You want to hire the best physical therapists available. In health care, however, that can be a challenge. It is also hard to keep up with the aspects that prospective PTs are looking for in a job. Here are questions to guide you and help your practice stand out for candidates. These are the types of questions employees want to know about your organization during an interview.
How to Stand Out To Top Physical Therapy Talent During an Interview
How Busy Is This Workplace?
Whether they are new graduates or experienced therapists, all physical therapy job candidates want answers to this question. They want to know what to anticipate and how a typical day looks. Expect questions such as:
- What is the schedule?
- How many patients will I attend on average?
- Will I be seeing patients every 15,30 or 45 minutes?
- How long will I have to perform new patient evaluations?
Patient Demographics?
There is a strong chance that your potential therapist may want to know about the patient mix. Some PTs prefer to treat a variety of diagnoses, while others prefer specializing in a particular area such as vestibular therapy or women’s health. Put another way, a PT who enjoys treating high school athletes may not want to treat elderly patients.
How Is Job Performance Measured?
Expect this question that gives a prospective employee an idea of your organization’s values and how your business works. Most questions revolve around productivity, patient outcomes and satisfaction and team dynamics:
- Productivity. This metric is the bottom line as most PT providers measure productivity. How productivity is defined affects the job. What is productive and non-productive time? What expectations do you have for productivity?
- Patient satisfaction. Employees know patient experience is crucial, and they want to provide quality care. Do you evaluate patient satisfaction in your practice?
- Team dynamics. Interaction between management and clinicians is essential. Consider the primary expectations you have for a therapist as a part of your team.
Division of Labor?
Staffing setup impacts job satisfaction, so employees want to get a glimpse of your staffing. What is your ratio of therapists to therapy assistants? Do PTs do evaluations or follow some of their patients? Remember also that candidates will want to know whether you also employ athletic trainers and techs.
Who Are My Co-Workers?
Prospective therapists will want to know basic information about co-workers regarding their experience, tenure length, know-how, and specialization areas. New grads tend to look for mentorship, while others want co-workers who can collaborate with an area of interest.
Will I Have Autonomy?
The PTs graduating today have the skills and training to practice autonomously, and they will expect to do so. During an interview, PTs will want to know how much autonomy they have regarding patient care. Additionally, they might want to know what continuing education they can choose.
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