California PT Jurisprudence case studies
California PT Jurisprudence · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The California Physical Therapy Jurisprudence Examination is the law-and-ethics component that the Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBC) uses to confirm that applicants for physical therapist or physical therapist assistant licensure understand the statutes and regulations governing practice in the state. It is not a clinical test: it does not ask about manual therapy techniques, exercise prescription, or differential diagnosis. The California PT Jurisprudence case studies are 5 cases and about 3,638 words.
1The Aide Who Performed the Ultrasound
Marisol owns a small outpatient clinic in Fresno with two licensed PTs, one PTA, and a high-school graduate named Devon whom she hired as a 'technician.' Devon has worked there 14 months. On a busy Tuesday, the PTA is running behind, so Devon sets up and administers 8 minutes of continuous ultrasound at 1.5 W/cm2 to a patient's shoulder, then applies a hot pack and removes it afterward.
716 words, about 4 min2The Cash-Pay Patient Who Wants No Referral and No Record
A 41-year-old man walks into a San Diego clinic without a physician referral, complaining of 6 weeks of insidious-onset low back pain radiating into the left leg, with new numbness in the L5 distribution and one episode of losing his balance. He has no red-flag history of cancer, fever, or trauma.
781 words, about 4 min3Renewal Season and the Continuing Competency Audit
A PT licensed in California for 22 years submits her license renewal. Her continuing competency records show: 30 hours of continuing education in the prior two-year cycle, of which 18 hours were from an online vendor's 'clinical pearls' webinar series with no assessment, 6 hours were a self-study home course, 4 hours were a live ethics course, and 2 hours were a CPR course.
695 words, about 3 min4The Clinic's Yelp Offer and the Referral Partnership
A physical therapy clinic in Sacramento launches a promotion: patients who leave a 5-star review on Yelp receive a 25 gift card, and patients who refer a friend who becomes a patient receive a 50 credit toward their own treatment. Separately, the clinic's owner signs an agreement with a local chiropractor: the chiropractor will refer patients to the PT clinic, and the PT clinic will pay the chiropractor $40 per referred patient who completes at least three visits.
668 words, about 3 min5The PTA's Plan Change and the Student's Hands-On Care
In a Modesto skilled nursing facility, a PT evaluates a 78-year-old resident two days after a hip fracture repair and sets a plan of care: gait training with a rolling walker, transfer training, and therapeutic exercise, with a note that the patient is weight-bearing as tolerated and has a history of falls. The PT is on site only Mondays and Thursdays.
778 words, about 4 min