Skip to main content

Meredith Castin, PT, DPT, was tired of "being expected to be 3 places at 1 time," then having multiple parties express frustration with her when she failed to do the physically impossible.

Burnout

There also was the psychological toll of constantly being outed in what therapy staff called "the log of shame"—a ledger in which they were required to list their billable units at the end of each day. If they hadn't met the hospital's productivity requirements, they had to explain why they'd failed to do so. Housed in the charting alcove, the log was readily accessible to every physical therapist (PT), occupational therapist, and physical therapist assistant (PTA)—who thus could see which individuals were making the performance grade and which weren't.

Never mind that the southern California PT's productivity was compromised by multiple factors outside her control, such as being scheduled to work in different units simultaneously, having insufficient time to document, needing to remember ever-changing entry codes on doors, and having constantly to walk back and forth among units.

Log in or create a free account to keep reading.


Join APTA to get unlimited access to content.

  1. Castin A. Physical therapy burnout is destroying our profession (blogpost). http://covalentcareers.com/blog/physical-therapy-burnout/. Accessed November 1, 2018.
  2. Berry J. Occupational burnout in physical therapy: clinical implications and strategies for reduction. http://www.fsbpt.org/Portals/0/documents/free-resources/Spring2018ForumOccupationalBurnoutinPhysicalTherapy.pdf. Accessed November 1, 2018.
  3. Jette DU. Physical therapist student loan debt. Phys Ther. 2016;96(11):1685-1688.
  4. Tepper DE. How to cope with health care education costs. PT in Motion. 2014;6(2):34-43.

You Might Also Like...

News

CMS Issues Final Rule on SNF Minimum Staffing

Apr 24, 2024

Nursing homes will be required to provide at least 3.48 hours of daily nursing care per resident, per day.

News

CMS Delays Startup of Problematic Restrictions on Access to Research Data

Apr 24, 2024

The new policy, which faces strong opposition from researchers, will be put on hold while CMS reviews "comments and concerns."

News

APTA-Backed Bill Supports Medicare Patients in Need of Orthoses, Prostheses

Apr 23, 2024

The bipartisan measure would eliminate burdensome requirements, protect patients, and improve device replacement policies.