PTR 102: PT ROLE 2

College of Physical Therapy

Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

MODULE 3
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Brief Description
This part will introduce the importance of Human Resource Management, staffing and employee
retention issues, and concepts of employee training, education, and development compensation management-
labor relations.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

1. Understand the importance of human resource

2. Define the seven classic human resource management functions
3. Apply chapter principles to human resource recruitment, selection, and retention in clinical and other
physical therapy practice settings
4. Develop optimal performance appraisal systems and instruments for specific physical therapy business
environments.
5. Prepare a job description for a physical therapist and a physical therapist assistant.
6. Analyze performance evaluation tools.
7. Discuss approaches to staff development.
8. Evaluate the systems approach to employee training, education, and development, and, if effective,
implement it in practice.
9. Discuss management of formal employee grievances.

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College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

Pre-Activity - Before Reading Questions/This part may also contain motivational activities
Reading the book entitled:
 Chapter 8 Scott, R.W., Petrosino C., L., (2008) Physical Therapy Management 1st
Edition, Mosby
 Chapter 2 Page, C. G., Management in Physical Therapy Practices (2015) F.A.
Davis Company

 Define the following terms:

1. Business managers
2. Human Resource management – critically important to pat’s life and death as a
rendition of health care; was not officially recognized as a professional endeavor
3. Scientific Management – characteristics of industry-based personnel management,
such as exists in auto- or steel-production facilities.
4. Compensation Management – involves management of all three aspects of
employee compensation: salary/ wages, benefits and incentives.
5. Markov analysis- Method of probabilistic forecasting in w/c historical employment
data oon employee transition between and among various job positions are used to
predict current and future needs
6. Performance appraisal – Physical therap and other primary health professionals may
react adversely to direct observation of their professiona patient care activities for
purposes of employee; are important critical pathways for key human resource-
related employee actions form pay adjustments to training and decelopment to
discipline and even discharge from emplyement to training and development to
discipline and even discharge from employment
*adjust the box size if needed

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College of Physical Therapy
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LESSON 1:
Read and understand the statement.

Business managers at all levels have always known these facts or truisms, yet until relatively recently, human
resource management was not officially recognized as a professional endeavor. Now, in virtually every
professional and graduate business education program (including health professional entry level and post
professional education programs), students undertake formal required and elective coursework in human
resource management so that they may effectively and optimally manage workforces once they are in the field
or in practice.
Human resource management differs greatly from personnel management in philosophy and application.
While the latter is concerned principally with maximization of production or service outputs, the former
addresses the individual and collective needs of the human inputs that produce those outputs.23 Human
resource management is, as a philosophical approach, of relative recent vintage.
Personnel management is a traditional term that refers to management of people resources. It was developed
during the Industrial Revolution to describe the physical management of industrial workers. As a management
approach, personnel management is relatively bureaucratic in nature—closed to outside influences and rigid in
its policies and procedures. It is focused on process and output. Systematically, it is reactive, rather than
proactive, in the face of workplace problems, issues, and dilemmas. In terms of performance assessment,
personnel management focuses on compliance by employees with minimally acceptable workplace standards.
Within this system, performance expectations of employees are typically well-defined and well-understood. For
example, one standard might require a hospital-based staff physical therapist to interact with two patients per
hour for 8 consecutive hours per workday.
Scientific management is characteristic of industry-based personnel management, such as exists in auto- or
steel-production facilities. Frederick W. Taylor is known as the father of scientific management, within which
the optimal processes of job performance are delineated by experts or by consensus (of management), and
workers are trained to carry out those work tasks but given little or no say in their development or modification.
Taylor advocated employee compensation exclusively on the basis of the objectively determined complexity of
the work to be performed. According to this philosophy, the more complex a given task is, the higher is the rate
of employee compensation. Taylor also advocated piece-rate incentive compensation, under which workers
are rewarded according to the quantity of work product produced in an hour, day, or other pay period. The
modern-day manifestation of this philosophy is the concept of “billable hours.”
Two of Taylor’s protégées were Lillian and Frank Gilbreth. The Gilbreths are best known for developing
specialized processes for assessing quantitative and qualitative aspects of industrial employees’ workplace
performance through time-and-motion studies. In time-and-motion studies, supervisors observe employee
performance of duties over a given time period and analyze processes, count outputs, or both.
Time-and-motion studies are still common today, and their use has expanded beyond industrial workplace
settings into, for example, clinical health care delivery settings, such as physical therapy clinical and home
health practices. As part of utilization review or other quality management measures, professional colleagues
may observe physical therapists, assistants, and extenders in the performance of cognitive (examination,
evaluation, diagnosis, and prognosis), psychomotor (interventional), and affective (interactional) aspects of
clinical practice. Physical therapy and other primary health professionals may react adversely to direct
observation of their professional patient care activities for purposes of employee performance appraisal. In
lieu of direct observation, a self-directed time-and-motion study can be used instead, in which health
professional employees generate their own running logs of daily workplace activities (for a reasonable period
of time, such as 1 or 2 days) on the honor system. Managers can then review the logs, after submission, for
compliance with quantitative productivity standards.
Regarding quantitative productivity standards for physical therapy professionals in general, these standards
must be reasonable. The practice of clinical physical therapy is among the most physically and mentally

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College of Physical Therapy
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demanding and time-intensive disciplines, similar in nature to clinical nursing, medicine, and surgery. Although
the highest qualitative productivity standards should be expected of every employee in every work setting,
quantitative productivity standards must be evidence based, derived from published norms established by input
from physical therapist and public health experts and by consensus among clinical managers and working-
level professionals.
The philosophy of human resource management began in the 1920s, during which time Dr. Elton Mayo of
Harvard University began to carry out qualitative research involving employee motivation, performance, and
group dynamics. Mayo’s famous studies were known as the Hawthorne studies because they were carried out
at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric, in Cicero, Illinois.
Mayo assessed the many variegated elements of telephone–assembly-line work, such as lighting conditions,
piece-rate incentive compensation, workstation design, and work-group dynamics. He concluded that, more
than monetary incentives, amicable supervision and self-determination over work processes and quality of
workmanship resulted in greater workplace productivity.
Mayo’s conclusions led to the development of the term human relations movement as a branch of people
management. This philosophy of people management focuses on people as essential, indispensable inputs of
ultimate value, responsible for the generation of commercial products and services, not merely as inanimate
inputs of production, as is the case under scientific management.
World War II brought additional changes to the way in which workers are managed and led in the workplace. At
the advent of World War II, millions of civilians in the United States had to be rapidly inducted into military
service. Their cognitive abilities, psychomotor skills, interests, and affect had to be assessed in relatively short
order so as to assign the new soldiers to positions that would lead to victory in the war. As part of that effort,
abilities and interest inventories and related instruments were devised and implemented, and close attention
was paid to service member morale, which, it came to be realized, directly influenced productivity and the
outcome of the war.
The profession of human resource management developed as a direct result of World War II. From the end of
World War II until today, the human relations model has predominated as the gold standard for people
management.
It is a truism that workers, especially physical therapy professionals, are complex human beings with complex
needs and wants. Human resource managers address, with sensitivity to employee privacy concerns, personal
and familial interests, including, among myriad other areas, continuing education, training, and development;
improved patient care delivery processes; enhanced benefits and incentives for high-quality work; optimal,
safe working conditions; multicultural interpersonal interaction; travel and consultation opportunities;
organizational recognition for excellent service; retirement security and comfort; and health care (including
dental, mental health, and vision care services) and legal benefits. In a managed care era in which cost-
containment–focused organizational interests predominate, the human resource manager faces the herculean
task of supplying enough of these employee and family demand inputs to keep employees satisfied and
motivated, so as to comply with the organization’s social responsibility owed to its workforce and to society

Excerpt from the CHAPTER 2 of Physical Therapy Management

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College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

Activity - After Reading, research the following and cite the references: (as needed)
1. What is Human Resource Management?
 human resource management was not officially recognized as a
professional endeavor. Now, in virtually every professional and graduate
business education program (including health professional entry level and
post professional education programs), students undertake formal
required and elective coursework in human resource management so
that they may effectively and optimally manage workforces once they are
in the field or in practice.

2. Compare Human resource management from personnel management in

philosophy and application.

 Human resource management differs greatly from personnel

management in philosophy and application. While the latter is concerned
principally with maximization of production or service outputs, the former
addresses the individual and collective needs of the human inputs that
produce those outputs. Human resource management is, as a
philosophical approach, of relative recent vintage.

Personnel management is a traditional term that refers to management of

people resources. It was developed during the Industrial Revolution to
describe the physical management of industrial workers. As a
management approach, personnel management is relatively bureaucratic
in nature—closed to outside influences and rigid in its policies and
procedures. It is focused on process and output.

*adjust the box size if needed

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College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

LESSON 2:
Read and understand the statement.

Cherrington12 classified the functional roles of human resource managers and their staffs into seven classes
of activities, which are as applicable to physical therapy clinical settings as they are to every other business
organization (Box 2-1).
The first of these human resource management responsibilities encompasses the global concept of
employment. Employment encompasses the complete range of staffing issues, including forecasting future
worker needs and qualifications, recruitment and selection processes, and retention of the workforce.
Performance and competency assessment activities help ensure state-of-the-art patient care delivery and
appropriate, focused professional development of staff.
Compensation management involves management of all three aspects of employee compensation:
salary/wages, benefits (including deferred retirement benefits), and incentives. Training, education, and
employee development entails production and delivery of individual and group instruction across the spectrum
of appropriate experiences, from safety and health education to professional development to formal continuing
education. Human resource managers also participate proactively in management-labor relations, whether in
unionized or nonunionized environments. They also are responsible for management of organizational safety,
health, and prevention/wellness programs and initiatives, including community outreach activities and events
such as health fairs. Finally, like all professionals, human resource management professionals must conduct
discipline-specific, evidence-based research to justify their activities, budgets, and proposals.
These employment-related issues are especially important to managers of physical therapy services. For most
of the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, aggregate demand for
physical therapy professional services has far exceeded the available supply of physical therapy professionals
in the marketplace. The marketing adage that has traditionally attracted many college students to seek out
physical therapy as a career is “ten jobs for every graduate.” In addition to expected job security, students
normally choose to join the physical therapy discipline for altruistic and human service reasons.
The scarcity of the human resources supply of available physical therapists led to the design and employment
of creative solutions to ameliorate shortages. Incentives included, among others, lucrative sign-on and
retention money bonuses, generous continuing education benefits (including subsidies for advanced degree
study), and paid time off (PTO) for research and other professional development activities.
Factors such as increased competition from other health care providers, managed care health services
delivery, and restrictive federal and other third-party payer (TTP) reimbursement policies have some
dampening effect on the need for or utilization of physical therapy professionals.
Classic Human Resource Management Functional Roles
1. Employment: forecasting, recruitment, selection, and retention
2. Performance/competency assessment of employees, contractors, and relevant others
3. Compensation management
4. Training, education, and development of workers
5. Maintenance of management-employee relations; coordination of grievance and discipline procedures
6. Management of organization health, safety, and wellness programs
7. Human research management research activities

Forecasting Employment Needs

It is critical for business operations to have an adequate number of employees in place to satisfy consumer
demand and needs. Nowhere is this truism more fundamental than in clinical health care service delivery,
where patient well-being literally depends on the presence and intervention of competent professional and
support staff.

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College of Physical Therapy
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To accurately assess the demand for new employees, clinical and human resource managers employ both
qualitative and quantitative processes. One commonly used quantitative method used by human resource
managers for employee forecasting is Markov analysis. Markov analysis is a method of probabilistic
forecasting in which historical employment data on employee transition between and among various job
positions are used to predict current and (immediate) future needs.
Recruiting New Employees
Recruitment of new employees in physical therapy, as in all other settings, takes place systematically and in
accordance with customary recruitment practices and governing federal, state, and local employment laws and
regulations.
Recruitment of new hires may occur from within (“hiring from within”) or from sources external to the
organization, such as professional education programs.

Sequential Steps in the Employee Recruitment Process up to Selection

1. Forecasting employment needs
2. Organizational authorization for a position
3. Departmental development of a recruitment plan and strategies
4. Development of a position announcement (in coordination with organizational human resources
management consultants
5. Departmental, administrative, and legal review of the position announcement
6. Advertising for the position, including the following:
a. Internal posting, if appropriate
b. External dissemination of the position announcement
7. Receipt, screening, and processing of applications for employment
8. Invitations to selected applicants to visit and interview with the organization

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages in recruiting from within (i.e., among existing employees)
as opposed to recruiting externally for new hires? Possible advantages for recruiting for new positions among
current staff include the institutional memory and knowledge of operations, procedures, policies, and formal
and informal communication networks among employees within the organization. Also, current employees
have a track record of known performance appraisals and are well-known to decision makers within the
organization. Finally, organizational employee morale may be enhanced by hiring for new positions among
existing staff.
There also may be disadvantages in hiring for new positions among existing staff. Current employees may not
offer new creative solutions to current problems as readily as hires from outside the organization. Outside hires
may also bring to the organization different practice and educational approaches to physical therapy based on
their geographical region of employment and educational experiences.
Alternatives to hiring new employees include such measures as voluntary and mandatory overtime, hiring
contract professional and support staff,50 and mission realignment through compression. Each of these
options carries with it relative risks and benefits. Overtime work must comply with federal, state, and local laws
and regulations governing its use. Overuse of overtime may adversely affect employee morale and patient
safety. Use of contract staff entails greater cost outlays and diminished control of contract staff work product.
Mission (professional services) compression may adversely affect a clinic’s and organization’s bottom line and
the community goodwill engendered through service projects.
Administrative guidelines promulgated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offer
employers specific guidance concerning prohibited and precautionary pre-employment inquiries and
information, whether on job applications, in interviews, in resumes, or otherwise.

Prohibited Inquiries of Job Candidates

● Race, ethnicity, national origin (Remember, however, that every employer has the right and legal duty to
inquire about any applicant’s legal right to work in the United States. This must be carried out universally by
prospective employers.)

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● Marital status, number of children or other dependents, child care arrangements, existence of an opposite-
or same-gender domestic partner
● Religious beliefs or practices
● Disabilities
● Age

Precautionary inquiries (i.e., questions that must pass the threshold test of being specifically job-related in
order to be legitimate) are also cautioned against.
Inquiries of Job Candidates That Are Deemed Precautionary
● Height or weight
● Education level
● Criminal history (including not only convictions but also arrests)
● Military discharge classification
● Financial status

Excerpt from the CHAPTER 2 of Physical Therapy Management

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 PTR 102: PT ROLE 2
College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

Activity - After Reading, answer the questions: (as needed)

1. Submit your resume in this section.

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College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

LESSON 3

Staff Mix
Managers of physical therapy practices may not have a great deal of flexibility in determining the mix of
physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and non-licensed personnel on staff. In some jurisdictions,
the ratio of physical therapists to physical therapist assistants is regulated. Most third-party payers and many
jurisdictions recognize that only services provided by physical therapists, and physical therapist assistants
under their direction and supervision, can be billed as physical therapy. The role of physical therapy aides,
therefore, is as other support personnel. The expectation is that aides are assigned to only very specific tasks
that are related more to the operation of the physical therapy practice than patient care.
When involved in patient care, they must perform their duties under the direct, continuous, personal
supervision of a physical therapist (or physical therapist assistant where legal) who must be physically and
immediately available.
Given these restrictions, managers still need to determine what combination of clinical staff can do the most for
the least cost. This involves serious attention to job analysis and accurate job descriptions. Managers need to
take the time to observe actual
work in their setting(s) to determine:

 What tasks are currently performed by each level of worker?

 What tasks can each level of worker legally perform?
 What tasks can be eliminated?
 What tasks are more easily completed by the physical therapist rather than someone else who will
require the time of the physical therapist for direction and supervision?
 When is work time unproductive?
 Who is the least expensive worker who can perform each task safely, legally, and effectively?
Any shift in duties and responsibilities because of this analysis needs to be confirmed with the people who
actually do the work. A regular re-examination of job descriptions and the number of positions needed may
lead to surprising conclusions. For instance, it may not always be the best clinical decision to hire an aide if it
means that physical therapists’ salaries will be frozen to accommodate that new position. It may be better to
hire a physical therapist assistant rather than a physical therapist if the number of new patients per week is low
and cancellations are high. Hiring physical therapist assistants when physical therapists prefer a one-on-one,
hands-on approach in a specialized practice may result in reduced productivity for the assistants because their
patient care assignments will be limited.
Staff mix decisions are never easy. Managers cannot afford to have exempt employees occupied with duties
that can be performed by other levels of workers, and they cannot risk the safety of patients and quality of
outcomes by assigning tasks to workers who are not qualified to perform them. These decisions are further
complicated by the fact that not all employees in the same category of work are equally effective. Managers
must be fair in expecting the same performance and amount of work for everyone with the same job
description. Strong employees become resentful if they feel that managers tend to reward their outstanding
performance with more work while mediocre performers receive fewer assignments.
Another staff-mix issue is the ratio of full-time to part-time and contract employees. Particularly if full-time
employees are working for salary and those who are not salaried are nonexempt hourly employees. These
classifications may be complicated if the hourly rates are significantly higher than salaries for 40 hours of
nonexempt work. Fulltime employees may become resentful, particularly if there is an actual or perceived
favoritism associated with contract status. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issues may become very
complex requiring legal advice in consultation with human resource experts as contracts with registries and

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other temporary employment companies for placement of workers in an organization are negotiated. The
potential for associated higher costs in these contracts is another management consideration.
Job Descriptions
Before recruiting and hiring staff, each position in an organization must have an accompanying job description
that serves several purposes:

 To establish qualifications and other criteria to recruit the right person for the position.
 To classify a position into a pay scale by comparing it with all other job descriptions.
 To provide details of duties and responsibilities, physical demands, and other performance
expectations.
 To serve as the basis for evaluation of work performance.
The creation of new positions and job descriptions is taken very seriously because of the financial implications
of the additional costs associated with expanding an organization’s workforce. Managers often are faced with a
series of approvals to justify the creation of a new position that is aligned with the strategic plans and goals of
the organization. Demonstrating how and why a new position is different from those in place is part of this
process. Determining if the job description for a contract or part-time employee is different from that for a
fulltime employee is another important component of this responsibility.
Compensation Costs
When the staff mix and job descriptions have been established, determining compensation for each position
and the total cost for all staff demands attention. Underpayment may lead to the inability to fill vacant positions,
and overpayment may dip into funds needed for other expenses. For large organizations and independent
practitioners, software programs often are used to manage all aspects of compensation and payroll benefits
that may include:

 Direct wages and salaries

 Bonuses
 Retirement plans and pensions
 Life, health, accident, and disability insurance
 Vacations, holidays, sick days
 Other leave: jury duty, educational programs, military duty
 Professional society dues
 Journal subscriptions
 Cars and housing
 Club memberships
 Expense accounts
Employers also may arrange for payroll deductions to provide employees the convenience of payment of
parking, child care, and other fees; or to make charitable donations. They also withhold social security and
retirement contributions and the employees’ shares of insurance premiums. Related costs include legal
requirements to provide workers’ compensation for work-related injuries and unemployment insurance after
involuntary termination of employment.
Managers must keep an eye on all of these compensation expenditures in relationship to the accomplishment
of the organization’s goals. Realizing the value of a given benefit is in the eye of the employee, and because
not all employees value the same benefits, many employers have moved to cafeteria plans that allow
employees to select those benefits of most value to them. For example, a single worker, in his 40s, may be
more interested in retirement options than life insurance, while a married man whose wife has family health-
care coverage through her employer, may decline health insurance but take advantage of subsidized childcare
at an on-site childcare center.
Staff Recruitment and Hiring
Recruiting
Staff mix, compensation policies, and clear and current job descriptions are the first steps in recruitment efforts

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for all levels of employees. Recruitment requires creativity and the use of a variety of outbound marketing
strategies that go beyond newspaper advertisements and professional publications to include the more recent,
and popular, online recruiting resources. Formalizing and rewarding current employees with referral bonuses
when their efforts lead to a new hire is another recruiting tool.
Interviewing
Interviews are the opportunity for applicants to learn more about the organization and for the organization to
learn more about the applicant. The more important the position to be filled, the more people who are involved
in the interviewing process. The more people involved, the more planning that has to occur so that knowledge
gathered about the applicant is thorough, while avoiding duplication of questions by different interviewers.
Including potential coworkers of the applicant in the interview process often provides applicants the opportunity
to have questions answered by people who are actually experiencing potential work environment. Their
impressions of an applicant may give managers information on the person’s ability to fit in. Managers should
be certain that including potential coworkers in an interview process does not threaten or empower them by
clarifying that the final hiring decision is not their direct responsibility.
The manager’s goal in interviewing is to confirm that applicants, regardless of the position in question, have the
necessary technical skills or competencies, strong interpersonal and communication skills, and problem-
solving abilities. Determining if the values of the applicant are compatible with the vision, mission, and goals of
the organization is important. Identifying those people with that little something extra that improves patient care
and the work environment can be wonderful, too.
Orientation
Preparing the new hire for the position is then dependent on a strong orientation to highlight responsibilities
and expectations with an emphasis on safety and communication channels. Managers should not assume the
level of assistance a new employee may need to transition to a new organization. The needs of someone
starting his or her first full-time job are very different from the needs of someone who brings other work
experience to a position. Managers may make themselves available, particularly during the first few months, to
serve as a mentor or appoint someone to mentor a new employee. Employees also should be encouraged to
identify their own mentors. In any case, a mentor may facilitate socialization in the new organization and
reduce the amount of nonproductive time that accompanies all new work. Providing training to serve as a
mentor and rewarding those efforts may relieve concerns about these responsibilities to encourage more
participation.
Employee Retention
Employees are most likely to remain loyal to organizations that meet their unique needs, while also meeting
the general needs of all employees who want to take pride in a safe, fair, and interesting place to work.
Identifying and finding the resources to meet these needs is a primary management responsibility. Some
examples of services to meet the needs of employees include counseling, employee assistance, child care,
educational opportunities, social events, discounts on goods and services, etc. that all suggest that the
organization values its employees and supports them in the achievement of their personal and professional
goals.
Incentives and rewards that supplement basic compensation also may lead to personal job satisfaction and
recognition of the importance of work efforts of individuals and groups. Incentives are typically related to
contributions to the accomplishment of budgetary goals, but may apply to quality improvement goals as well.
Managers contribute less tangible rewards in their daily interactions with the people they supervise by
encouraging, recognizing, and reinforcing actions that contribute to the success of the organization. Some
suggestions for rewards that promote a positive, supportive work environment are:

 Sincerely praising accomplishments and efforts.

 Presenting tokens of appreciation in celebration of significant actions or performance.
 Practicing “do as I do” rather than “do as I say” by role modeling expected behaviors.
 Admonishing in private and praising in public.
 Relating actions to the vision, mission, and goals of the organization.

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 Encouraging growth and development.

 LISTENING, LISTENING, LISTENING
Career Ladders

Another important recruitment and retention tool may be a career ladder. Career ladders are a series of formal
promotions within an organization that are primarily dependent on the size of the organization. In smaller
organizations, there may be only one step in the ladder from staff physical therapist to manager that only
becomes available when the manager resigns or retires. In large health-care systems, there may be four or five
steps in career ladders. Advancement from one step to the next is typically dependent upon years of
experience, acquiring additional credentials, and performance evaluation scores. Each step is a higher pay
level and typically, the step below is capped at a figure below the base rate of the next higher step. Pay scales
may be increased across the board in all steps to reflect cost of-living and other factors, but the only way for an
employee to move beyond these base increases that apply to everyone, is to move up the ladder.

Each career ladder step must have an accompanying job description and the career ladder must be
shared with new employees so that they understand that climbing the ladder is an expectation of the
organization. Managers are responsible for determining the number of positions in each step so that
there are positions in place for everyone who is qualified to move up the ladder. Given that there will
be turnover of staff, this may not be an issue, but managers need to be cautious to avoid the ladder
becoming top heavy while ensuring the opportunity for upward mobility for everyone that seeks it.
Career ladders may be very important to some potential employees. Particularly those people who
have given some thought to their long-term careers may like a structured opportunity provided by a
career ladder, and experienced people may seek a lateral career move to an organization that
recognizes their accomplishments through a career ladder.
Productivity

Successful efforts to recruit and retain staff reduce the efforts of managers to monitor the day-to-day work
performed by professionals, which includes work productivity. Some managers feel that productivity goals and
outcome measurements are difficult to determine because of the nature of the work of physical therapy.
Unpredictable cancellations and no-shows, variations in patient acuity level, and the style and skills of physical
therapists and physical therapist assistants all influence their best efforts to reach target goals for number of
patients treated or units billed for the services they provide in any setting. Because of these intervening
variables, managers have to be careful that setting productivity or outcome goals is neither punitive nor
threatening

Evaluation of Staff Performance

Typically, in any organization, a designated probationary period (usually 90 days) gives both the employee and
employer an opportunity to test the waters of their new relationship. It typically ends with a formal review at the
end of the period and the opportunity to decide to continue in the position as a permanent employee. Should
either party decide during probation that the relationship is not as expected, it is typically severed without
prejudice on either side.
Employment that continues beyond the probationary period includes formal, regularly scheduled performance
appraisals that must be must be fair, objective, and related to set standards. A standard form that aligns with
job descriptions serves as documentation of any performance review and becomes part of permanent
employment records. Employees should receive regular, formal written performance appraisals, including their
effect on the organization, that is presented in a face-to-face meeting. These meetings are typically conducted
on a timetable established by either outside accrediting or licensing bodies or by managers themselves. They
may or may not be connected to merit salary increases.
These periodic appraisals include a compilation of all formal, documented evaluations of performance that
occurred since the last performance appraisal (typically over the last year). Any actions taken to praise work or
to take corrective action when concerns about performance arose in the last year are included. Immediate
supervisors who have had the opportunity to directly observe and supervise work performance should
complete these reports. However, managers should not let these formal documents stand alone. This ongoing
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process provides meeting times with an employee that also provides the employee with the opportunity to
express concerns, issues, suggestions, and praise for the organization.
Staff Development
Staff development programs are where organizations are expected to “walk the talk.” If an organization wants
to meet its goals and demonstrate the importance of employees to those goals, it needs to support the ongoing
job training and professional development necessary to do so. These efforts may take several forms:

 In-house sessions on topics related to guest relations, safety, etc.

 Support for continuing education courses that support professional and organizational goals.
 Formal degree programs in preparation for advancement on a career ladder
In exchange for financial support of an external degree program, an employer may require an employee to
commit to continued employment for a specified time. Financial support for travel and tuition to attend
continuing education programs or professional conferences that may include paid release time or time off
without pay is often provided with no return obligation expected. It is not unreasonable for managers to ask
employees to apply for this type of financial support. The application should include justification for the request
in terms of the goals of the organization. It is also reasonable for managers to expect employees to present a
report on the application of new knowledge attained through the educational experience to an assigned
program or task
Grievances and Other Problems
Organizations must have mechanisms for employees to have their complaints or questions addressed if they
are not satisfied with responses they receive in the regular chain of command. They also must meet legal
requirements for processes to address serious issues such as discrimination or harassment. Managers also
may do well to have a simpler process for less serious concerns of employees. Resolution of these concerns
may involve employees trusting that a manager patiently hears out a disagreement with coworkers, negotiates
a vacation schedule fairly, or assists with clinical decisions. Managers typically spend a great deal more time
supporting these working relationships and resolving clinical issues than they do serious grievances.
Excerpt from the CHAPTER 8 of Management in Physical Therapy Practices

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College of Physical Therapy
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Research Activity:

1. Search for job description templates on the Web. Select one that you think is most appropriate for
physical therapists or physical therapist assistants. Complete the template for a generic job description
for a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant that could be used in any health-care setting.
How would your generic job description change for a particular type of setting?
HINT: Go to the Occupational Information Network at http://www.job-descriptions.info/index.html
for more information on job descriptions. Also, use resources of the American Physical Therapy
Association.
2. Give some of the Sample Job title, job summary, qualifications and skills
https://www.indeed.com/hire/job-description/physical-therapist?hl=en&co=US

Physical therapists can work in hospitals, private offices,

nursing homes and other facilities. A Physical Therapist is
responsible for a range of duties that include the following:

 Consult with patients to learn about their physical

condition and symptoms and review their medical history
and referrals from doctors or surgeons
 Diagnose movement dysfunction by listening to
patients and observing them as they move about
 Develop an individualized treatment plan
 Coach patients and teach them therapeutic
exercises and stretches to improve their condition
 Use hands-on therapy such as massage to ease
patients’ pain and provide stimulation to promote healing
 Maintain patient records by keeping track of goals
and progress while adapting treatment plans accordingly
 Advise patients and their families on in-home
treatment options and what to expect from the recovery
process

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 PTR 102: PT ROLE 2
College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

Quiz 3

Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

1. Scientific management is characteristic of industry-based personnel management, such as exists in

auto- or steel-production facilities.
2. Frederick W. Taylor is known as the father of scientific management, within which the optimal
processes of job performance are delineated by experts or by consensus (of management), and
workers are trained to carry out those work tasks but given little or no say in their development or
modification. He advocated employee compensation exclusively on the basis of the objectively
determined complexity of the work to be performed.
3. Physical therapy and other primary health professionals may react adversely to direct observation of
their professional patient care activities for purposes of employee Performance appraisal.
4. Mayo’s conclusions led to the development of the term Human relations movement as a branch of
people management. This philosophy of people management focuses on people as essential,
indispensable inputs of ultimate value, responsible for the generation of commercial products and
services, not merely as inanimate inputs of production, as is the case under scientific management.
5. Training, education, and employee development entails production and delivery of individual and
group instruction across the spectrum of appropriate experiences, from safety and health education to
professional development to formal continuing education.
6. One commonly used quantitative method used by human resource managers for employee forecasting
is Markov analysis. Markov analysis is a method of probabilistic forecasting in which historical
employment data on employee transition between and among various job positions are used to predict
current and (immediate) future needs.
7. Recruitment requires creativity and the use of a variety of outbound marketing strategies that go
beyond newspaper advertisements and professional publications to include the more recent, and
popular, online recruiting resources.
8. Interviews are the opportunity for applicants to learn more about the organization and for the
organization to learn more about the applicant.
9. Preparing the new hire for the position is then dependent on a strong Orientation to highlight
responsibilities and expectations with an emphasis on safety and communication channels.
10. Career ladders are a series of formal promotions within an organization that are primarily dependent
on the size of the organization.

No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the
author or lecturer.

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 PTR 102: PT ROLE 2
College of Physical Therapy
Prepared by: Janice N. Laluces

Learning Tasks:

1. Offline Reading
2. Student Output Activity: Definition of Terms and answered questions.
3. Online/ Offline Quiz: Posted in WELA LMS or during Face to Face classes.
4. Online/ Face to face Graded Recitation or Reporting: Performance in the interactive discussion and
presentation of assignments/ assigned topic.
5. Offline Homework/ assignment: Reflective essay
6. Offline/ Online Research: Answering the given questions in Research Activity

Reference:
 Scott, R.W., Petrosino C., L., (2008) Physical Therapy Management 1st Edition, Mosby

 Page, C. G., Management in Physical Therapy Practices (2015) F.A. Davis Company

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 PTR 102: PT ROLE 2
College of Physical Therapy
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Rubrics: (based on learning tasks)

Assignment/ Essay
CRITERIA EXCELLENT GOOD (3) SATISFACTO INSUFFICIENT INCOMPLETE POINTS
(4) RY (2) (1) (0)
Assignment Intro, body, Intro, body, Intro, body, and Intro, body, and Assignment
Component and and conclusion conclusion was not
conclusion conclusion Paragraphs are Paragraphs are submitted.
Paragraphs Paragraphs present but not missing/ not
are clear and are clear, but well organized clear
well not well used
organized,
Topic is
introduced,
discussed/
analyzed,
and
summarized
Completene Addresses all Addresses Addresses only Does not Assignment
ss questions all questions, part of the address the was not
thoroughly but less question question or topic submitted
and weighted assigned in the
completely given to one assignment
or more
component
Neatness All Most Some Few homework/ No homework/
homework/as homework/ homework/ assignments assignment
signment assignment assignment were turned in was turned in
were turned were turned was turned in neat and orderly neat and
in neat and in neat and neat and orderly
orderly orderly orderly
Supporting The research The research The research The research is Assignment
Research provided from provided provided but misguided by was not
credible mostly from with low level of the assigned submitted
sources, credible evidence topic
Systematic sources,
review, RCT, Meta-
highest level Analysis
of evidence
TOTAL
POINTS
Comments:

Adapted from: Mary J. Allen, mallen@csub.edu

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 PTR 102: PT ROLE 2
College of Physical Therapy
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Reporting/Presentations
Exceeds Satisfactory Needs Below Score
Expectations (4) (3) Improvement (2) Expectation (1)
Organization The presentation is The presentation There is some There is some
carefully organized has a focus and organization, but organization, but
and provides provides some the speaker the speaker
convincing evidence reasonable occasionally goes occasionally goes
to support evidence to off topic. Evidence off topic.
conclusions. support used to support Evidence used to
conclusions. conclusions is support
weak. conclusions is
weak.

Content The content is The content is The content is The content is

accurate and generally accurate sometimes inaccurate or
comprehensive. and reasonably inaccurate or overly general.
Listeners are likely complete. incomplete. Listeners are
to gain new insights Listeners may Listeners may unlikely to learn
about the topic. develop a few learn some anything or may
insights about the isolated facts, but be misled.
topic they are unlikely to
gain new insights
about the topic.

Delivery The speaker is The speaker is The speaker The speaker

professional, generally relaxed occasionally appears anxious
relaxed, and and comfortable. appears anxious or and
comfortable and Listeners are uncomfortable, uncomfortable
interacts effectively generally and may and reads notes,
with listeners. recognized and occasionally read rather than
understood. notes, rather than speaks. Listeners
speak. Listeners are ignored.
are often ignored
or misunderstood.

Comments: Total
Score:
Adapted from: Allen, Mary J. Using Rubrics to Grade, Assess, and Improve Student Learning, 2014, Strengthening Our Roots: Quality,
Opportunity & Success Professional Development Day, Miami-Dade College

No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the
author or lecturer.

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