Some Physical Therapists/Assistants a little...overbearing?

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Specializes in Onc., Tele, Alzheimers.

I don't want to offend anyone by asking this question, but it has been on my mind for sometime, so don't flame me please!

I find that when certain physical therapists or assistants come into a patients room they tend to be very...picky. They make comments like, "His pad has a stain, that needs to be changed", "I think his IV is leaking", or "Her foley needs to be emptied". Just little nit-picky things. Do they really think that we don't have the patients best interest in mind? And it is only with the PT/OT people. Respiratory doesn't do it, other nurses don't do it.

It just seems to me like there is a "How to annoy nurses 101" class in PT school!

Anyone else experience this?

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Specializes in ER, Trauma.

Easy fix. "Thanks for spotting that. I'm really busy right now, thanks for fixing it" timing it so you exit the room as you finish the sentence. Toss the hot potato back to them a few times and they'll stop looking for work for you. Applied behavior modification!

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i have experienced that and even more nitpicky about assessment. funny you mentioned that i thot it was just me being real sensitive!

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OK, calm down. A physical therapist is trained and has the time to evaluate the COMPLETE environment of the pt. They sit and LOOK.

I will NEVER, NEVER, complain about a PT. They are God's gift to pt.s and to my insight about the pt.s prognosis. I don't know what I would do without them.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.
OK, calm down. A physical therapist is trained and has the time to evaluate the COMPLETE environment of the pt. They sit and LOOK.

I will NEVER, NEVER, complain about a PT. They are God's gift to pt.s and to my insight about the pt.s prognosis. I don't know what I would do without them.

It's a vent thread...I don't think the OP has anything againsts PTs or the role they play in patient care.

In my own experience in sub-acute rehab, I have worked (and still do work) with some particularly great PTs, and also with some particularly annoying ones. I don't enjoy the PTs or PTAs that like to tell me how to do my job, as I don't tell them how to do theirs. My big pet peeve is with one therapist who will come to a nurse and say patient X has been reporting symptom ABC all week during therapy...hello? Why didn't you let the nurse know when the symptoms initially presented...not days later! However, my main complaint is therapy staff taking up the whole nurses station chit-chatting (social chat, not related to pt care) during 3p report. At this point I'm trying to come in and start my day, and some days I am fighting for a seat to look at the kardex!

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It's a vent thread...I don't think the OP has anything againsts PTs or the role they play in patient care.

In my own experience in sub-acute rehab, I have worked (and still do work) with some particularly great PTs, and also with some particularly annoying ones. I don't enjoy the PTs or PTAs that like to tell me how to do my job, as I don't tell them how to do theirs. My big pet peeve is with one therapist who will come to a nurse and say patient X has been reporting symptom ABC all week during therapy...hello? Why didn't you let the nurse know when the symptoms initially presented...not days later! However, my main complaint is therapy staff taking up the whole nurses station chit-chatting (social chat, not related to pt care) during 3p report. At this point I'm trying to come in and start my day, and some days I am fighting for a seat to look at the kardex!

Well, I have NEVER had a PT try to tell me how to do my job, they have made suggestions, some are a bit condescending to be sure; but after I have reviewed the pt.s plan of care with them, most seem to get the fact that nurses are on the same wavelength as they are.

I cannot speak to the complaint about PT staff crowding the nurses station; I would assign THAT problem to MANY others!

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Specializes in ED, MICU/TICU, NICU, PICU, LTAC.

I've experienced this occasionally; however it was usually with the same two or three PTs - not all of them did it. The charge nurse on the ortho floor sweetly told one particularly persnickety PT that if she would like to go to nursing school and then micromanage her (the charge nurse's) patients, she would welcome the input. Now mind you, it's one thing to ask that the Foley be emptied if it's got a bit more in it, or that IV sites be secured a bit more - anything that will help facilitate the PT's work. However this one would toss out a "Make sure his bed is changed before I get back" over her shoulder as she'd walk the pt down the hall. That didn't go over well :)

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Specializes in ED, MICU/TICU, NICU, PICU, LTAC.

I cannot speak to the complaint about PT staff crowding the nurses station; I would assign THAT problem to MANY others!

Argh; I hear ya on that one!!

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilites,.

We have one PT that thinks she is an MD. She will tell pts your hct is low you will get a transfusion or we should change your pain meds to xyz. totally out of scope. she has been written up more times than I can count. the thing is she is otherwise a really great therapist and a joy to work with.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, DSU, Ortho, Onc, Psych.

All I know is a physio will never, ever help you get a patient to the toilet, even when there is absolutely no-one else around & the patient is bursting. They say: 'That isn't my job" & walk out the room, or stand there & watch u struggle with the patient to the toilet. I don't have a lot of respect for them, and they tend to think they know more and do more than nurses. They forget that we are the after hours and weekend PT (I've done successful percussion on many ill patients), social worker, counsellor, amateur psychologist, fixer-upper of all and every problem.

I don't have much respect for many of them with the above attitude.

Stand your ground & do what I do: tell them u don't appreciate being told how to do your job, since u do theirs on after hours and on weekends. They usually get the message after a while, & shut up after that.

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Yes, I have experienced it. I think they need to be redirected towards focusing on the patient and what their role is. They could be reminded that those minutes that they are charging for their time with the patient is precious and should not be wasted on nursing issues and trying to tell nurses what to do besides they are not qualified to supervise nurses and didn't get hired to do that.

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All I know is a physio will never, ever help you get a patient to the toilet, even when there is absolutely no-one else around & the patient is bursting. They say: 'That isn't my job" & walk out the room, or stand there & watch u struggle with the patient to the toilet. I don't have a lot of respect for them, and they tend to think they know more and do more than nurses. They forget that we are the after hours and weekend PT (I've done successful percussion on many ill patients), social worker, counsellor, amateur psychologist, fixer-upper of all and every problem.

I don't have much respect for many of them with the above attitude.

Stand your ground & do what I do: tell them u don't appreciate being told how to do your job, since u do theirs on after hours and on weekends. They usually get the message after a while, & shut up after that.

Australian Physiotherapists do have impressive education and training to achieve their title just like American Physical Therapists.

It appears your attitude is probably a better example of what the OP might be trying to convey. You can do some "skills" or feel just like you are doing the job of another professional but if you have not been fully educated and trained in that specialty, you can only assume in your own mind you are "just like them and know as much". If an EMT-Basic (110 hours first-aid trained) is allowed to start an IV, are they now a nurse? I can make a few phone calls to a home care or DME agency also but in no way do I claim to be a Case Manager or Social Worker. A lot of skills and knowledge do cross over from one profession to another but you should have some respect for all the other things they know and the time they have spent training/educating for their title. However, personality traits are a different matter and may be more of the issue for the OP's point than the PT profession. Anybody in health care can come off that way especially if you don't actually know the extent of their education or training and just judge them by a few skills you see them doing. You may be able to do a few of the same skills but I bet you don't do the same assessment and documentation that the PTs (or at least in the U.S.) to justify the patient's need for PT services or qualify them for additional services. Without PT's involvement, our nursing homes would be packed with patients warehoused rather than becoming functional again. RNs do not have the same training and education nor do they have the time to spend 3 - 6 hours per day just doing Physical and Occupational therapies to each of their patients to see that a patient does not become institutionalized.

In multidisciplinary meetings, the PTs' input on pain management and spasm control is truly appreciated by physicians and other professionals. Pharmacology is included in their programs at a general level and for the specialties such as geriatrics, imaging, SCI and brain injuries. Yes some might get vocal especially if the patient can not perform to the level expected which might be due to a medication issue. This isn't just a PT issue either. Improper medication can hinder many therapies from dietary to RT.

PTs also must take the patient's medications into consideration for each patient and can suggest changes to a physician. In fact, it is part of their responsibilty to do this. Most of our PTs will discuss their concerns with the RNs first out of professional courtesy and to get our input before addressing the medication issues with the physician. Very, very few will ever dump it totally on the RN to do.

For those who don't know the education of a PT, here are a couple of programs.

Florida Gulf Coast

http://www.fgcu.edu/CHP/PT/PTDPT/Admissions.asp

http://www.fgcu.edu/CHP/PT/PTDPT/degreq.asp

University of Washington

http://rehab.washington.edu/education/degree/pt/

As far as a PT or OT taking a patient to the bathroom, yes I have seen that done many times. In fact, in Rehab, the OTs and some PTs will assist the patient in their routine daily care as part of a therapy session which includes feeding, bathing and going to the toilet. If the patient needs to use the bathroom again later even if it is not at a scheduled therapy session, if one of the pt's primary PTs or OTs is available, they may also assist the patient again to continue the patient's training. Also, I have not had any OT or PT refuse to help with moving a patient if they would not in another therapy session. They can also be extremely beneficial in an emergent situation when a patient needs to be moved from the the floor to a stretcher post fall (especially bariatric) if they bring lifting equipment and their expertise.

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