The credentials after my name look like this.
PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT.
That’s a lot of letters.
Here’s what they mean
PT
PT is my legal designation.
I am licensed in Colorado to be a physical therapist. Physical therapists can be licensed with degrees ranging from bachelors, to masters, to doctorate so just using PT covers everyone who is licensed.
DPT
DPT is my degree. I graduated from Simmons College with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT).
OCS
OCS is my specialization.
Physical therapists can work in a rage of settings and with different populations. There are specialists in neurological disorders, pediatric disorders, sports medicine, cardiovascular disorders and more.
Motivated PTs can choose to do additional training and pass a national examination through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties that designates them as a “Board Certified Clinical Specialist” in their area of study.
I took this route for orthopedic physical therapy.
OCS stands for “Orthopedic Certified Specialist.”
Out of the ~200,000 practicing physical therapists in the USA, there are only ~14,000 OCS trained PTs.
FAAOMPT
FAAOMPT is my sub-specialty.
The letters mean Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists.
To get this designation I attended a fellowship program that taught advanced evaluation and manual therapy treatment skills for musculoskeletal disorders. The program included formal education as well as over 100 hours of one-on-one mentorship with PTs who have also achieved this level of training.
I chose to pursue the FAAOMPT designation, because there is research that shows the physical therapists who achieve this level of training get their patients better, faster.
Out of the ~200,000 practicing physical therapists in the USA, there are only about 1,700 who have achieved this level of training.
The Bottom Line
I have taken my PT training very seriously.
Along with this training, early in my career I focused on finding jobs that provided the best mentorship possible.
I have been very lucky to work with and learn from some of the best physical therapists in the country.
Based on the numbers, my training puts me in the top 1% of physical therapists nationally.
If you choose me to be your PT, my mission is to put all of the training and mentorship to work so you can get back to doing the things you love as fast as possible.