Web 2.0 for Physical Therapists

The current issue of PT magazine from the APTA has a nice article on web 2.0 use in physical therapy education.  Since you are reading this blog, I thought it would be of interest to you!  For those of you that are still new to the “web 2.0,” Wikipedia’s definition may be useful.  Basically, it is the evolution of the internet and the expansion of blogs, podcasts, forums, video and photo sharing sites, and social media sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn.  What was once just static web pages that you read are now completely interactive.

I do not use these sites for personal reasons, but have started to use them professionally to try to stay current and interact with other like minded professionals.  I honestly do not know exactly what I am doing but see this becoming a popular way to communicate with other professionals (follow me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – feel free to join me but note that I only except incoming invites from professionals).

Some of My Favorite Web 2.0 Websites for Physical Therapists and Athletic Trainers

• A good example are the forums on RehabEdge.   It is a great forum to discuss clinical questions or ask for some help with difficult patients.  
• There is also StumbleUpon, a website that allows users to rate web pages on the internet and, more importantly, allows you to view recommended web pages in specific categories such as physical therapy.  
• I also like BlogCatalog, a website that organizes and categorizes many blogs like mine, they have several listed under the “medicine” category.  
• One of my other new favorites is ResearchBlogging, a website that contains links to blog posts that discuss peer reviewed research in several topics, such as rehabilitation.  
• Technorati is a website dedicated to blogs on the internet.  They serve to complete organize what is new and happening in the blog world.  You can search through blogs on many topics, such as physical therapy, and follow all your favorites in one place.  
• Click on the above links to visit these sites.

What makes these sites interesting is that you can browse and also recommend websites that you like.  This creates a gigantic community across the globe that share interests in rehabilitation.  Have you ever noticed the “Share” button at the end of every post?  This will allow you to share my posts on websites like these to spread the word to other people that do not know about this website.  Why is this important?  With so many websites on the internet, it is difficult to find all the most relevant sites for your interest.  By voting for blogs like myself you share the websites you like with others in your field of interest.

What is the Future of Education?

I was actually talking to a friend of mine the other day about how education has changed, even in our public school systems.  We used to read books and have the occasional video for all of our learning.  Now, there are interactive websites, web conferencing, chat rooms and other areas on the web that really enhance our learning.  Classrooms may become obsolete!

I was fortunate enough to perform a year long postprofessional fellowship in the field of physical therapy and athletic training that I wanted to specialize in.  I think the world of my experience and recommend it to everyone.  (I am in the process of founding my own fellowship as well, hope to have more info here in the next couple of months…).  I have also noticed that students in physical therapy school now have clinical rotations between 6 and 12 months long.  I think this is outstanding and know that my students that worked with me for 6 months would agree.  When I was in PT school I did 3 clinicals, two of which were 8 weeks longs and the third was only 5 weeks!

As rehabilitation specialists, we will see this trend continue not only in a college curriculum, but also in the future of continuing education.  That is why I am in the process of developing interactive presentations for home-based continuing education.  While I do believe that this is the future (and the current economic crisis doesn’t help the situation), there is no replacement to hands-on labs during live seminars.  This is why I believe that CEUs in the future will come from national meetings like the APTA and NATA conventions and from home study courses.  The weekend long seminar is dying.  Hands-on learning will come in the form of specialized postprofessional fellowships and residencies and an occasional live seminar.  This isn’t a new model, this is what other professions like orthopedic surgeons currently do.