Highlight a Sports Clinical Specialist...Colleen Barkley PT, DPT, SCS, ATC

SPTS: Where do you currently work?

CB: I currently work at Fort Jackson (South Carolina) Basic Combat Training (BCT) Center of Excellence, the Army’s largest BCT installation.

SPTS: Describe your current work setting.

CB: Although we have 3 separate physical therapy clinics at Fort Jackson, my primary work setting is at the main Troop Medical Clinic (TMC). The TMC is an outpatient ambulatory clinic where all of the Soldiers-in-Training at Fort Jackson receive their non-urgent medical care. Physical therapists in the Army, both active duty and civilian, are provided with additional privileging that allows them to work as primary neuromusculoskeletal evaluators and physician extenders. These privileges include ordering various diagnostic studies (x-rays, bone scans, MRI, CT), prescribing limited medications, placing the Soldier on work restrictions (profiles) as needed as part of the treatment plan, and referring to specialty clinics as indicated. Physical therapists at the TMC have similar duties as an orthopedic physician’s assistant (PA), which is essential in this environment as we only have 2 orthopedic surgeons to provide care for all of the beneficiaries at Fort Jackson. This is “direct access” physical therapy in its purist form. I am also a physical therapist and a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserves and provide care to Airmen, primarily at Shaw Air Force Base, located in Sumter, South Carolina.

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