First patients!

Today, I started at the outpatient Pinklao campus of Mahidol University. It’s an easy 5 minute walk from our accommodations, and it’s a 9 story building with main focus of PT and a little OT.

Immediately jumped into treatments today, and got to work with ALL parts of the spine right off the bat. We’re working with different therapists most days, so I don’t know if all Thai therapists practice the same yet, but the PT I worked with today spends the majority of the treatment session doing mobilizations. She said she typically devotes 30 minutes to mobilization and then will likely do a modality (hot pack, ice, ultrasound today) and then an exercise. That’s the immediate difference from the US, where physical therapy is almost all exercise, at least in the places I’ve worked.

The clinic is set up with the same general components that I’m used to, warm up exercise area, private treatment areas and an office. PTAs don’t seem to exist here, but that’s likely because a PT degree is a 4 year bachelor‘s degree. They had an aide going around cleaning and prepping hot packs, but other than that, it was just a room full of PTs.

Communication with patients is so far through the translating of the PT, and everyone seems to have a good attitude about making it work, communication wise which is super helpful. I did luck out and have one patient who was originally from Detroit, so I was the star of the show for communicating our way through that treatment session!