A working model of first-contact practice

What primary care is, why physical therapists are positioned to provide it, and the evidence and federal validation behind the role.

A safety-first evaluation you can run tomorrow

The four-step sequence, vitals first, red flags versus yellow flags, four triage pathways, and documentation that stands on its own.

Accountability and the educator role

Scope, liability, ethics, safety netting, and referral execution, then the adult-learning toolkit the practice standards expect.

About the course

Every state now has some form of direct access. Far fewer physical therapists practice as true first-contact providers, because the skills, the mindset, and the accountability are different. Course 1 builds that foundation: the first-contact role, the health system it runs inside, a reproducible evaluation sequence, population health and prevention, the accountability framework for autonomous practice, and the therapist as educator. Watch the six modules in order. Each builds on the one before it, and Module 6 ties them together before you move to Course 2, Differential Diagnosis and Screening.

Eric Robertson, PT, DPT, MFA, FAAOMPT

Eric is a physical therapy educator, clinician, and co-founder of BrainSmith, with nearly two decades on DPT faculties and a focus on curricular innovation. He serves on the IFOMPT Standards Committee, hosts the PT Outcast podcast, and built this certificate to turn the legal permission of direct access into a clinical first-contact role.

Curriculum

7 Chapters · 13 Lessons

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Welcome to Course 1

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 1: Primary Care by Function: The First-Contact Role

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 1

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 2: The Health System and the Case for Physical Therapy

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 2

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 3: First-Contact Evaluation: Screening, Triage, and Documentation

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 3

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 4: Prevention and Population Health

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 4

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 5: Autonomy and Accountability: Ethics, Law, and Referral

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 5

    1. (Included in full purchase)

      Module 6: Synthesis and the Therapist as Educator

    2. (Included in full purchase)

      Knowledge check 6

Start with Course 1 today.

The whole certificate is included in the BrainSmith founders membership at brainsmith.thinkific.com. Members: sign in and open Course 1 from your dashboard.

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