Home Health as a New Grad Physical Therapist

Passing boards and your state jurisprudence exam gives the ultimate feeling of accomplishment, but as a new grad physical therapist, landing your first job is often the most important choice and sets up the trajectory of your career.

Unlike our colleagues in medical school who are required to go on to a residency, as physical therapists, we are free to practice in any setting without additional training or certifications. With that said, the majority of physical therapists end up practicing in an outpatient orthopedic setting. Home health physical therapists actually only make up about 6.5% of the total physical therapy workforce. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that very little is taught about home health in school. 

While most physical therapy settings foster collaboration with professional colleagues, as a home health physical therapist, you primarily treat patients independently. The closest collaboration may be via phone call or weekly case conference, but rarely do you have someone to bounce ideas off of or to request insight on disease presentation. Patients in home health are often medically complex with a variety of comorbidities. Given the nature of the job, it’s uncommon to secure a clinical rotation in the home health setting.

With little to no training for home health in school, few opportunities to train during clinical rotations, and with patients of high medical complexity, it’s often recommended to have 1-2 years of clinical experience before transitioning to home health. However, many physical therapists, including myself, have jumped straight into home health after graduation and have thrived in this unique setting.

While there are many factors to consider before entering this setting as a new grad, the following questions are excellent to screen if you may or may not be appropriate for home health. Can you answer “Yes” to all of the following questions?

Are you self motivated to stay on task and complete necessary work?

Flexibility in scheduling and work hours can be very enticing with home health, but it requires considerable time management and discipline to keep current on documentation and other associated tasks. Some visits in-home health require documentation of up to 2-3 hours outside the home.

Are you willing to use online and audio resources to continue learning specifically about geriatrics?

There is a wealth of information available with podcasts, ebooks, and online courses for treating the geriatric population. Just using the time while driving to listen to educational material can make a significant difference in your knowledge in this area?

Is geriatrics an area of interest to you?

Ask this question honestly. If you’re unsure, that’s okay. If you have a negative view of working with geriatrics, don’t go into this setting. Most people find that working with older adults is incredibly rewarding. Many patients in this area have vast amounts of knowledge and wisdom, not to mention incredible stories, which makes for engaging conversation and memories.

Are you willing to reach out to your supervisor or coworkers with questions?

Regardless of your knowledge and ability to research, you will, at times, need to reach out for suggestions and recommendations from other physical therapists, but also nurses, occupational therapists, or others. Don’t be the person that gets in the way of your patient’s success because you’re unwilling to get help.

Are you confident in your ability to assess for medical contraindications and interpret vital signs taking into account a variety of medical comorbidities?

75 percent of people age 65 and older have at least two chronic conditions. These may include Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia, arthritis, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and heart disease among others. Being able to quickly identify changes in conditions and provide accurate patient education is vital for the safety of your patients. You may consider additional review in this area before starting in home health.

Do you pass the screen?

If you’re able to answer yes to all five of these questions, you may be able to go straight into home health as a new grad physical therapist. This setting needs more young in the profession PTs who are eager to learn and advance care for older adults. For more information about home health as a physical therapist, check out my YouTube Channel.

Six-Figure Home Health Jumpstart Blueprint for PTs

If you want to secure a Six-Figure income, skip the learning curve, and avoid a decade of struggle in home health you should check out my course targeted directly towards new grads getting into home health. Learn more.