Catalog 2018-2019 
    
    Mar 19, 2024  
Catalog 2018-2019 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PTA 135 Topics in Physical Therapy I

3 credits
Communication skills for the PTA including written documentation, plan of care review, recognizing and responding to individual and cultural differences, interpersonal communication, educating patients and caregivers, and educating others about the role of the PTA.

Prerequisites: BIOL& 242 , PTA 105 , PTA 115 , PTA 117 , and PTA 125  

Corequisites: PTA 126 PTA 145 , and PTA 155  

Quarters Offered: Winter

Global Outcomes:
This course teaches to the global outcome of Intercultural Appreciation.

Student Outcomes/Competencies:
Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

  • Define model of disablement
  • Discuss how models of disablement are relevant to the role of the PTA
  • Use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) to describe a patient’s situation and status
  • Discuss the importance of privacy and confidentiality in healthcare
  • Discuss patient confidentiality guidelines and requirements and relate these requirements to HIPAA practices
  • Identify the roles and significance of documentation in health care
  • Explain when to document, what to document and why the documentation is important as PTA provides patient interventions
  • Identify the categories of documentation content
  • Recognize various physical therapy documentation formats
  • Locate relevant information in the medical record
  • Compare and contrast all parts of the SOAP note for physical therapy documentation
  • Use an organized and logical framework to document patient care
  • Use language for physical therapy documentation that is accurate, complete, legible, timely, and consistent with institutional, legal, and billing requirements
  • Use appropriate terminology, abbreviations, grammar, syntax, and punctuation in physical therapy documentation and communication
  • Appropriately correct charting errors
  • Document physical therapy services provided including the appropriate elements of:
    • Patient/client self-report
    • Identification of specific intervention(s) provided
    • Frequency, duration, and intensity
    • Equipment provided
    • Changes in patient/client impairment, functional limitation and disability status as they relate to the plan of care
    • Response to interventions including, adverse reactions to interventions, if any
    • Factors that modify frequency or intensity of intervention and progression goals, including patient/client adherence to patient/client-related instructions
    • Communication with physical therapists, patients/clients, caregivers, and other healthcare team members
    • Indication of no-show or cancellation
  • Demonstrate an awareness of one’s own communication (verbal and non-verbal) style and its impact upon communication with the patient, physical therapist and other healthcare personnel
  • Discuss the interpersonal and communication skills involved in establishing a therapeutic relationship with a patient
  • Discuss the role and impact of individual and cultural differences in the provision of physical therapy services
  • Recognize individual and cultural differences
  • Identify culturally sensitive responses to a variety of patient-care scenarios
  • Locate resources to inform an appropriate and sensitive response to individual and cultural differences
  • Identify, respect, and act with consideration for patients’/clients’ differences, values, preferences, and expressed needs in all work-related activities
  • Demonstrate an awareness of social responsibility and advocacy, including participation in professional and community organizations and activities
  • Describe basic teaching and learning principles and their application to rehabilitation
  • Apply principles of learning using a variety of teaching strategies during instruction of patients, caregivers and other members of the health care team
  • Educate others about the role of the physical therapist assistant
  • Educate others using teaching methods that are commensurate with the needs of the patient or caregiver


Total Hours: 30 Lecture Hours: 30