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Rehab Essentials

Convenient, affordable online education to health professionals

Differential Diagnosis: Screening for Medical Disorders

William Boissonnault, PT, DPT, DHSc, FAAOMPT, FAPTA

Course Description

Dr. Boissonnault will explore the therapist’s role as an interdependent practitioner working within a collaborative medical model. Inherent in the responsibilities associated with this role is the ability to recognize clinical manifestations that suggest that physician contact is warranted regarding a client’s health status. Equally important is knowing what one can omit from the examination scheme on a given day, while placing the client at minimal risk.  A proposed examination scheme will provide the structure for our discussion. Presenting the clinical tools and decision-making processes necessary to more efficiently and effectively collect and evaluate the examination data, will be the focus of this seminar. Professional communication with the client and other health care professionals will also be a central theme. Patient cases are presented as the final part of this course as a means of applying differential diagnostic principles and promoting clinical decision-making.

This course is co-sponsored by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), 1111 North Fairfax St., Alexandria, VA 22314. APTA has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). This course has been approved by the Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners as meeting continuing competency requirements for PTs and PTAs for 8 CCUs. Approval #56511TX. The Oklahoma Physical Therapy Continuing Education Committee has approved this course for category B continuing education. Approval code: OSBMLS 201502560. The American Physical Therapy Association is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Physical Therapy as an approved provider of physical therapy and physical therapist assistant continuing education. Pennsylvania State Board of Physical Therapy has recognized APTA as an approved provider of continuing education for this course.

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Objectives

  • Describe the physical therapist’s role and responsibilities associated with the medical screening process-compare and contrast with the physician’s role.
  • Integrate the medical screening principles in order to formulate an efficient and effective patient examination scheme.
  • Evaluate history and physical examination findings and decide whether communication with a physician is warranted regarding a patient’s health status.
  • Identify symptoms and signs, which warrant immediate communication with a physician.
  • Employ strategies to facilitate professional communication between therapist and physician and therapist and patient/client, including when, how and what to communicate regarding medical screening issues.
  • Describe the risk factors, pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of selected medical conditions representing the various body systems.
  • Effectively pursue additional information associated with differential diagnosis by the physical therapist.

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Testimonials

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The University of Montana (UMT)/ Rehab Essentials tDPT Program has greatly influenced my career as a physical therapist and educator. I selected this program due to the amazing access it provides to the top academicians and clinicians in the profession. The added bonus was the reasonable cost and the ability to receive credit for my preparedness at the post-graduate Master’s level. The University of Montana (UMT)/ Rehab Essentials tDPT Program is a fantastic education for which I am most grateful!
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The experience I had with the tDPT program through The University of Montana exceeded my expectations in all ways. The courses were in a logical manner and were easy to follow. I enjoyed the “learn as you go” format that allowed me to study at my own pace and review material as needed. The CD lectures followed the syllabus and were easy to understand. Most sections had a textbook and/or reading material well defined. There were no surprises once the academic calendar was released if you followed the syllabus. I enjoyed the ability to confer with my cohort in the discussion board and meet most of them at the Professional conference. The conference was a highlight of my experience as the material discussed was thought provoking and covered a wide range of topics. The faculty for the Professional conference was filled with leaders in the physical therapy field. My highest recommendation for anyone wishing to further their education in an organized, interesting and thought provoking manner.
Dr. Mary Blackinton
In my program, we use Rehab Essentials as a cost-effective means of bringing expert instructors in pharmacology, imaging, and medical screening into our courses. My faculty are then able to focus on getting students to apply this knowledge to physical therapist practice. Rather than spending time creating lectures in those areas, my faculty develop activities and assignments aligned with the instruction that help engage and apply information in a way students will do so in clinical practice. This shift gives us the best of both worlds- expert instruction and core faculty who focus on designing and assessing learning experiences.
Michael T. Lebec PT, PhD
We have begun threading the Rehab Essentials modules across the curriculum in variety of formats.  Associations between select areas of physical therapy practice and pharmacology principles have been integrated within courses that focus on certain practice patterns or settings.  The Differential Diagnosis and Imaging modules are being used to replace some face-to-face class time or prepare students for a more advanced discussion in a flipped classroom format.  In addition, the service and support provided by the Rehab Essentials team has been excellent.
Ellen Wruble Hakim PT, DScPT, MS, CWS, FACCWS
What drew us most to the Rehab Essentials modules was the versatility of the delivery method and the ease with which it supported and integrated into our curriculum. The reallocation of faculty instructional time away from introductory and foundational concepts has allowed for a more dynamic classroom, one that is rich with higher order critical thinking activities that drive student clinical reasoning to the top of our licensure.
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Rehab Essentials did a stellar job teaching our entry-level DPT students cardiopulmonary physical therapy. All instructors demonstrated competence, professionalism and great enthusiasm for the class. I highly recommend this organization to assist DPT programs with supplemental instruction in high-need areas.
Lynn McKinnis PT, DPT
1. I love this curriculum. 2. I would not have a chance to ever go back to school if online programs like ours did not exist. 3. The point you make about "you get out of this curriculum what you put into it" is immeasurably true. 4. I love that each course has very different assessment tools...I got alot out of Business and Mkt..this was the course I expected the least out of and was enriched the most by...those writing assignments got me creatively thinking. 5. It is wonderful how Jonathan, and you Steve, convey a message of "we are all in this together and we want to help you" on every interaction. You guys rock.
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I just want to extend my sincerest appreciation, Dr. DeRosa, for the valuable lessons I learned from you and this course. It was amazing to have the chance to put in writing a lot of thoughts and ideas that I have from several years ago that became relevant and resurfaced through this course. The resource books are truly a great read as well. I have been using some of the terms like "disruptive innovation" at work.
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Your course and the discussion that you did on the lectures have been really helpful for me. Before this subject, I have looked at health care and business/marketing as two entities at the extreme ends of the arrow. I mean, I'm one of those practitioners, who, lets say, are kind of ginger in involving profit with actual facilitation of client care. This course made me better understand the importance of looking at the business aspect of the profession in order to sustain a practice, and in turn, continue helping patients. For all these, thank you so much.
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I wanted to follow up and say thank you to Rehab Essentials and the University of Montana. I completed my DPT there in 2013 and then a Certificate of Rehabilitation Administration in 2017. All of this additional training that built upon my original bachelor’s degree in PT enabled me to recently obtain an Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. This is made possible through the partnership between Northwestern and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab where I am currently a Therapy Manager. If I had not gone on to get my DPT, my qualifications would not have been at the appropriate level to be reviewed for a faculty appointment. I am very thankful to the faculty in the Rehab Essentials program.

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