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The non-systems portion of the examination covers those topics that do not fit into a particular category and include important areas that the physical therapist assistant (PTA) must be aware of to ensure patient safety.
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EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
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Every PTA’s responsibility is to maintain current clinical prediction rule (CPR) certification and training and basic first aid knowledge. In all settings, the PTA should be aware of facility, agency, or management policies and protocols regarding disaster response and their role in the situation (Table 10-1). Within the home health setting, the PTA should be aware of the disaster levels of the patients and follow up after a natural disaster within the appropriate time frame. If a facility has to be evacuated, the PTA should assist as needed, providing the appropriate assistive device (AD) for ambulatory patients and coordinating with other interdisciplinary teams (IDTs) to provide oxygen and other medical support as appropriate.
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All patients should be constantly monitored for their response to activity when participating in physical therapy. Exercise protocols, including maximum heart rates and response to activity, should be adhered to. In addition, patients on medications or pacemakers to control heart rate should be carefully monitored with rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scales to ensure they are not overdoing physical activity.
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Any unexpected event, such as obvious bleeding, ...