Preparation is key for all of us when we head into work. For each of us in our jobs and in our different roles, we all have tools that we find hard to live without. Those tools vary from job to job, and even from person to person working within the same setting. I came across a good article the other day and thought I’d share the most interesting “tools” listed by a few of the Physical Therapists who helped put this list together as well as some ideas from our own staff.
1. “Preferred” Gait belt (for ease in positioning and transferring)
2. White lab coat (for professional presentation)
3. Stopwatch (for timed examination)
4. Calculator (to calculate gait speed)
5. Metronome (to measure a patients level of dizziness)
6. Picture of family (a nice distraction)
7. Tennis ball (to work on patients balance)
8. Tide to go pen (quick clean up)
9. Stethoscope (to monitor tolerance to activity)
10. Bandage scissors (great for cutting Thera-band)
11. PDA (Calendar, E-mail, and trusted applications)
12. Quick reference guides (always come in handy)
I’m sure each and every one of our Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Speech Language Pathologists could add to this list something unique that they can’t live without. You can read about some of the different tools used by therapists here. If you already have all of your tools in place and you’re ready to put them to work make sure you look at the jobs we post daily!