This informational interview summarizes the career of a physical therapist working at an outpatient physical therapy clinic specializing in spine treatment. Some key points discussed include the importance of qualities like a strong work ethic and interpersonal skills for success. Alternative career paths in physical therapy include various clinical settings or moving into teaching. Current hot issues include reimbursement rates and the expansion of direct access to physical therapists. Both the challenges of unmotivated patients and rewards of helping patients achieve their goals are discussed.

1. Informational Interview
WITH JENNA BARTSOKAS, PT, DPT
ATI PHYSICAL THERAPY SPINE CENTER
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 10/30/16

2. 1. What personal qualities or abilities are
important to being successful?
 A: The qualities that determine success in the field of Physical
Therapy include a strong work ethic, willingness to learn daily,
flexibility, humility, and strong interpersonal skills.

3. 2. What are your alternative career paths?
 A: Physical therapy allows one to enter a wide variety of career paths
including being: a staff clinician in an outpatient, home health,
inpatient, or acute care setting, a director of therapy (overseeing PT,
OT, and Speech), or a professor in a physical therapy program.

4. 3. What are the "hot issues" in physical
therapy?
 A: Reimbursement rates for PT services has been a "hot issue"
recently. Direct access, or being able to see a PT without a physician
script, is another issue that has come a long way in the past 5-10
years. Physical therapy is now a Clinical Doctorate for many reasons,
but direct access is a large reason. Physical therapists need to be able
to recognize when musculoskeletal complaints may not be
musculoskeletal in nature, and that is a huge part of why it took a
while for people to get on board with direct access. There are still
some insurance companies that do not cover direct access.

5. 4. What do you find most
challenging/satisfying about the physical
therapy profession?
 A: The most challenging– treating patients who are not motivated to
improve or do not have goals for therapy
 The most rewarding– seeing patients return to what they love pain-
free, or less impaired than when they started therapy

6. 5. What are the positive/negative aspects
of working in this field?
 A: Working in the medical field is tough. Documentation and working
around insurance restrictions is extremely tedious and can be frustrating;
however, the benefits of helping people who are in pain outweighs the
negatives by far! Many times, one of the frustrating parts of being a
physical therapist is how little the general public knows about what we
do and how we can help them. Many chronic illnesses can be prevented
by good care in the acute setting or by a strong rehab stent after a
surgery; however, many patients are not referred to PT by physicians or
they think the primary musculoskeletal providers are only physicians and
chiropractors. Our profession is in the process of growing and learning
how to market ourselves in order to help fight chronic pain illnesses.

7. 6. Please tell me more about your
organization and its purposes.
 A: I work for ATI Physical Therapy, which is one of the largest
outpatient orthopedic PT companies in the nation. I work in a clinic
called the Spine Center and am part of a team of 6 clinicians in our
clinic. The purpose of our company is to exceed customer
expectations by providing the highest quality of care in a friendly
and encouraging environment.

8. 7. What is unique about your
organization?
 A: The clinic in which I practice is unique because we specialize in the
treatment of the spine and work closely with neurosurgeons,
PM&R physicians, and NPs/PAs who refer to us and are located in
our same building.

9. 8. What special advice would you give a person
becoming a physical therapist?
 A: I would tell someone who is considering the field to shadow,
volunteer, or work in a physical therapy clinic and see multiple
settings in order to know it is a profession he/she would enjoy doing
everyday. I would tell someone who is about to begin PT school to
study hard, get experience in multiple settings, and become a
member of your state and national physical therapy organizations in
order to develop more mentor-mentee relationships.

10. 9. What, if anything, do you wish you had known
before you entered this occupation?
 A: The rise in cost of physical therapy school far-outweighs the rise in
salary for our profession. I was told the average salary for a PT is
about $80,000 when I was entering school; however, salary is really
dependent on the setting and region of the country in which one
practices. What I was told, has not held true for me in my first 2 years
of practice.

11. 10. What strategy would you suggest for a
person to break into this field?
 A: Truly love what the field is about: restoring function, decreasing
pain, and promoting exercise and a healthy lifestyle. The rest of it
takes hard work and a teach-able personality.

12. 11. How do people find out about job
openings in physical therapy?
 A: Job postings online and connections through professors and our
state/national organizations (SCAPTA and the APTA). Many times,
students learn about job openings and where they desire to go after
school through their clinical rotations.

13. 12. How did you get this position? What
are common career paths?
 A: I applied for an orthopedic residency after graduating from
PT school and was accepted to the program at Proaxis. After I
completed the residency, I applied for a full-time position at the
Spine Center clinic and have been there for over a year!

14. 13. What areas of knowledge are most important for
advancement in physical therapy? What degrees?
Certifications?
 A: The most important classes needed to have a solid foundation in
prior to PT school include Anatomy and Physiology and
Exercise Physiology. After being in the field for 2 years, I think a
minor in Psychology or having taken several Psychology classes
would be extremely helpful. A major in Exercise Science and a minor
in Biology or Psychology is the best undergraduate routes to set a
student up for success in PT school. A certification in first aid and
CPR is a definite must to maintain in this field. Beyond
the completion of a DPT program and passing score on the National
PT Board Exam, all other certifications are optional. The certifications
one will achieve after PT school are completely dependent on which
setting one practices.

15. 14. If you were starting out again, would
you do anything differently?
 A: I do not think I would have done anything differently at the
beginning of my career! I really loved my residency experience and
am glad I casted a large net initially in my career. Everyone has pain
at some point in their life, and I am glad I have learned valuable skills
to treat pain.

16. 15. What types of training do companies offer
persons entering physical therapy?
 A: There are two types of training: the initial training a therapist
receives during the on-boarding process when beginning a job with a
new company (learning the documentation system, handbook, and
clinic flow) and the continuing education the therapist participates in
yearly. When applying for jobs, a good question to ask is how
much continuing education money they provide to employees yearly.
As a PT, it is expected that you continue learning throughout your
career; therefore, jobs typically provide you with funds in your
contract to put towards continuing education experiences.