About Bridging The Gap

“Bridging the Gap: An Audio Visual Tool Bringing Physical Therapists Closer to Their Spanish Speaking patients” is a DVD created to enhance the evaluation process conducted between an English speaking therapist and a Spanish speaking client. There exists a need for a communication aid at times to build therapeutic alliances and conduct an autonomous practice as a physical therapist. This tool combines the auditory and visual aids necessary so that patients can understand physical therapy and what the therapist will ask of them as a patient. The components of the disc are in both English and Spanish thereby eliminating the need for the therapist to know proper pronunciation of Spanish words or other important nuances associated with speaking a foreign language. In addition, the video aspect allows the patient to follow along for the objective components allowing the therapist free hands to gather the necessary information from the patient. Not every section is required for each patient; with the DVD the therapist can pick and choose which elements to complete to evaluate their client and if need be the therapist or patient can go back and play a section again for clarification.

In order to use this tool one needs access to either a DVD player or a computer with an application able to support DVD functions. Most computers come with an application that will open automatically upon inserting a DVD such as Windows Media Player, Quickplay, or other common programs. It is recommended that therapists browse the different menus and objective exams prior to using “Bridging the Gap” with a patient so that one can quickly pick and choose the components necessary for a personalized physical therapy evaluation. Additionally, the audio visual tool is to be utilized solely by licensed physical therapists and/or by students working under their direct supervision. It is important to note that this should not replace interpretive services when available, but instead be used as one of the many tools in a therapist’s tool box to enhance the evaluation experience of a Spanish speaking patient in the absence of trained interpreters or until other services can be attained.

Provided along with the DVD is a subjective sheet in both languages that can be completed by hand. If the patient is unable to read, then it is possible to listen to the subjective questions being read on the DVD so that either the therapist or patient can then circle or fill in the answers on the sheet. As well as the subjective sheet there are exercise instruction sheets that describe common exercises that therapists utilize according to body part or area of deficit. The handouts were created to be used so feel free to copy them to send home with a patient making comments, circling, and/or providing specific numbers to be completed as a home exercise plan. This is a copyrighted work in its entirety so please just use handouts and the DVD for individual use only.

Working to meet patient’s needs does not stop here. Multiple resources are available online which therapists can print off in Spanish if appropriate. The options are plentiful, some are simply more time consuming than others. Bridging the Gap DVD was created in an attempt to provide a quick and easy way for English speaking therapists to connect with and properly care for their Spanish speaking patients. The hope is that it will be used as a way to bridge the language and cultural gap that is in existence in multiple physical therapy settings around the United States.