Take My Pulse

Here's an article I wrote for the APTA student assembly PULSE:

A few years back Al Gore invented something called the internet*. Since then it has grown a little. Now the internet has information on almost every topic. So what about “Physical Therapy”?

Hopefully we have all been to www.apta.org, which provides a wealth of PT related information and offers students a chance to interact through the “message board.” Another way to utilize resources on the internet is by accessing the numerous websites where you can search for literature related to PT, such as pubmed.gov and PEDro. Hooked on Evidence and Open Door are tools that can be accessed through the APTA website to search for literature. There are also numerous Web 2.0 tools that help bring PT into focus.

Web 2.0 is an interesting concept. It refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, weblogs, and wikis — that facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. People interested in PT can come together in groups such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Yahoo Groups, and even MyPhysicalTherapySpace.com. This last website was created by the EvidenceInMotion team to facilitate PT communication in a Web 2.0 way. Their other website evidenceinmotion.com is another very useful resource for our profession with a strong emphasis on evidence based practice. On the blog section of this site you can join in or follow along with some of the most innovative PT’s around as they discuss the issues we face in today’s health care environment. Another very good “evidence based” focused PT blog is can be found at http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/physio/.

Feeding off this blog craze I myself decided to start such a blog as a student: http://studentpt.blogspot.com. My intent was to share my experiences with my program and get feedback from other students on similarities and differences with their programs. As I have continued updating my blog I have realized the mass of information available on “the net” and that students already have enough to read with lecture notes, textbooks and tuition bills, so how will they ever get to some of the vital information out there when it is scattered in so many places? More often than not there will be information missed, but careers will go on and the most pertinent information will find its way to where it needs to go.

One solution that the APTA Student Assembly Board and Nominating Committee have implemented is the Student Liaison Network. Information is filtered for the most urgent topics and disseminated to those in the network. Any student or faculty member can join the net work and become a liaison. All who are interested are encouraged to join to help share the information provided with their fellow students. To learn more and become a member of this network go to the APTA website, click on “students,” then “student assembly,” and then “student and faculty liaison network.”

As we move towards VISION 2020 the internet will obviously play a vital role in numerous aspects of our profession. How you choose to utilize this tool is up to you. For more technical support come join the discussion on the APTA student message board.

*Al Gore did not actually invent the internet despite what he may be yelling below...