Daxko

UAB School Of Nursing

CTS

Therapy South

Physical Therapy: A Hands-On Profession

A Physical Therapist (PT) is a health care professional who provides direct patient care to persons who have disorders of movement, mechanical, physiological and developmental impairments and functional limitations, whether caused by injury or disease, to help them achieve maximum physical function and mobility.

Physical Therapists use their minds and hands to:

• Diagnose and manage movement dysfunction and enhance physical and functional abilities.
• Restore, maintain, and promote optimal physical function and optimal wellness and fitness and optimal quality of life as it relates to movement and health.
• Prevent the onset, symptoms, and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities that may result from diseases, disorders, or injuries.

Physical Therapists have the necessary training to meet the total range of patient care responsibilities involved in preventing disabilities and promoting restoration  of function to the physically impaired, including musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, cardiovascular/pulmonary and integumentary disorders that interfere with physical function. Physical Therapists practice in hospitals and medical centers, rehabilitation centers, private practice clinics, home health settings, sports medicine facilities, colleges, universities and in various other settings. The broad options in Physical Therapy allow PTs to develop and pursue a focus of care in any specific population from children and athletes to senior citizens. Physical Therapists also work as educators, researchers, consultants and administrators. 

Physical Therapy is a sought-after career with virtually unlimited opportunities. It is a profession that offers a lifetime of satisfaction while directly helping people move more efficiently and function more effectively.

USA's Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree

The Department of Physical Therapy has provided quality physical therapy education for nearly 30-years with continuous accreditation. A friendly faculty that is clinically and academically strong teaches the curriculum leading to the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. As its Mission, The Department of Physical Therapy is 1)dedicated to the education of physical therapists who provide the highest levels of professional care to diverse communities while maintaining a commitment to life-long learning, and 2)committed to service and the advancement of knowledge in the profession through research and scholarly activity. 

The exciting and challenging DPT program is offered in an 8-semester (32 continuous months) format, a new class entering each Fall semester. The curriculum includes a variety of professional training/educational experiences to prepare students to enter PT practice. Students benefit from significant hands-on clinical practical labs and formal lectures/discussions led by faculty with experience in each clinical practice area, clinical problem solving activities, clinical research plus 33 weeks of full-time clinical internship supervised by licensed physical therapists. The clinical internships are available in over 200 affiliated general hospitals, rehabilitation centers and various specialty practices representing a wide variety of educational opportunities for the student. While clinical sites are spread across the United States, the majority are within the Southeastern region.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of South Alabama prepares graduates for professional practice and is designed as an entry-level, first PT degree. Throughout the program, students develop necessary communication skills in addition to professional and manual skills and techniques. Strong emphasis is placed on gaining clinical reasoning/problem solving skills and the ability to practice as an independent primary care provider in any employment setting. Graduates will also have the capability of assuming responsibilities in areas of administration, consultation and research in physical therapy.

Redemptive Cycles

At Redemptive Cycles, our mission is to redeem the streets. We believe getting people on bikes makes Birmingham a more connected, comfortable, and livable city. Bicycles are affordable transportation, which not only fight congestion, parking shortages, and pollution in the city center, but also boost individual health and fitness!

Through our non-profit bike shop we sell new and refurbished bicycles at an affordable price, provide professional-quality repairs and maintenance services below market rates, and use a sliding scale for those in need. Through our “Earn-A-Bike” program, those in need can work at the shop, learn how to repair and maintain a bicycle, and leave with a bike of their own.

Since opening in July of 2013, Redemptive Cycles has operated as a nonprofit organization, and received its 501c3 status in September 2014. So how does a nonprofit bike shop work? In our case, it looks and operates mostly like a normal bike shop: new and used bikes are for sale along with parts and accessories, and we offer full service repairs. What makes us different is the variety of nonprofit services we offer to Birmingham-area cyclists: the Earn-a-Bike program, sliding scale repairs, free monthly mechanics classes, and a free public workstation, not to mention many volunteer opportunities and a community of cyclists eager to help one another.

Our nonprofit sustains itself in a variety of ways. First and foremost is through the bike shop itself. Shop revenue not only allows us to give bikes and repairs away, it also helps keep our doors open, but used bike sales and discounted repairs are not enough, and we look to our community for support when shop revenue falls short of the bottom line.

From our community we get support in a few key ways. First of all Redemptive Cycles relies heavily on volunteer labor. Without the resources to pay a full staff we look to our awesome and dedicated staff of volunteers to provide much of the labor necessary to keep the bike shop running at full steam. Volunteers are integral to Redemptive Cycles’ continued success.

We also rely on our community to provide the majority of our used bike and part offerings. Bike donations are our bread and butter. They provide us with both a well-stocked, affordably priced, used bike selection, and a supply of bikes to utilize through the Earn-a-Bike program. Without frequent bike donations Redemptive Cycles would struggle to maintain a good used bike selection.

Finally, we look to our community for support through monetary donations. When revenue from the bike shop falls short, Redemptive Cycles asks the community to help make up the difference. Our annual fundraiser and individual donations enable us to continue offering bicycle related services to the Birmingham area, and in the future, with the help of grants, we hope to further expand our outreach.

In 2015 Redemptive Cycles expects to bring in $150,000 in revenue, and we need to raise at least $50,000 through fundraisers, private donations, and grants in order to sustain our charitable services.  Combining the bike shop and nonprofit is the most efficient way to help those in need of bicycle related services. Revenue from the bike shop goes directly towards sustaining our charitable services, and because things like rent and utilities are shared, the nonprofit costs only a fraction of what it would otherwise take to operate.

 

Resources:

Redemptive Cycles Website

Photo Credits:

Pexels
Kamil Bialous
.Sean Gallup

Photo - Eleanor's | Stylish Bicycle Accessories for Ladies