Rumor, Perception , or Reality
I teach PT full time and work one day a week in a local clinic to keep
my clinical skills up, keep my experience fresh to bring to the
classroom, and supplement my income. Two weeks ago I was not fired but
reduced to "occasionally rarely on call as needed status." Two valid
reasons are that administration wants to reduce and eliminate all
contract staff and they wanted to hire a new grad PTA full time for
about what they are paying me, for one day, a PT with 15 years
experience.
The glut of PTs has hit me right at home. For those outside of the USA,
you may aware the there appears, and may be a reality, that there are
too many PTs and dwindling jobs.
Just a few years ago a PT could walk just about any hospital or clinic
and get offered a job on a silver platter. Now with layoffs in certain
areas, difficulty finding jobs, downsizing, etc., it is getting scarey.
Is this a rumor, perception , or reality?
If it is true, I think the areas that we need to consider in
contributing to the perception or reality of the excess number of PTs
might be:
Glut of PTs
Dramatic increase in PT Assistants
Dramatic increase in PT school in past 5 years
Experienced PTs are not worth the extra expense
Non-USA trained PTs (sounds cold but it a fact we must address)
Managed Care
Big business is deciding healthcare issues
PTAs essentially doing a job that PTs did for 1/3-1/2 the salary—does
this mean that PTs are obsolete?
What are we going to do? I hope and suspect, all-in-all that when the
dust settles we will be like any other medical profession, such as
nursing, that is vulnerable and responsive to the fluctuations in the
market.
What do you think. Please , my dearest PT friends in other parts of the
world, I don't mean to sound elitist or protectionist, but this is a
difficulty we are having in this country and I would greatly like to
hear your opinion.
Ed Greene, MPH, PT
Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49014
email [log in to unmask]
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