Redefine Health Education

NOTE: This course includes the 'PCPT intro course' titled "Primary Care PT in 2025 and Beyond". If you already completed this course, please [email protected] for a discount on this course.

What Will I Learn?

Clinical Foundations for the Primary Care PT: Initial Evaluation and Decision Making is the first course in RHE's Primary Care PT Certification program, designed to help physical therapists shift their mindset from traditional rehabilitation toward primary neuromusculoskeletal care management. 

The Part 1 course begins with an introductory overview of the 2025 consensus definition which covers the fundamentals of the scope of primary care PT, as well as the care settings, operational workflows, and cultural/financial considerations. 

After learning the basics, participants will be exposed to a clinical decision making framework which helps them take the basic skills of intake, subjective interviewing, differential diagnosis and care navigation to the expert level, making the initial evaluation process more efficient and diagnostically accurate. A novel ‘3B’ chief complaint exploration process is combined with established methods such as the ‘SINSS’, ‘OSPRO’, and others, to offer a more complete subjective framework for understanding the patient and the problem they present with. This approach is designed to improve confidence and competence as well as documentation strategies when initial evaluation time-slots are shorter or the general work pace is faster. 

This course dedicates nearly 3 hours to diagnostic decision making related to imaging, diagnostic labs, and pharmacology as they relate to physical therapist practice, while providing options to further enhance these competencies with other advanced courses, such as RHE’s Musculoskeletal Imaging Certification.

The decision-making skills modules are followed by focused reviews of medical pathologies which mimic NMSK conditions, such as vascular claudication or visceral referral, as well as complex NMSK conditions which require specialist referral, such as fracture or cervical myelopathy.

Participants will move on to review visceral pathophysiology and immunology which lays the groundwork to discuss the physical therapist's role in the co-management of NMSK dysfunction related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, hypertension, COPD, cancer, autoimmune disease, and others. 

Participants will be challenged to determine the most appropriate early management pathways for various case presentations, including imaging/lab considerations, evaluating the consequences of delay, and most appropriate settings and professionals to refer to. 

The course culminates with a module dedicated to interdisciplinary communication and collaboration, an essential, yet undervalued skill for all clinicians.

Examination Components Included:

• Vitals Assessment 
• Heart & lung auscultation
• Carotid Artery Exam
• Pulse Palpation
• Orthostatic Hypotension & POTS Testing
• Ankle Brachial Index & Vascular Doppler Assessment
• Abdominal examination
• Neurologic Exam, Cranial Nerve Exam
• NMSK special tests 
• Lymph node palpation
• HINTS+ Exam, Dix Hallpike
• Vision Exam
• Oral Health Screening Exam
• Otoscope Exam

Throughout the course, participants will be prompted with interactive cases and reflections which will enhance the learning experience.

In order to complete the course and earn a CEU certificate, participants must:

• Complete the video modules

• Complete each module assessment, case or reflection

• Achieve at least 75% on the final exam

• Submit a video performance of at least 2 exam techniques discussed in the course

For a detailed overview of the course description and objectives, check out the complete course syllabus here.

Who Is My Instructor?

Dr. Katie O'Bright is a physical therapist and educator who has spent the majority of her career in multidisciplinary primary care settings. She started her career as an active duty Army PT where she worked in a Soldier Centered Medical Home, co-located with primary care physicians, psychologists and other valued support staff. Since then, she has worked in multidisciplinary care settings in academic health systems and private practices. Dr. O'Bright founded Redefine Health Education with the mission of getting physical therapists into primary care through education, mentorship and consulting. She served as the Education Chair to the APTA Federal’s Primary Care Special Interest Group from 2022-2025, where she launched the Primary Care PT Summit & Think Tank and led the workgroup for the consensus definition of primary care PT. As of 2025, she is still an active member. She lives in Chicagoland with her husband and two sons, and enjoys being outdoors any chance she can. Go Bills!

Learn more here: https://www.redefinehealthed.com/katieobright