These might be useful for you….

Hi

I had collected some additional info on a variety of topics in each chapter.This is from various websites online and books too.I’ll try to name as many in the “References” section.

So In no particular order, I will give you some info for each Chapter in every post (You could note these by the side of your RG or Giles/write in a POST-IT notes and affix them)

Raynaud’s phenomenon:Fingers turn white,blue and then red.Due to abnormal vasomotor response of blood vessels to cold or emotional stress.Hyperactive sympathetic system leads to tissue hypoxia.Two types:

1)Idiopathic Raynaud’s or Raynaud’s Disease

2)Secondary Raynaud’s-seen in Scleroderma,SLE,RA,Sjogren’s syndrome,Atherosclerosis,Buerger’s Disease etc

Cyanosis:Bluish Discoloration of Skin & Mucous Membranes.Indicated by the presence of atleast 5g/dL of  reduced(deoxygenated) Hb in arterial blood.Two types namely,

a)Central:Warm Extremities,Full Bounding Pulse,Seen in Mucous Membrane & Skin(seen in Tongue & Lips).Develops when arterial O2 saturation falls or is <85%

eg:Cerebral Anoxia,Pulmonary Embolism,Myocardial Infarction,COPD,High Altitude & Hypothermia etc..

b)Peripheral Cyanosis:Thready Pulse,Cold Extremities.Develops due to slowing of blood flow.Mucous membrane of oral cavity may be spared usually.There is discoloration of the extremity most intense in nailbeds but may resolve with warming of the extremity.

eg:Raynaud’s phenomenon,DVT, Circulatory Shock,Thrombophlebitis,Heart Failure,Cold exposure etc..

Hematocrit:It is the percentage of RBC compared to the total blood volume.Any > or < in plasma volume affects it.It can be used to screen Anemia,Cancers,Blood loss,Kidney disease and B12 deficiency etc..A patient after severe burns loses large amount of plasma from damaged capillaries.As a result the hematocrit values are raised.With fluid replacement they would come down.

Note:Hematocrit values over 60% may cause spontaneous blood clotting.

STANDARD PRECAUTIONS

Order of donning Personal Protective Equipment(PPE):

1)Gown

2)Mask or Respirator

3)Goggles or Face shield

4)Gloves

Order of Removing PPE:Except for respirator remove PPE at doorway.Remove respirator after leaving patient’s room and closing door

1)Gloves

2)Goggles or Face shield

3)Gown

4)Mask or Respirator

Pressure Garments work by:

a)Thinning the dermis

b)Altering the biochemical structure of scar

c)Reducing the blood flow to the area

d)Reorganizing the collagen

e)Reducing the tissue water content

They are indicated if wound healing takes >2weeks.

References:

1)http://cdc.gov/– is your online source for credible health information and is the official Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud%27s_phenomenon

3)PHYSICAL REHABILITATION by Sullivan and Schmitz(Fourth/Fifth Edition)

Notes from here,there everywhere :D

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a good weekend.There were dark clouds everywhere but no rain :((If anyone has seen “Lagaan” then bring to mind “Ghanan Ghanan” song !!!).I hope all of you elsewhere are having a good SUMMER!

I wanted to upload some documents found online, hand-written notes I prepared and those documents that I got from helpful souls in the physicaltherapyforum.

I found this link for SOAP notes helpful:http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=46763673(Pls Note you may have to register for a basic account in order to download the document.But if you just want to read directly from the website, you do not need to do that)

The below link gives you info on the levels of SCI and what to expect at each level:

View this document on Scribd

TMJ DYSFUNCTIONS– some helpful soul from physical therapy forum e-mailed this to me.I thank him/her for making life easy :).Just click on this link and save the file.

Descriptive Research-1–Just click on this link and save the file.

Given below are my hand-written notes.Just right click on each image.You’ll find the option “save link as” .Click on it and it will ask you for location to save the image.You save all the images in a similar manner (in a folder) in your computer.

Given below are References for hand-written notes and Descriptive Research document compiled by me:

www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee578/correlations.ppt

http://www.okstate.edu/ag/agedcm4h/academic/aged5980a/5980/newpage2.htm

http://www.aect.org/edtech/ed1/38.pdf

Hope you all find all that I posted helpful.

Education & Consultation-The Power of Small

Now that we are almost done reviewing the chapters for the exam,

If any of you ask me,”Which chapters do we need to focus the most?”

I would answer “ALL OF THEM”!!! You heard me right 😀

Each chapter is important in a unique way(I hear some of you gritting your teeth ready to punch me!!!).

I always recommend studying 1 Small Chapter with a section of Large Chapter in all my posts.But your focus on both large & small chapters need to be the same.Let me explain why:

“EDUCATION & CONSULTATION ” explains the various learning theories,3 types of educational objectives(cognitive,affective & psychomotor),Instructional process, Interventions and Motor Learning.Whenever you establish a “PLAN OF CARE” and  “TREAT”  patients, you need to consider everything given in this chapter.It outlines everything you need to know before planning rehab for patients, be it Musculo,Cardio or Neuro Rehabilitation.

In clinical practice, we often treat patients using the principles of all the above areas and not just one of them.

In the same manner, the actual exam also requires you to understand all chapters well.It frames questions you need to answer using your knowledge from all of them ( mostly 2-3 chapters all at once).

I used Review Guide as the primary source and did not do much reference online for this chapter.You can also refer Giles for more info on this chapter.

With this, I guess I’ve covered all the chapters in the Review Guide(Remember Research,the last chapter had already been discussed in early posts).

I will upload notes I’ve prepared on some topics as soon as I can.Hope you’ll find them useful.Also let me know if you have any doubts/concerns.I’ll do my best to answer them.

Take care.I would leave you with this Quote,

“What is COURAGE?

Hearing more than others think is wise;

Risking more than others think is safe;

Dreaming more than others think is practical;

Expecting more than others think possible-Admiral Arleigh Burke”

Professional Roles & Management,Health Insurance…..

Hi Everyone,

Hope you all are studying well.Try not to think about how you’ve spent the time so far.Just focus on what needs to be done now.

I used the following books for this chapter:

1.Review Guide & Blue Book as primary sources.I read these books thoroughly.If you do not understand the various types of health care systems like HMO,PPO then you could refer online for additional info.You could visit http://healthinsurance.about.com/

Remember there may be questions on a type of insurance not covered by practice tests in the NPTE.So I would recommend you to know as many types as you can by searching online.

2.If you need more clarity on how Medicare & Medicaid work,you could visit websites run by CMS(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).Just type “cms” in Google.It’ll take you to relevant websites.

3.In addition to studying the Code of Ethics for PT & PTA from Review Guide, you can go to APTA’s website.In the “Practice & Patient Care” tab you would find the Core Ethics Documents. These documents contain the most current version of Guide for Professional Conduct of PT & PTA(APTA updates these documents regularly.Even if your guide doesn’t have the current version of these documents, APTA would have it).

I’ll wrap up this post with this thought:

“Progress is not made by the cynics or doubters.It is made by those who believe everything is possible”-Carly Fiorina,former CEO,HP

Let’s take up “Education & Consultation” in the next post.Until then take care….

Gait,Orthotics,Prosthetics & Wheelchairs-There’s more to ambulation…..

Hope you all had a good weekend.We are getting roasted in the unswerving heat of West Coast Desert Summer!!!! It seems like we are going to have a lon…………………….g summer 😦

Exams don’t wait for weather to become pleasant anywhere on earth; Do they ever :|?

Let’s see what we need to cover in this chapter.I referred the following:

1.Review Guide and Blue book as primary sources.Blue book has Gait Cycle,Orthotic & Prosthetic Gait Deviations in Tabular formats making it easy to read.I would strongly suggest reading both the sources well.Try to imagine and understand each gait deviation thoroughly, instead of memorizing everything.Look for related pictures online to help you in imagining each deviation.Learn what muscles are affected and which functional activity would be difficult.

In addition to Gait, Orthotics & Prosthetics,Wheelchairs and Environmental Assessment have been explained well in Review Guide

2.PHYSICAL REHABILITATION by Sullivan and Schmitz(Fourth/Fifth Edition)- I read Gait Analysis, Orthotic Assessment & Management,Prosthetic Assessment & Management from this.The book has related pictures and nice description of various types of  orthotics & prosthetics.The chapter on Lower Extremity Amputation is also useful in this book.

3.”Joint Structure and Function” by Cynthia Norkin-This book explains the biomechanics of the various joints of lower limb.Reading it will help understand the gait deviations and their effect on neighboring  joints better.

4.Search online for pictures on Ambulatory Aids(Canes,Crutches) and Adhesive Taping.

I would recommend dividing the chapter into 3-4 sections and reading them in a distributed manner thereby making sure you don’t cram too much info at a time.For example you could club Orthotics with Environmental Assessment,Gait with Assistive Devices,Prosthetics with Wheelchairs and so on.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts which I too need to remember from time to time:

“You cannot teach a man anything;You can only help him find it within himself”-Galileo Galilee

“It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final“-Roger Babson

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SUCCEED IS ALWAYS THERE WITHIN YOU.

IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE YOU DISCOVER IT…..