Your individual needs are so important to us. Spooner therapists work on a team with their technician to provide for you the best care possible so you can achieve your movement goals.
Spooner physical therapy (PT) and hand technicians are often aspiring to go on to higher education- such as a Doctorate of Physical Therapy, a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy, or a nursing program. We talked to the former Lead Technician of Spooner Scottsdale, Haley Schlotzhauer, who is currently a Doctor of Physical Therapy student at the University of St. Augustine, about her experience as a technician at Spooner and how it prepared her for school.
What’s your background?
I am a second-year PT student at the University of St. Augustine in Dallas.
I had the opportunity to work at Spooner for five years. I started out as a hand therapy technician while I was still in undergrad. Then, I transitioned to a full-time PT technician. I was also the lead tech at Scottsdale for three years.
I spent the majority of my time at Spooner Scottsdale, but, when I was a hand tech, I got an opportunity to travel around, so I experienced a bunch of different Spooner locations- Biltmore, North Phoenix, Glendale, Fountain Hills, and Phoenix.
What was your role as a hand tech and a physical therapy tech?
As a hand tech, you get personalized time with the patients since they are sitting right in front of you. The duties are very similar to a physical therapy technician. You apply a lot of modalities-whether that’s ice or heat, and take them through exercises that the hand therapist had prescribed. Being a PT tech is similar, but you definitely move around more and the exercises are different.
At Spooner, typically, the technician and the therapist are a team. The tech typically gets to manage the scheduling, and, together, we get to build strong relationships with patients. This truly maximized the patient care- as everything gets to be centered on the patient. We’re with the patient throughout their whole plan of care and truly get to know them. They’re so much more than a number to us. We give true and individualized care to patients- and the patients have better outcomes because of it.
Who did you work with?
I worked with quite a few hand therapists- including Ty Pehrson, MOTR/L, CHT. As. PT tech, I worked initially with Alicia Dulaney. The main therapist I worked with, especially while I was a lead tech was Dan Miriovsky, PT, DPT, OCS, FAFS, ATC, FGS. I also spent a lot of time working with Paul Gagliano, Sara Gagliano, and Torrey Foster.
All of these therapists did such an excellent job making sure any technician knew the “why” behind what they were doing. They made sure that I had as much knowledge as possible because they knew my pursuit of wanting to go to PT school. And we’re still in contact. If I have questions in PT school, they’re a phone call or a text away.
What specialties were you able to experience?
As a tech at Spooner, we are trained in orthopedics, but we are also trained in other specialties so we are well rounded and can fill in if a tech that is paired with a specialty clinician is out. So, I worked a lot with neurological disorders and sports medicine, but I also spent time in pediatrics, pelvic floor rehabilitation, and breast health. And, with hand therapy, I was able to see wound care and lymphedema treatment.
3 ways this role prepared you for the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program?
1) My experience gave me the basis of exercise prescription.
I took a movement science course in my second semester, and, as it sounds, it’s exercise based. They encouraged us to create exercises for various patient cases. Having experience in a clinic really helped in this, because I knew effective exercises to use, I knew the why behind the exercises, and it is something that I had seen used before. It’s a huge benefit.
Also, a few therapists I worked with were GIFT Fellows with the Gary Gray Institute, so they provided education of a multi-planar approach to exercise.
2) I gained patient care skills.
At School, our professors and paid actors mimic the pain and the emotional components that can occur in the clinic. I know how to communicate with patients, introduce myself, and be comfortable getting into the patient care mindset. You have to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready. This aided in my ability to perform successfully in our practical skills and exams.
3) It equipped me to properly communicate with and educate patients.
Working at Spooner gave me the confidence to educate patients the reason behind a treatment, showing them an exercise, or even just talking through their questions.
Do you feel more prepared getting out of school because of this experience?
Yes! I’m about to go into clinicals, which I feel a lot more prepared for. I could not be more thankful for the experience I had at Spooner. I’m so excited to take all of this knowledge that I have now from school and gathered prior to school and apply it in my clinical education and as a future clinician.
Being a PT tech is key for being successful in PT school. I hope that anyone that is aspiring to go to PT school considers having this experience. It’s so helpful to, one, know if you want to work in this environment, but, two, to have knowledge to take to school.
I also want to say a personal thank you to Spooner and all of the wonderful people that I had the pleasure of working with. They have helped me more than they know, and the knowledge they shared, and support given has contributed to my successful in school. Thank you.
If you are aspiring to go on to a higher education program in the medical field, check out our open technician positions on our Career Page.
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