Let me start by referring everyone to HTCC.org. This is the Hand Therapy Certification Commission website. Why am I referring you to this particular website? Because IT HAPPENED AGAIN!
What happened?
I was talking to a current client who has a friend who went elsewher
e to “hand therapy”. I asked where and which therapist (the world of hand therapists is small; I know most hand therapists in the area). The therapist is not a CHT. I told this to my client. The next time I saw her, she reported that yes, her friend directly asked if she was a certified hand therapist and the therapist told her yes. No, she still isn’t. I even looked to see if she was listed on the HTCC.org web site. If you are a CHT, you WILL be on this website. This therapist directly LIED to her patient. Who does this? And Why?
Certified Hand Therapist?
Now, the path to become a CHT is difficult. A CHT (Certified Hand Therapist), is an OT or PT that has at least 3 years’ experience and has taken many extra courses that relate to the practice of hand therapy. They had to have had at least 4000 hours of direct hand therapy patient care to even sit for the exam. Then there is the exam itself. It is offered 2x a year and takes about 4 hours to complete. This is why there are only 6300+ CHTs in the USA. In short, we aren’t everywhere.
There are therapy clinics that tell people that they have hand therapists. There are physician groups that say that they have hand therapists. There are physicians who tell their patients that they want them seen only by their therapist as they are hand therapists, when in reality, they aren’t. A therapist who works with hands is NOT a Certified Hand Therapist. I worked 5 years before I took the hand exam. I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I started studying. Now that I have been a CHT for 25+ years, I am still amazed what I don’t know, which is why a CHT has to have 80 credit hours of continuing education to recertify.
All this comes down to this: Check out your therapist. Any therapist will tell you their governing body. What experience do they have? Where else have they worked? How long have they worked? Have they seen the surgery done that you had done? I am not saying you shouldn’t see a therapist who has an interest in hand therapy. Everyone has to learn. More importantly, the therapist should not lie and say she is already a certified hand therapist. Is it that hard to say, “I am not certified yet, but I am studying for it and appreciate the opportunity to work on patients with upper extremity issues while I am doing that”? I took the exam while working at UW Hospital in Madison. This is what myself and another coworker told clients when we saw them. It really isn’t that hard, and it wasn’t lying.