Outpatient Ortho Clinics Rarely Deliver on Promised Mentorship
15 posts across 3 communities since Jul 2026; 67% from r/physicaltherapy.
“Hi! I’m a PT in my late 40’s, coming out of an informal 20-year retirement and hoping to get back into the outpatient ortho setting. I only worked outpatient ortho for about 8–9 months before staying home to raise kids. I’ve kept my license active primarily through online CEUs…”
“First job out of school working in ortho surgery for a big health care system for the last 3 months. Clinic everything is going great and continuing to build my confident there. My big issue is with the OR. For context my SP and senior PA have been working together for nearly 8…”
“Been a PT for almost 26yrs, always outpatient ortho. Hold multiple certs including pelvic floor (male and female), chronic pain, ART, MFR, etc. The game is catching up to me QUICK and I am burning out fast. Problem is, I make a decent salary (118k) and my understanding is…”
Multiple posts from physical therapy professionals express frustration regarding a lack of mentorship and support in their early careers. They describe discrepancies between promised training and the actual experience, leading to feelings of isolation and difficulty growing professionally.
SOURCES (15)
“Our practice is interviewing a new grad and we’ve never had a PA before. When asked about her suturing experience she said it was “very little” and ultimately it sounds like she may have had zero actual hands on experience during school. Is this normal…”
“Hi! I’m a PT in my late 40’s, coming out of an informal 20-year retirement and hoping to get back into the outpatient ortho setting. I only worked outpatient ortho for about 8–9 months before staying home to raise kids. I’ve kept my license active primarily through online CEUs. Right now, my biggest issue is confidence. I’ve been reviewing a lot of material on my own and have also been spending time observing/shadowing in an outpatient orthopedic clinic as a tech, which has been helpful, but I s”
“Hey guys, I’m a BPT fresher from Tamil Nadu in india and honestly I’m a bit confused about what to do next. I finished my BPT and did a 6-month clinical internship where I got exposure to ortho/MSK, neuro, post-op rehab, ICU mobilisation, pain management, exercise prescription, etc. Right now I’m in Chennai looking for my first proper job. I’ve attended a around 15 interviews but haven’t landed anything yet. One thing I’ve realised is that my communication during interviews isn’t great, so I’m w”
“First job out of school working in ortho surgery for a big health care system for the last 3 months. Clinic everything is going great and continuing to build my confident there. My big issue is with the OR. For context my SP and senior PA have been working together for nearly 8 years so they’re basically like brothers. They had another PA as well for about three years until he left when I came in to fill it. As I came in, there have been hiccups along the way. I had a meeting with my supervisor”
“Been a PT for almost 26yrs, always outpatient ortho. Hold multiple certs including pelvic floor (male and female), chronic pain, ART, MFR, etc. The game is catching up to me QUICK and I am burning out fast. Problem is, I make a decent salary (118k) and my understanding is without maintaining a management role (currently a clinic manager) I’ll take a pay cut to go elsewhere in outpatient. (FWIW I’m in a MCOL area in the Midwest) What other fields or what other sectors of PT could I expect to make”
“I've been at this Ortho job for a little over three years now. In the beginning I was fresh out of school and replacing this surgeon's PA who was apparently just amazing at everything. I struggled dealing with it at first and tried not to compare myself and before I know it it's already been 3 years. I feel like I get along very well with him now and see the most patients in my department in clinic. The job isn't perfect but it pays well and has great benefits. I haven't thou”
“Hi I just started an outpatient ortho gig. I am credentialed with all the insurance companies. I have been here 3 weeks and average 0-1 patient a day. Most days zero. They said it will take time to get me ramped up. I have been a PA for 17 years…I am considering leaving because I feel like I’m just stealing money from my Employer at this point. submitted by /u/BraveScratch999 [link] [comments]”
“I have some experience as a PT but also would consider myself younger in the profession. I've been out about 9- 10 years and have spent the bulk of it in outpatient ortho. I have definitely seen a big swing in perception and treatment philosophy over this time. When I was starting school was when everybody was shifting away from "old school"/treatments. I.e. traction, e-stim, etc. and I agree, rightfully so, these should be no longer a portion of a PT visit. However, I have also se”
“A question for PTs working in private clinics they do NOT own: how much self-advertising did you do / were you expected to do when first hired? How much initiative did the clinic take? I.e did they have business cards ready, send a note to their referral network, etc.. How much of your caseload do you think comes from specific referral sources vs googling? submitted by /u/lichenthistree [link] [comments]”
“Just finished my first year as a licensed PT in an outpatient ortho setting and I have to be honest, I'm feeling a little burned out and underwhelmed by the support structure here. Before I accepted the job I was told there would be experienced clinicians to learn from, structured case reviews, and ongoing mentorship to help me develop my clinical reasoning. The reality is that I'm seeing 16 to 18 patients a day, barely have time to eat lunch, and the senior PTs are just as slammed as I”
“I feel like PT school did a great job preparing me clinically but left me completely in the dark about everything else. A couple years out now and I still get caught off guard by things like productivity metrics, reading an EOB, negotiating salary, or just knowing my worth when talking to an employer. Nobody warned me that I'd spend as much mental energy navigating billing codes and insurance denials as actually treating patients. The mentorship piece is a big one too. I shadowed some great”
“Been in outpatient ortho for about two years now and I keep hearing the same story from colleagues at different clinics. You get hired with promises of structured mentorship, regular case reviews, and clinical development support. Then reality hits and you're on your own managing a full caseload within weeks, sometimes days. I get it, productivity demands are real and experienced clinicians have their own patients to worry about. But there has to be a better way to onboard new grads without”
“Hi, I just graduated in May and the clinic I worked at before PT school did not have an open position at the time but I really loved working there and the clients are more what I want to treat. I ended up getting a job that is honestly not horrible just not what I expected for myself and my future goals. The problem is I only started three weeks ago at this clinic and now I received an offer from the clinic I loved working at. The clinic I am working at currently is fine, it’s owned by a larger”
“I graduated about a year ago and took a position at an outpatient ortho clinic partly because the interview made it sound like I'd have a senior PT shadowing my cases, regular case review meetings, and ongoing feedback. The reality has been almost nothing like that. My "mentor" is booked wall to wall just like I am, and we maybe exchange a few words between patients if we're lucky. I know this gets discussed broadly, but I'm curious specifically about outpatient ortho becau”
“Hey! So this summer I started an internship at this clinic, and it’s very people facing. I’ve never had a job before this internship, and so the whole environment is pretty jarring, especially since I’m an introvert. I feel that my people skills are bad, and I’m not good at even saying hi and bye to patients without it sounding forced. For instance instead of saying “have a good one!” I’ll just say “bye.” Or instead of saying “hey how are you doing today” I say “hi, what’s your name?” A lot of t”