PT leave, but that's the case for other specialties, too (e.g., vestibular, lymphedema, etc.). We still have our PT that started our program, and until year 3 or so she was our only women's health PT. Did I fret about her leaving? I knew that was always a possibility, but with frequent communication and providing her with plenty of growth and development opportunities, along with the ability to essentially run the women's health program and begin a fitness class for pre and post-natal moms, she and the program flourished to the point that we now have four PTs providing women's health services. As for the internal exam, that is definitely a turn-off to many therapists, but I've found that those with a passion for women's health have no problem with it. So the task then becomes finding those passionate PTs. Mark Dwyer, PT, MHA Director of Rehabilitation Services Olathe Medical Center Olathe, Kansas markdwyer87@... Re: Women's Health <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PTManager/message/51406;_ylc=X3oDMTJybzhyMGYyBF9T\ Azk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzExMDA3ODEEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYxMzQ3BG1zZ0lkAzUxNDA2BHNlYwNk\ bXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEzMDUxOTk1MjQ-> Posted by: " Freeman, Meryl " Meryl.Freeman@... <mailto:Meryl.Freeman@...?Subject=%20Re%3A%20Women%27s%20Health> platysma1 <http://profiles.yahoo.com/platysma1> Wed May 11, 2011 6:57 am (PDT) A question to those in the group who have implemented complete women's health programs: We have considered gynecological PT in the past in our clinics, but the roadblock was staffing. Some of the existing staff were willing to be trained in many aspects of this, but absolutely no one was willing to do the internal exam and treatment, which kind of put a kibosh on developing the program. This is not something I feel comfortable as a manager and a PT in forcing someone to do. We also have found it difficult to recruit for this sub specialty. Our worry is that if we do finally get someone trained or recruit an experienced gynecological PT, that there will be no backup- if this person leaves, the program dies. This scenario actually did happen at a neighboring clinic that had 2 women's health therapists who left to start their own business. The program subsequently died. Do others have difficulty with this staffing aspect for these programs? Any words of advice? Thanks, Meryl Freeman, MS PT Manager, Rex Hospital Outpatient Rehab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 12, 2011 Report Share Posted May 12, 2011 Meryl, We started our women's health program with one PT in 2001. You are correct in that when you have only 1 PT providing a specialized service you are taking a risk should that PT leave, but that's the case for other specialties, too (e.g., vestibular, lymphedema, etc.). We still have our PT that started our program, and until year 3 or so she was our only women's health PT. Did I fret about her leaving? I knew that was always a possibility, but with frequent communication and providing her with plenty of growth and development opportunities, along with the ability to essentially run the women's health program and begin a fitness class for pre and post-natal moms, she and the program flourished to the point that we now have four PTs providing women's health services. As for the internal exam, that is definitely a turn-off to many therapists, but I've found that those with a passion for women's health have no problem with it. So the task then becomes finding those passionate PTs. Mark Dwyer, PT, MHA Director of Rehabilitation Services Olathe Medical Center Olathe, Kansas markdwyer87@... Re: Women's Health <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PTManager/message/51406;_ylc=X3oDMTJybzhyMGYyBF9T\ Azk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzExMDA3ODEEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYxMzQ3BG1zZ0lkAzUxNDA2BHNlYwNk\ bXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEzMDUxOTk1MjQ-> Posted by: " Freeman, Meryl " Meryl.Freeman@... <mailto:Meryl.Freeman@...?Subject=%20Re%3A%20Women%27s%20Health> platysma1 <http://profiles.yahoo.com/platysma1> Wed May 11, 2011 6:57 am (PDT) A question to those in the group who have implemented complete women's health programs: We have considered gynecological PT in the past in our clinics, but the roadblock was staffing. Some of the existing staff were willing to be trained in many aspects of this, but absolutely no one was willing to do the internal exam and treatment, which kind of put a kibosh on developing the program. This is not something I feel comfortable as a manager and a PT in forcing someone to do. We also have found it difficult to recruit for this sub specialty. Our worry is that if we do finally get someone trained or recruit an experienced gynecological PT, that there will be no backup- if this person leaves, the program dies. This scenario actually did happen at a neighboring clinic that had 2 women's health therapists who left to start their own business. The program subsequently died. Do others have difficulty with this staffing aspect for these programs? Any words of advice? Thanks, Meryl Freeman, MS PT Manager, Rex Hospital Outpatient Rehab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Thanks for your input, Mark. If we do move ahead, though, I may need to recruit. Although I do have 3 or 4 therapists who are passionate about women's health and love what they do, they have absolutely no desire to do the internal stuff. But I do agree with you on your retention methods. When we started our lymphedema program, I had two therapists trained. I now have 5. It seems that more therapists are willing to be trained in the non-invasive sub specialties! Meryl W. Freeman, MS PT Manager, Outpatient Rehab (919)784-4676 (office) (919)621-3787 (cell) From: Mark Dwyer Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 09:47 PM To: PTManager <PTManager > Subject: Re: Women's Health Meryl, We started our women's health program with one PT in 2001. You are correct in that when you have only 1 PT providing a specialized service you are taking a risk should that PT leave, but that's the case for other specialties, too (e.g., vestibular, lymphedema, etc.). We still have our PT that started our program, and until year 3 or so she was our only women's health PT. Did I fret about her leaving? I knew that was always a possibility, but with frequent communication and providing her with plenty of growth and development opportunities, along with the ability to essentially run the women's health program and begin a fitness class for pre and post-natal moms, she and the program flourished to the point that we now have four PTs providing women's health services. As for the internal exam, that is definitely a turn-off to many therapists, but I've found that those with a passion for women's health have no problem with it. So the task then becomes finding those passionate PTs. Mark Dwyer, PT, MHA Director of Rehabilitation Services Olathe Medical Center Olathe, Kansas markdwyer87@... <mailto:markdwyer87%40me.com> Re: Women's Health <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PTManager/message/51406;_ylc=X3oDMTJybzhyMGYyBF9T\ Azk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzExMDA3ODEEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYxMzQ3BG1zZ0lkAzUxNDA2BHNlYwNk\ bXNnBHNsawN2bXNnBHN0aW1lAzEzMDUxOTk1MjQ-> Posted by: " Freeman, Meryl " Meryl.Freeman@... <mailto:Meryl.Freeman%40rexhealth.com> <mailto:Meryl.Freeman@... <mailto:Meryl.Freeman%40rexhealth.com> ?Subject=%20Re%3A%20Women%27s%20Health> platysma1 <http://profiles.yahoo.com/platysma1> Wed May 11, 2011 6:57 am (PDT) A question to those in the group who have implemented complete women's health programs: We have considered gynecological PT in the past in our clinics, but the roadblock was staffing. Some of the existing staff were willing to be trained in many aspects of this, but absolutely no one was willing to do the internal exam and treatment, which kind of put a kibosh on developing the program. This is not something I feel comfortable as a manager and a PT in forcing someone to do. We also have found it difficult to recruit for this sub specialty. Our worry is that if we do finally get someone trained or recruit an experienced gynecological PT, that there will be no backup- if this person leaves, the program dies. This scenario actually did happen at a neighboring clinic that had 2 women's health therapists who left to start their own business. The program subsequently died. Do others have difficulty with this staffing aspect for these programs? Any words of advice? Thanks, Meryl Freeman, MS PT Manager, Rex Hospital Outpatient Rehab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 I would recommend the Hollis Herman / Wallace Course of Study. Herman/ Wallace Institute... Sue Condon, PT Director of Rehab Services Divine Savior Healthcare Portage, WI ________________________________ From: PTManager [mailto:PTManager ] On Behalf Of wwickwar Sent: Monday, November 14, 2011 10:40 PM To: PTManager Subject: Women's Health Hello Group, I have a couple of therapists who are starting up a Women's Health program. I'd like to know from any of you who have a Women's Health program what the best courses are to get trained. I'd especially like to know which courses do the best job of correlating pelvic floor dysfunctions with lumbosacral and hip dysfunctions. Wes Wickwar PT Accelacare Physical Therapy Garden City, KS This email message has been delivered safely and archived online by Mimecast. For more information please visit http://www.mimecast.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 I am posting the following submitted by our own pelvic floor dsyfunction specialist: In response to your question concerning establishing a women's heath program, there are several things that need to be considered. You will want to consider if you will only be treating pelvic dysfunction or the management of lymphedema, primarily for breast cancer, as well. As far as pelvic dysfunction, I would strongly recommend the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation institute instead of the APTA women's health courses. H & W offers basic level pelvic dysfunction, pregnancy and post partum, pelvic floor pelvic girdle, sacroiliac dysfunction, visceral/fascial release courses and male pelvic dysfunction. The APTA courses are adequate, I have taken most of them but find them not as comprehensive as H & W. If you plan on treating incontinence or pelvic pain then the course work must include internal evaluation and assessment. There are courses available for incontinence that have patients insert a vaginal sEMG sensors themselves without a therapist evaluation; they simply are not providing the information that is necessary to effectively treat the patients. If you choose to treat lymphedema as well, then the course that would make you eligible to sit for the LANA (lymphology Assn of North America) certification exam. I hope you find this information helpful. Ramona C. Horton MPT Pelvic Dysfunction Therapist RVMC Rehabilitation Services --- Bob Perlson Director, Rehabilitation Services Rogue Valley Medical Center Medford OR > > Hello Group, > > I have a couple of therapists who are starting up a Women's Health program. I'd like to know from any of you who have a Women's Health program what the best courses are to get trained. I'd especially like to know which courses do the best job of correlating pelvic floor dysfunctions with lumbosacral and hip dysfunctions. > > Wes Wickwar PT > Accelacare Physical Therapy > Garden City, KS > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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