Informational Interview

WITH JENNA BARTSOKAS, PT, DPT

1. What personal qualities or abilities are important to being successful?

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. 

2. What are your alternative career paths?

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.

3. What are the "hot issues" in physical therapy?

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. 

4. What do you find most challenging/satisfying about the physical therapy profession? Most challenging: treating patients who are not motivated to

improve or do not have goals for therapy Most rewarding: seeing patients return to what they love pain-

free, or less impaired than when they started therapy

5. What are the positive/negative aspects of working in this field?

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. 

6. Please tell me more about your organization and its purposes.

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.  

7. What is unique about your organization?

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. 

8. What special advice would you give a person becoming a physical therapist?

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. 

9. What, if anything, do you wish you had known before you entered this occupation?

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.

10. What strategy would you suggest for a person to break into this field?

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. 

11. How do people find out about job openings in physical therapy?

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.

12. How did you get this position? What are common career paths?

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! 

13. What areas of knowledge are most important for advancement in physical therapy? What degrees? Certifications?

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. 

14. If you were starting out again, would you do anything differently?

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. 

15. What types of training do companies offer persons entering physical therapy?

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.