I haven’t done one of these in a while (although here’s a day in the life of me an aide), so I thought I’d show what a typical work day is like for me as a physical therapist. I work in outpatient orthopedics for a hospital. What does this mean? I like to say I work for the hospital, but not in it. It’s like any orthopedic clinic, but owned by a hospital instead of a person or physical therapy company. We have 60 minutes to evaluate patients and 30 minutes for follow-up appointments. We don’t have aides or techs and see every patient one-on-one for the full session. It’s a great place to work!
I work in the clinic twice a week, focusing on writing and editing the other days. This was a recent work day, with patient details left out to protect privacy:
7:45 am: I arrive early to get my computer up and running and recheck my schedule. I also check my schedule the night before and again before I leave for work to see if there are any last-minute changes, and so I’m prepared for the morning.
8 am: First session of the day is a follow up with someone else’s patient. I see him because one of coworkers is out sick this week and we’re trying to get her patients in.
8:30 am: Follow-up with one of my own patients. I am especially interested in foot and ankle conditions, so many of the patients with these injuries come to see me. I can treat almost anything orthopedically, by my caseload is pretty foot-heavy.
9-10 am: I have an hour break where two patients in a row canceled. I check in with our amazing receptionists to say good morning, but also talk about my schedule for next week. Next, I call two patients who no-showed recently. One was on vacation, meant to cancel, and will be back next week. The other is unreachable. Next, I catch up on some paperwork we have to do weekly and I watch some of the videos we have to watch yearly for the hospital on patient safety.
10am: Evaluate a new patient.
11am: Evaluate another new patient.
12pm: Catch up on notes for a few minutes. Next, I eat lunch outside with some colleagues. It’s a beautiful day and it’s nice to unwind a bit. I have great coworkers!
1-4:30: I have 5 follow-ups with existing patients and one evaluation. I tend to write part of my note while I’m with patients and am able to type without looking so I can keep making eye contact. I’ll also end sessions a minute or two early to catch up on notes. This keeps me from having a mountain of notes at the end of the day and helps prevent burnout. I rarely have to stay more than a few minutes after work to finish my notes. Many PTs complain about the paperwork, but I’m the rare one who doesn’t think it’s so bad. Plus, how would I remember what I do with each patient if I didn’t write it all down?
By 4:45, I say bye to my colleagues and am out the door, ready to start my weekend.