You have probably noticed on the end of a name tag at the hospital or a clinic your physician may have M.D. after his or her name, or D.O. maybe even a PhD. Now these are fairly well know but then there are others, especially in physical therapy that may be less well known.

Physical therapy is a field that has a positive impact on a HUGE spectrum across healthcare, which means there are lots of ways that PTs can become more specialized and certified. Many of those additional certifications, residencies result in some additional letters at the end of the name.

I know from the student’s perspective these can be confusing, so I decided to start a blog series that describes this alphabet soup.

What do the letters mean? How did the physical therapist get them? What does that mean for me as a patient? All this will be broken down so that you as the patient can search for a practitioner that is right for you and so that you students out there can have a better understanding of your options after school.

Stay tuned for the first ALPHABET SOUP BLOG POST on The letters FAAOMPT

picture courtesy of: http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/youth/pages/explore-health-care.aspx