Official Therapist Blog

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Virtual Rehab for Occupational Therapy Jobs

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 07.15.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Career Tips, Gadgets, Occupational Therapy, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, Videos, medical robotics, rehabilitation therapy, video

Read Why Occupational Therapy Jobs Just Got More High-Tech in Nevada

Occupational therapy jobs are getting more high-tech and rewarding when they help senior aged patients, thanks to a virtual reality system called the OmniVR. Recently added to two skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Las Vegas, the OmniVR is a virtual rehab system developed by Reno-based Accelerated Care Plus; it uses a 3-D camera and specialized computer software that captures a patient’s precise movement during “skilled” therapeutic exercises.

Contrary to the old saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, the OmniVR is being used in about 4,000 U.S. hospitals, skilled nursing homes, outpatient clinics and in home health; patients love its resemblance to the Nintendo Wii; and, just like any interactive virtual reality game, the OmniVR is great for bringing out the competitiveness and quest for fun in patients of all ages.

How Virtual Reality Affects Your Rehab Job

With help from an OT or occupational therapy assistant, the OmniVR is, well, a virtual breeze; the OT stands with the patient—and a black walker that goes uncensored by the game—if balance is shaky. Patients have a lot of leeway in how they want to play: they can be seated, grasp the walker or stand unassisted.

This treatment is ideal for those in recovery from surgery, a fall, stroke or other degenerative and dementia related condition. If patients would rather participate in a multi-player game, the OmniVR is ideal for group rehabilitation too. Traditional therapies are practiced in conjunction with virtual rehab—an exciting new treatment in the world of occupational therapy jobs that shows the shape of things to come! Watch a demo of the OmniVR in action in this Youtube video.

Dreaming of an Occupational Therapy Career? Make it A Reality!

If you’re an OT keen on moving into A-list health care facilities that utilize what’s cutting edge, call Travel Force or apply online. We have high paying Rehab jobs and Travel occupational therapy jobs that make treatments like virtual reality an imminent reality!

Travel Force Staffing provides recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, surgical technologists and per diem staff and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today at 800-617-0608 for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

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Top iPad Medical Apps might be reshaping healthcare

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 05.04.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Apple iPad, Career Tips, Gadgets, Occupational Therapy, Product Reviews, Respiratory Therapy, Speech Language Pathologist, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Gadget, Travel Nurse Blog, Travel Therapist, iPad Apps, physical therapy, rehabilitation therapy

We want to know if you’re currently using iPad medical apps to boost your therapist job knowledge, surf the web for therapy jobs or advance patient care delivery.

rehabilitation therapy ipad apps You see a fellow physical or occupational therapist, PTA, OTA, or DPT using the technology to access drug databases and anatomical diagrams in seconds. To upload point-of-care therapies in a click and download healthcare education ‘apps’ for the price of an early bird dinner. Practical and affordable, the potential for iPads to improve patient care is endless.

How has the iPad improved your therapy career?

If you’re currently using an iPad on the job, CHIME IN by responding to this post and letting us know how the technology has benefited your therapist career – we want to share it with the world. Furthermore, we want to know if you’re not using one and why, or if you’ve got ideas for iPad therapy job applications which you feel may benefit the profession

Top iPad Medical apps reshaping healthcare

AirStrip OB: Free medical app to help occupational therapists and other medical jobs professionals monitor a baby’s symptoms remotely. Used in tandem with the patient, this healthcare app can reduce trips to the hospital. Additionally, AirStrip comes with cardiology medical apps, imaging and critical care iPad healthcare applications.
Blausen Human Atlas: Remember how anatomy captivated you as a youth? It helped you learn and understand your own body? Available for less than $20, the Human Atlas offers the therapy jobs professional comprehensive clinical content on every body system. 3-D animations empower therapists to show their patients what’s going on with their bodies. The atlas is used to play 3D animations and explore 3D models.
Davis’s Drug Guide: What occupational and physical therapists need to know about drugs. Fast, easy and at your fingertips. Absolutely indispensable for rehabilitation jobs specialists and professionals on the path to therapist careers success. Free updates with yearly subscription.
Diagnosaurus DDx: A powerful diagnosis tool from the medical apps dollar menu. That’s right, for about $0.99 you get an easy healthcare reference system that offers information on a number of diseases and conditions. This healthcare app is fat free!
ECG Guide: Another handy dollar menu iPad medical app item. The ECG Guide is your tour book to regular and abnormal ECGs. For $0.99 therapy jobs candidates get a “one up” on the lessons of ECG diagnosis.
Epocrates: FREE and reliable, Epocrates is the #1 mobile drug reference resource used by healthcare providers at the point of care. Trusted for accuracy and cutting-edge offerings, doctors, RNs and therapist job professionals choose Epocrates as a preferred point of care drug reference.
Eponyms: Put simply, an eponym is a name of a drug, structure or disease based on or derived from the name of a person. When looking up medical terms, this FREE healthcare app comes in handy, especially for therapist career grads and undergrads. Doctor of Physical Therapy jobs practitioners find it comes in handy too!
Human Body 3D Anatomy: This medical iPad healthcare application acts as an anatomy refresher when it’s time to brush up on what’s connected to the knee bone. It’s about the price of a bagel and coffee and relies on 3D technologies to bring anatomy to life.
iAnatomy: View cross sections of the body and actual CT scans on this iPad medical app – complete with images of cadavers and helpful cataloguing. For therapist career professionals who need to compare scans regularly iAnatomy comes cheaper than a cup of coffee.
iRadiology: Therapists review radiology concepts and images with this FREE healthcare app ideal for students, interns, residents and veteran therapy job practitioners.
MedCalc: Need to figure dosing? This FREE iPad medical app does the work for you. Handy for advanced therapy jobs professionals charged with administering drug therapies. No more having to remember formulas. Quick, easy reliable healthcare application.
Medical Lab Tests: Evaluate lab results quickly with this iPad healthcare app that cost about the price of a decent bottle of olive oil. Review normal lab values, including more than 100 blood tests.
Medical Spanish: For the price of a Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast, you can learn basic Spanish phrases to improve communication with non-English speaking patient groups. The medical apps audio component helps you work on proper pronunciation.
Medscape: A staple in any electronic healthcare apps library, Medscape is trusted, FREE and invaluable on rounds when you need a medical reference fast. This medical iPad app features breaking medical news and the latest procedures.
MedSpeak: Communicate in Mandarin or Cantonese with this iPad medical application for about $15 bucks. Time tested, user friendly and indispensable for candidates in search of therapy jobs with healthcare employers in urban settings.
iMeds XL: For about the price of a large popcorn at the movies therapist career professionals can search by drug name or class for information on prescription interactions, side effects and dosing.
Monthly Prescribing Reference: Another FREE medical app that helps with prescription interactions and over the counter drugs.
Pedi STAT: For about three bucks therapists working with kids gain insights on symptoms, normal growth and essential pediatrics information.
Skyscape’s Medical Bag: Clinical tools, medical calculators and lab tests on the go for $1.99 –cheaper than a Starbucks Latte. Not so much for therapist job practitioners, but it’s so cheap why not have it available.
Skyscape RxDrugs Dosing Companion: FREE, FREE, FREE healthcare app to figure out dosing for thousands of generic and brand name medications.

iPads and their medical apps are catching on fast in the therapy jobs marketplace. In fact, having one may improve your marketability as a therapist jobs candidate.

Travel Force Staffing provides recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals , outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, surgical technologists and per diem staff and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today at 800-617-0608 for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

Related iPad App blogs

Good iPad app for Physical therapy students

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Robot Professor Goes Rogue in Physical Therapy Class

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 04.01.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Fun Events, Gadgets, Physical Therapist Education, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Therapy Blogs, medical robotics, physical therapy, physical therapy humor, rehabilitation therapy

In search of creative ways to teach rehabilitation therapy students, one prominent university is testing the new AutoProf1000, a robot teaching device developed by a group of cutting-edge researchers who are also responsible for several popular mobile phone apps. The AutoProf1000 stores a digital download of hundreds of therapy textbooks, practice manuals and pharmaceutical databases. According to its designers, it can answer any question that a rehab therapy student “texts” or “IM”s to it in fourteen seconds or less. And because it has six multi-pronged arms and is mounted on casters, the AutoProf1000 is capable of demonstrating at least three routine PT procedures at once. In beta testing, the AutoProf1000 received sub-par evaluations for a kinesiology lesson in which it repeatedly told a mock patient to “move it, move it, move it, move it” until a student finally took out the AutoProf’s batteries. Designers attributed this to a simple “programming error” and told everyone to have a happy April Fools’ Day.

The world may not be ready for AutoProf1000 just yet, but if you’re ready to advance your career in rehabilitation therapy, give us a call at 800-617-0608 or browse some of our best therapy jobs online.

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Occupational Therapy Resources Abound in iPad’s New App - The Little Book of Feelings

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 01.11.2011 | Category Allied Healthcare, Apple iPad, Career Tips, Gadgets, Occupational Therapy, Product Reviews, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Top Rehab Careers, Top Therapy Blogs, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, iPad Apps, rehabilitation therapy

Zuuka, a full service in house production company responsible for audio books and popular actionbox games, has something new to offer occupational therapists: an app for the Apple iPad, specifically designed for children. “The Little Book of Feelings” supplies children’s literature and an array of related activities that OTs can use during occupational therapy sessions; it’s generating quite the buzz in consumer news aimed at occupational therapists. Memory games, digital coloring books and a special composition tool allow the child to better understand and relate to situations and people; the iPad app can also be used by parents and teachers, making it, so far as occupational therapy resources go, a total win-win!

Are you an OT who keeps pace with technological trends?

Rapid advancement in your occupational therapist career is assured with the help of top-notch therapy career resources. Secure a successful therapist job today, by calling 1-800 617-0608, or apply online. Travel Force offers resources and information that keep your occupational therapy license, continuing education, and career needs on perfect track. We also cover cutting edge topics, relevant in today’s healthcare landscape. Subscribe to our blog and stay connected!

More Occupational Therapy blogs:

Travel Force Staffing® provides therapist recruitment solutions for America’s top rated rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient and Rehab centers, skilled nursing facilities, and private therapy practices located in all 50 U.S. states. Our experienced team of staffing experts place physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, per diem staff, and other allied healthcare professionals into therapy careers nationwide. Contact us today for instant access to cutting edge recruitment technology, therapy career resources, news, and information.

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Electronic Textbooks Take a Step Closer to Reality

Author Therapy Career Blogger | 02.10.2010 | Category Apple iPad, Gadgets, Ongoing Education, Product Reviews, Videos, physical therapy

Physical therapy students who are tired of paying exorbitant prices for their instantly-outdated health textbooks (and then having to haul the weighty books around!) will be glad to see that electronic textbooks are taking a major step closer to becoming reality.

Just recently, major medical textbook publishers — including Random House, McGraw-Hill, Perseus, Wiley and Kaplan — struck a deal with app developer ScrollMotion to adapt their products for the iPad electronic page.

Rik Kranenburg, an executive with McGraw-Hill Co., was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as declaring:

“People have been talking about the impact of technology on education for 25 years. It feels like it is really going to happen in 2010.”

Publishers have certainly embraced the idea in theory, because electronic versions of their medical textbooks save them time and money in production, printing and storage, as well as enabling them to update the books virtually, rather than having to publish new print editions.

However, in practice, publishers have tended to produce online versions of medical journals, product manuals, study guides and the like, rather than actual health textbooks – partly because the technology has not been available that makes e-books attractive to students. (Though their unique features — such as instant access to particular references; and brighter, more lifelike graphics — can make electronic books quite useful, these products have not been as interactive as needed for students in physical therapy programs and elsewhere.)

But the recent release of the highly-anticipated Apple iPad is a game-changer. ScrollMotion’s development deal with publishers includes iPad applications to let users, such as occupational therapy students play videos, highlight text, record lectures, take printed notes, search the text, and participate in interactive quizzes.

As of now, the iPad seems to be lacking many such features. For instance, there’s no capability to let users play Flash-based videos downloaded from the Web; there’s no camera for video-conferences or virtual study groups; and there’s no handwriting recognition for taking notes. Also, the current iPad does not allow for multitasking.

All of these drawbacks come at a hefty price: $499, plus at least $30 per month in utility charges, not to mention the cost of the e-books. Thus, other competing technologies on the market, such as cheaper netbooks, or Amazon’s Kindle DX, may end up being the e-book devices of choice for students. Or, it very well could be the next generation of the iPad that physical therapy students find themselves hauling around.

Are you a therapy program student? What do you think of the Apple iPad?

Stay tuned!

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Great Travel Therapist Job Gadget

Author Healthcare Jobs Blogger | 05.05.2009 | Category Allied Healthcare, Gadgets, Occupational Therapy, Therapist Jobs, Therapy Jobs, Travel Gadget, Travel Therapist, Traveling Therapist, physical therapy

I recently went on vacation to Texas with my Mom and daughter. The itinerary was to fly into Dallas, then go to Killeen, Galveston, Fort Worth and back to Dallas. I had my Texas map with me and planned on using it for the trip. When I got to the rental car counter they had a special discounted rate for+ renting the Garmin (A GPS navigation system) so I rented it. I call it “Map in a Box”. I felt a little leery of trusting this box with the British accent. (I recently saw an interview with the woman who records her voice for the Garmin. She said she is the most loved and hated “voice” in America!) I know many who take Physical therapy jobs use the Garmin but I still was worried about using it. Was it really going to get me to my destination? What if it broke? I had no idea where it would take me.

I entered my destination point and put the Garmin on the middle of the windshield. After a few tries I figured out how to make it stick. Then off I went! I was impressed immediately. I could see the road I was on and the female voice started informing me as to what was coming up. “She” navigated me effortlessly thru an otherwise confusing Dallas area and got me out onto the open road. I loved that she told me how many miles where left till I had to exit and what my destination time would be. She also recalculates your destination time if you stop to eat. I was continually looking at it. Another great feature that I discovered was that it redirected you if there was traffic congestion. It was nice to be continually driving and not be stuck in traffic. Needless to say I arrived at my destination calm and relaxed. I did not get lost or have to pull over and ask directions.

Now I know why so many travel therapists use the Garmin. It is reassuring to know that this “map in the box” can get you to your travel assignment without a hitch.

You may get information for the Garmin on the web at www.garmin.com. The TomTom is another GPS device you can use. Go to www.TomTom.com to learn more about it.

Contributor Author: Amy Roll

Travel Force Therapy Consultant