Pushing Pediatrics

Seating, mobility, and assistive technology can feel overwhelming when preparing for the PCS exam. Today we welcome back Anne Heinritz, PT, DPT, ATP, PCS, owner of Ready To Roll Physical Therapy, a mobile pediatric physical therapy practice in Reno, Nevada and who previously shared her accelerated three-month study timeline and experience passing the PCS exam. Drawing on her experience as both a p...

Welcome to Part 2 of our two-part series with Priyanshi Domadia, PT, DPT, PCS, on pediatric orthotics. Drawing on her experience across early intervention, outpatient, home-based, school-based, and pediatric neurorehabilitation settings, as well as her previous work as a Lead Physical Therapist and Brace Clinic Coordinator, coordinating orthotic and adaptive-equipment services for children with co...

Priyanshi Domadia, PT, DPT, PCS, joins Pushing Pediatrics for Part 1 of a two-part series on pediatric orthotics. Drawing on her experience across early intervention, outpatient, home-based, school-based, and pediatric neurorehabilitation settings, as well as her previous work as a Lead Physical Therapist and Brace Clinic Coordinator, coordinating orthotic and adaptive-equipment services for child...

This week is our final episode in our four part series with Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD on clinical reasoning. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creatin...

We are welcoming back Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD on today’s episode for Part 3 of our series on clinical reasoning. Kayan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about...

Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD is back on today’s episode for Part 2 of our series on clinical reasoning. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passionate about creating a reso...

Today’s episode of Pushing Pediatrics is Part One of a four-part series on clinical reasoning with Kyan Sahba, PT, DPT, PhD. Kyan is an assistant clinical professor and post-doctoral research fellow at Loma Linda University and the author of The Pediatric PT Playbook. Kyan’s clinical background spans early intervention, school-based, outpatient peds, acute care, and peds oncology. She felt passion...

What happens when you have just three months to prepare for the PCS exam? In this episode, Sheila welcomes Anne Heinritz, PT, DPT, ATP, PCS, a former Pushing Pediatrics listener who became a PCS passer and is now joining as a podcast guest! Anne owns a mobile pediatric physical therapy practice in Reno, NV, and she shares exactly how she approached studying for the PCS over a three-month period wh...

Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics for Part 2 of our conversation with Jessica Lewis and Helen Carey of PCS Advantage! Today we will be diving deeper into using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a study tool and sharing real, detailed prompts and responses to help further your learning. In Part 1 of this discussion, Helen and Jessica introduce the newest PCS Advantage study guide focused on using AI...

Season 6 of Pushing Pediatrics kicks off with a special collaboration with PCS Advantage! Sheila and Sara welcome back Jessica Lewis, PT, DPT, PCS and Helen Carey, PT, DHSc, PCS, creators of PCS Advantage, to talk about a new tool that is becoming increasingly common in our everyday lives: artificial intelligence, or, AI. While AI can be a powerful resource for studying for the PCS exam, knowing h...

Today is the final episode of the 5th season of the Pushing Pediatrics podcast! Sheila and Sara are welcoming guests Jessica Lewis, PT, DPT, PCS and Helen Carey, PT, DHSc, PCS, creators of the PCS Advantage, to help those of you in the home stretch of studying for the PCS exam. PCS Advantage is a prep course and study tool for those clinicians studying for the PCS exam, providing full practice exa...

Thanks for joining us for part 2 of our discussion on pain with Dylan Gawinski Stern, PT, DPT, PCS. In this second half, Dylan will be going into more depth on AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome). She will share how her facility evaluates patients to be considered for admission to the AMPS program, what specialties make up the multidisciplinary team, and what treatment looks like for th...

Another incredible guest is on the Pushing Pediatrics Podcast this week! Dylan Gawinski Stern, PT, DPT, PCS joins the show to discuss pain, most specifically AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome). Persistent pain is a new “hot topic” that is testable material since hosts Sheila and Sara took their PCS exam, which is why they’ve invited an expert to review this topic. Dylan will share her...

SAFETY LISTENER NOTE: This presentation will discuss aspects of trauma, its impact on children, families and practitioners. We acknowledge that the content in this discussion may trigger your previous experiences with trauma or the trauma that your patients have experienced. We encourage you to perform self-care practices even within this podcast; if you need to take a break and pause, please do s...

SAFETY LISTENER NOTE: This presentation will discuss aspects of trauma, its impact on children, families and practitioners. We acknowledge that the content in this discussion may trigger your previous experiences with trauma or the trauma that your patients have experienced. We encourage you to perform self-care practices even within this podcast; if you need to take a break and pause, please do s...

Thanks for joining us for our final installment with Mike Studer. Today we will be wrapping things up and making connections from the concepts found in Mike’s book to our pediatric practices and PCS exam prep. This week is also our last episode of 2025. We hope you have a restful break and we look forward to you joining us in January, 2026 for more episodes! “The Brain That Chooses Itself” by Mike...

Welcome back for part 2 of our discussion with Mike Studer where we will be diving even further into the concepts of learning and neuroplasticity and how it applies to our pediatric patients and the PCS exam. Specifically, today, we discuss motivators and the difference between infinite games and other types of play. Mike also shares his list of other readings he considered while writing his new b...

This week kicks off a very special three-part conversation with our friend and returning guest Mike Studer. Over the next three episodes, we will be diving into concepts from Mike’s new book, “The Brain That Chooses Itself”, like learning and neuroplasticity. These concepts thoroughly apply to how we clinically treat our pediatric patients, but also how we parent, how we teach and coach friends an...

Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics! We have another guest episode this week to bring you knowledge on a topic that has been widely gaining popularity and is now testable material, pediatric pelvic floor. Maggie Abbott, PT, DPT will join us to discuss why PT can make a big difference for children with bladder and bowel dysfunction. We’ll cover age and diagnoses Maggie typically treats, what her ini...

Thanks for joining us today at the Pushing Pediatrics podcast! Sara is solo today to share some valuable additional clinical insight about Scoliosis. This additional material may or may not be testable information, however it is great to know when treating children with scoliosis in real-world situations. While today’s episode is focusing on scoliosis, if you need a review of other spinal conditio...

Welcome back to part two of our discussion with CCC-SLPs Marissa Peters and Maggie Muzio about Augmentative and Alternative Communication. As we continue our conversation, Marissa and Maggie go into detail on AAC devices and how PT can play a role in helping children utilize these devices during treatment sessions. We’ll hear what makes for a good co-treat session from an SLP’s point of view and w...

This week on Pushing Pediatrics experts Marissa Peters and Maggie Muzio, Certified Speech Language Pathologists, are here to cover Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This topic will be 2 episodes worth of information - so be sure to tune in next week for the second half of our discussion! Today Marissa and Maggie will cover the 3 categories of AAC, how to incorporate AAC into PT therapy s...

We are honored to be hosting two of the authors, Carol de Campos and Ginny Paleg, of the 2023 article titled “F-words and early intervention ingredients for non-ambulant children with cerebral palsy: a scoping review” on today’s episode. This article is not only exam relevant for those preparing for the PCS exam, it is also a clinically impactful article. This review gives great insight into how w...

Today we are diving into the 2004 article by Joanne Valvano, “Activity-focused motor interventions for children with neurological conditions”. While it is an older article, this article contains a lot of great concepts that continue to influence the way we shape care for pediatric patients with neurological conditions. This article is a must read whether you are new to pediatrics, prepping for the...

We know that research and statistics may seem intimidating sometimes, which is why we are tackling this topic together! Understanding statistics is not only important for your board exam prep, but for your clinical practice too. Knowing how to interpret these concepts makes a huge difference when reading studies and applying evidence-based practices. Today we will cover statistical significance, s...