I don’t know about you, but I LOVE free things. I also LOVE being a resource to physical therapy students [more on that later]. During my time as a PT student, I have come across websites, articles, and videos through simple Google searching and classmates sharing their findings. The one thing these resources have in common is that they will help you become the best clinician you can be.
1. PT CRAB (Clinic Research, Awesomely Brief)
Luke Hollowmon, a fellow SPT, sends a weekly email newsletter to thousands of PTs across the country with summaries of the latest research articles. He even attaches the journal article’s link and provides various methods on how to gain access to read the research articles for further reading. As we know, one of the three elements to patient care is evidence-based practice, so subscribe to get a weekly dose of research work that we’re probably lazy to do ourselves.
*The weekly emails are free, but if you can choose to financially support this independent publisher by choosing a monthly or yearly plan, which gives you access to the archive of articles.
2. The PT Podcast List
Now I don’t know about you, but I enjoy listening to podcasts while I’m commuting to school or doing daunting chores at home. This list created by Dr. Rich Severin, PT, DPT, PhD(c) – who also runs the infamous Doctor of Physical Therapy Students Facebook Group – is pretty much a one-stop shop for PT-related podcasts. There are so many physio podcasts to choose from, and the list mentions both professional APTA-affiliated pods and grassroots pods created by our physio peers alike. Also, the list gets updated from time to time. If you don’t see the podcast you are looking for or just want to expand the directory, click here.
3. The Telemedicine MSK Examination
I can’t take credit for finding this gem, so shout-out to my classmate (Thu-Mai N.) for sharing it with my cohort. In preparing for our semi-virtual Standardized Patient Exam, she found this article from Dr. Ed Laskowski, a Physical Medicine & Rehab and Sports Med doctor at the Mayo Clinic. Not only is it a written guide to a basic telehealth exam, but there are also supplemental videos that show physical tests you can use with your patients. It’s easy to read as it is organized by joint. Read it for yourself, and let me know what you think.
4. Case Studies
If you need patient cases to prepare for your practicals or clinical rotations, there’s a bunch of them if you ask Dr. Google. Here’s a list of cases I have found and saved in my bookmarks:
- Orthopedic Case Studies from Pivotal Physical Therapy
- Vestibular Rehab Case Studies from Eugene PT
*As these cases are published online in the public domain for free, I’m assuming that these cases aren’t actual patient cases, loosely based off of real patient scenarios, and/or the patient permitted the respective clinics to share their info.
5. YouTube Channels
Sometimes, I need a visual context of what a special test looks like when the patient exhibits positive signs. Other times, I need ideas for treatments for specific patient populations. I watch a lot of YouTube videos both for entertainment and educational purposes. If you haven’t heard of these YouTube channels, consider checking them out:
- Ortho EVAL Pal with Paul Marquis – In some videos, he runs through a patient exam, and he will leave you with questions such as what the diagnosis is or how to treat them. If you want to challenge yourself, mute the YouTube video and guess the special tests that are being performed.
- Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises – Amy Sturkey, PT has plenty of videos of her working with her helpers (patients) with various diagnoses. She provides many examples of simple preparatory activities and exercises to do with children at home or in the clinic. I personally watched these videos to get a glimpse of the different presentations as I have not been exposed to many children with disabilities.
Guess what? I have another bonus resource for you! I actually have more PT resources for you on my website. Click here for general study/productivity tips from wizards, supplementary learning modules, and a list of my peers with more Pre-PT and PT student info. If you are a visual learner, I also created a Pinterest board full of anatomical illustrations and graphs to help you remember your muscles, medications, and much more! I hope you found these resources to be useful. Save this page to your bookmarks, so you always have it on hand. Let me know in the comments other websites and videos you used to help you get through PT school.
As always, you can follow me and my journey #forthedpt on Instagram (@jordaineenriquez).
Until next time,
Jordaine Enriquez, SPT + resource curator