Pushing Pediatrics

Seating, mobility, and assistive technology can feel overwhelming when preparing for the PCS exam. Today we welcome back Anne Heinritz, PT, DPT, ATP, PCS, owner of Ready To Roll Physical Therapy, a mobile pediatric physical therapy practice in Reno, Nevada and who previously shared her accelerated three-month study timeline and experience passing the PCS exam. Drawing on her experience as both a pediatric clinical specialist and Assistive Technology Professional, Anne breaks down how to approach equipment decisions through clinical reasoning, focusing on the child’s individual needs, posture, function, and participation rather than simply selecting a device based on a diagnosis.

Together, we explore seating evaluations, pelvic positioning, flexible versus fixed postural asymmetries, and the differences between planar, contoured, and custom-molded seating. Anne also explains tilt and recline, power seat functions, and when to consider power mobility. Throughout the episode, Anne emphasizes the need to balance support, comfort, independence, and environmental needs to identify the best mobility solution for each child and how to apply this clinical reasoning when answering PCS exam questions.

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Ready To Roll Physical Therapy website

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Welcome to Part 2 of our two-part series with Priyanshi Domadia, PT, DPT, PCS, on pediatric orthotics. Drawing on her experience across early intervention, outpatient, home-based, school-based, and pediatric neurorehabilitation settings, as well as her previous work as a Lead Physical Therapist and Brace Clinic Coordinator, coordinating orthotic and adaptive-equipment services for children with complex neurological conditions, Priyanshi brings valuable insight into determining what a child actually needs. Today we are moving up the body, but keeping the same clinical reasoning in mind - what are we trying to change, why are we trying to change it, and what exactly does that allow the child to do? Remember, it’s not just about choosing an orthosis, it's about the child. We’ll cover WHOs, immobilizers, TLSOs, trunk and cervical support and how to choose the orthoses based on the child’s functional goal. Priyanshi explores the importance of family priorities, comfort, tolerance, and collaboration with the medical team and the Orthotist. We end the episode with common mistakes made when reviewing this topic for the PCS and 3 key takeaways Prianshi wants everyone to know! 

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Priyanshi Domadia, PT, DPT, PCS, joins Pushing Pediatrics for Part 1 of a two-part series on pediatric orthotics. Drawing on her experience across early intervention, outpatient, home-based, school-based, and pediatric neurorehabilitation settings, as well as her previous work as a Lead Physical Therapist and Brace Clinic Coordinator, coordinating orthotic and adaptive-equipment services for children with complex neurological conditions, Priyanshi brings valuable insight into determining what a child actually needs. In this episode, we focus on lower extremity orthotics, including supportive footwear, inserts, SMOs, and AFOs, exploring the clinical reasoning behind choosing the right support for each child. Rather than memorizing which orthosis goes with a particular diagnosis, we discuss how to identify a child's specific movement challenges, understand the biomechanics contributing to functional limitations, and determine the least restrictive level of support needed to improve function. Be sure to join us for Part 2 next week, where we continue exploring orthotic management beyond the lower extremities.

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

This week is our final episode in our four part series with Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD on clinical reasoning. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creating a resource around frameworks that she wished she had had as a student, which led to her writing The Pediatric PT Playbook. Over the last three weeks we have been discussing these frameworks and how they can be utilized for clinical reasoning needed to excel on the PCS exam. If you haven’t listened to the last few episodes, please go back and do so before listening to today’s conclusion. Today, we’ll wrap up the series by exploring the advanced judgment and decision-making skills expected of Pediatric Clinical Specialists, focusing on asking not only ‘why?’ but also ‘what else?’

Follow Kyan on LinkedIn

Check out Kyan’s website: www.BeingThePT.com

Get Kyan’s book, The Pediatric PT Playbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Reasoning for Students and New Clinicians in downloadable PDF from her website (use code PushingPediatrics for 25% off!), or on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

We are welcoming back Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD on today’s episode for Part 3 of our series on clinical reasoning. Kayan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creating a resource around frameworks that she wished she had had as a student, which led to her writing The Pediatric PT Playbook. Over these four episodes, we will be diving into these frameworks and how they can be utilized for clinical reasoning needed to excel on the PCS exam.

In this episode, we explore how clinical reasoning changes across pediatric practice settings, including the NICU, early intervention, outpatient pediatrics, acute care, and pediatric oncology. Kyan discusses the first priorities and safety concerns clinicians should consider in each setting, common mistakes to avoid, and what distinguishes expert clinical reasoning from a more novice approach. She also shares strategies for shifting your thinking when moving between practice settings, the questions expert clinicians ask whenever they enter a new environment, and how to prepare for PCS exam content that falls outside your usual area of practice. This episode offers practical ways to hone your clinical reasoning skills and prepare to think like a pediatric clinical specialist. Be sure to tune in next week for the final installment of our series with Kyan!

Follow Kyan on LinkedIn

Check out Kyan’s website: www.BeingThePT.com

Get Kyan’s book, The Pediatric PT Playbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Reasoning for Students and New Clinicians in downloadable PDF from her website (use code PushingPediatrics for 25% off!), or on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD is back on today’s episode for Part 2 of our series on clinical reasoning. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creating a resource around frameworks that she wished she had had as a student, which led to her writing The Pediatric PT Playbook. Over these four episodes, we will be diving into these frameworks and how they can be utilized for clinical reasoning needed to excel on the PCS exam.

Today we are taking the conversation from last week and putting it into practice! Kyan will talk us through pediatric cases and highlight the things she notices first, what questions she would ask, what would change her clinical decision making, and how she uses the “QFF”, “ALERT”, “PARTNER”, “VOICE”, and “SAFE KIDS” frameworks from her book to help organize that process. We close with Kyan suggesting 3 things to help those striving to become stronger pediatric clinical reasoners.

Be sure to come back next week for Part 3 where we will take today’s introduction to these frameworks and dive deeper by applying them to setting specific situations. 

Follow Kyan on LinkedIn

Check out Kyan’s website: www.BeingThePT.com

Get Kyan’s book, The Pediatric PT Playbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Reasoning for Students and New Clinicians in downloadable PDF from her website (use code PushingPediatrics for 25% off!), or on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Today’s episode of Pushing Pediatrics is Part One of a four-part series on clinical reasoning with Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creating a resource around frameworks that she wished she had had as a student, which led to her writing The Pediatric PT Playbook. Over the next four episodes, we will be diving into these frameworks and how they can be utilized for clinical reasoning needed to excel on the PCS exam.

Kyan walks us through the difference between thinking as a pediatric physical therapist to thinking like a pediatric clinical specialist. She breaks down the difference between clinical knowledge and clinical reasoning and explains how a student, an experienced clinician, and a PCS-level specialist may approach the same child in very different ways. We discuss how experts develop pattern recognition and what they notice sooner. Kyan also explains why frameworks can help organize the overwhelming amount of information a pediatric PT needs to know, how it helps reduce cognitive load, and helps you be able to sort through the details of a PCS test question to find what actually matters.

Come back Friday for a framework style Test Question Friday, and be sure to tune in for the rest of our series with Kyan!

Follow Kyan on LinkedIn

Check out Kyan’s website: www.BeingThePT.com

Get Kyan’s book, The Pediatric PT Playbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Reasoning for Students and New Clinicians in downloadable PDF from her website (use code PushingPediatrics for 25% off!), or on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and kindle versions

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

What happens when you have just three months to prepare for the PCS exam? In this episode, Sheila welcomes Anne Heinritz, PT, DPT, ATP, PCS, a former Pushing Pediatrics listener who became a PCS passer and is now joining as a podcast guest! Anne owns a mobile pediatric physical therapy practice in Reno, NV, and she shares exactly how she approached studying for the PCS over a three-month period while balancing a career, family, and the curveballs of life along the way. 

Anne walks us through her study timeline, the resources she used including textbooks, PCS Advantage, and AI, and how she prioritized the content that mattered most when her study time was limited. She also shares how she let go of perfectionism, pivoted from perfection to purpose, and managed the stress of a quickly approaching exam. Plus, Anne reflects on what she learned from the experience and what she would do differently if she had to prepare for the PCS all over again. If you’re studying for the PCS and wondering whether it’s possible to prepare in a shorter timeframe, this episode offers an honest, practical look at what worked for one successful test-taker.

Follow Anne and Ready To Roll Physical Therapy on Instagram and LinkedIn 

Ready To Roll Physical Therapy website

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics for Part 2 of our conversation with Jessica Lewis and Helen Carey of PCS Advantage! Today we will be diving deeper into using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a study tool and sharing real, detailed prompts and responses to help further your learning.

In Part 1 of this discussion, Helen and Jessica introduce the newest PCS Advantage study guide focused on using AI as a study tool which is available to download for free! If you haven’t listened to Part 1, which lays out the background and framework for using AI to study for the PCS, please go do so and then come back to listen to Part 2. Today Helen and Jessica share examples of source material you could upload into your chosen AI platform and how to create specific prompts using the C.R.A.F.T framework. We end the episode with two real prompts and the responses AI provided and judge them for their accuracy and depth of knowledge. 

Download the FREE PCS Advantage Study Guide - AI Assisted Learning

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Season 6 of Pushing Pediatrics kicks off with a special collaboration with PCS Advantage! Sheila and Sara welcome back Jessica Lewis, PT, DPT, PCS and Helen Carey, PT, DHSc, PCS, creators of PCS Advantage, to talk about a new tool that is becoming increasingly common in our everyday lives: artificial intelligence, or, AI. While AI can be a powerful resource for studying for the PCS exam, knowing how to use it effectively and critically is essential.

In Part 1 of this discussion, Helen and Jessica introduce the newest PCS Advantage study guide, focused entirely on using AI as a study tool. Now with 31 study guides available, PCS Advantage continues to provide practical resources for physical therapists preparing for the Pediatric Certified Specialist exam, and this newest guide is available to download for free! The conversation explores how to create effective AI prompts, what types of questions to ask, and more. They also discuss the importance of verifying AI-generated information and suggest feeding the chat bot primary source information. And remember that AI should supplement, not replace, your own clinical reasoning, thinking, and learning.

You’ll also learn about the C.R.A.F.T. framework, a helpful approach for creating more effective AI prompts and getting better results from your study sessions. Whether you are just beginning your PCS preparation or are deep into studying, this episode offers practical strategies for thoughtfully incorporating AI into your study routine while still keeping your own knowledge, reasoning, and learning at the center of the process. Join us next week for Part 2 with Jessica and Helen where we go deeper into study techniques utilizing AI!

Download the FREE PCS Advantage Study Guide - AI Assisted Learning

Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website

Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! 

Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes

Follow us on Instagram

This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.