Acute Care Physical Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide

Acutely ill patients are found in the hospital, in the skilled nursing facility, in inpatient rehabilitation facilities, in outpatient practices, and in the home. The role of the physical therapist and physical therapist assistant is to rehabilitate these vulnerable and frail patients to enhance their health and functioning.

The goal of Acute Care Physical Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide, Second Edition is to provide the acute care practitioner with the necessary knowledge to improve patients’ structural impairments and activity limitations so they can more successfully participate in life. Nothing could be more challenging and rewarding.

Inside, Drs. Daniel Malone and Kathy Lee Bishop, along with their contributors, provide a comprehensive review of acute care physical therapist best practice. This text builds upon fundamental knowledge by addressing important components of the patient examination ranging from the patient’s medical history to laboratory testing to life supporting equipment. Following this introduction, each chapter highlights specific organ systems with a review of pertinent anatomy and physiology followed by common health conditions and medical management. Important physical therapy concerns, examination findings, and rehabilitation interventions are discussed in detail. This Second Edition includes numerous tables, figures, review questions, and case studies that highlight clinical reasoning and the physical therapy patient care model as outlined in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice.

New in the Second Edition:

• Increased focus on evidence-based examination, evaluation, and intervention
• The latest technology in physiologic monitoring and patient support equipment
• Introduces the “PT Examination” and “ICU” algorithms to promote safe and progressive rehabilitation
• Emphasis on clinical decision making through the application of a clinical reasoning model applied to the end of chapter cases