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In the field of Physical Therapy, do you have to change bandages for patients when they come in after surgery? If so do you have to do that? Or can only certain people be eligible to do things like that?

In the field of Physical Therapy, do you have to change bandages for patients when they come in after surgery? If so do you have to do that? Or can only certain people be eligible to do things like that?

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Margie’s Answer

Hi Chloe,
Bandage changes is rarely done in PT but can be performed in PT. This is very basic wound care like change with gauze or bandages etc.
I believe you may be inquiring more about wound care. You can be certified in wound care as a PT/PTA or nurse (I'm sure there are others but this is just what I know from my experience. Wound care is more in depth and they take care of wounds far beyond surgery such as bed sores, infections, ulcers, pressure wounds etc.
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Michael’s Answer

I’ve not worked in physical therapy before! However, I have worked in hospitals before, servicing the patients in said facilities! Even though my position was a set position, I always went above and beyond the stated position! In every job or position I ever worked in, I learned how to do all the functions associated with the position! When working with people, the worker should never expect someone else do something that they may not be comfortable doing, that mindset works best in factory work! Always remember to treat people the way you would like to be treated! Go the extra mile as if you are the only person working with the individual one may be assigned to serve.
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Carrie’s Answer

What a great question!.
Sometimes as a Physical Therapist, PT, we are asked to change a dressing of a Total Hip or Total Knee. This is generally seen in Home Health , when we go to a patient's home and provide care. Every once in a while, I will change a dressing in the outpatient setting, but it is very rare.
Sometimes patient's don't need a nurse when they go home after the hospital, and the PT is providing all the care at home. So yes, we can provide the dressing change. It is in our scope of care as outlined in our practice act by the APTA, American Physical Therapy Practice Act.
However, I did not get a lot of practice doing this in my career. So, I asked a nurse friend, who does this all the time, to show me how she did it so I could do it well!
I think its important to always have Nursing, OT, Speech, to collaborate in our careers, this is a great situation to highlight that collaboration!
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Quoc’s Answer

With Physical Therapy there are so many facets to it, not just the physical part. Whether it be psychological assistance post injury/surgery/incident, internal awareness and differential diagnosis such as neurological/cardiopulm, or even more invasive forms of therapy which includes things such as wound care and dry needling. All healthcare professionals are asked and needed to go above and beyond their typical routine/expectations to help a patient. But to answer your question directly, wound care is a part of the training PT's go through in schooling. We're taught wound debridement (cleaning of wound/scar tissue) and grading of wounds and ulcers. So cleaning up wounds and wound dressing can be common with what setting you decide to work in. It's definitely not an everyday thing for most PT's though. We work with amputees that are going through prosthetic fittings. We can work inpatient settings where patients are bed-ridden and have skin/tissue that are compromised and more susceptible to pressure sores/ulcers that'll we'll need to document, observe, and possibly clean and dress. So wound care is definitely in our scope of practice.
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Garrett’s Answer

As an orthopedic surgeon, I do not expect PT to change dressings.
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