Pass the OCS exam by studying smarter, not harder. This podcast is for physical therapists looking to become board-certified specialists in orthopedics.
David Smelser and Austin Kercheville
Donate to OCS Field Guide: A PT Podcast
The OCS Field Guide: A PT Podcast is an excellent resource for physical therapists studying for the OCS (Orthopedic Clinical Specialist) exam. The podcast provides clear and concise summaries of important topics such as CPGs (Clinical Practice Guidelines) and CPRs (Clinical Prediction Rules), making it a convenient study tool for busy individuals who can't always carry around a textbook. The hosts, David and Austin, do an exceptional job of organizing the content and presenting it in a way that is helpful and relevant. Their hard work in putting together this podcast is evident, and their dedication to helping others succeed in their exams is commendable. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone preparing for the OCS or looking for additional study material.
One of the best aspects of The OCS Field Guide: A PT Podcast is its organization and conciseness. The episodes are well-structured and cover all the key points for each topic without unnecessary fluff. This makes it easy for listeners to follow along and absorb the information efficiently. Additionally, the hosts have a talent for keeping listeners engaged throughout each episode, which is crucial when studying can sometimes be monotonous. They provide valuable study tips, practice questions, and even offer live review sessions through their Patreon community. These resources add immense value to the podcast and enhance the learning experience.
While there aren't many negative aspects of The OCS Field Guide: A PT Podcast, one drawback may be that there are not enough episodes on specific body parts such as shoulder or ankle. However, considering that this podcast covers a wide range of topics relevant to the OCS exam, this minor drawback can easily be overlooked. It would be beneficial if more episodes were released in the future focusing on these specific areas, especially since they are commonly tested on the exam.
In conclusion, The OCS Field Guide: A PT Podcast is an invaluable resource for physical therapists preparing for the OCS exam. It offers clear and concise summaries of important study topics, making it convenient for studying on the go. The hosts, David and Austin, have put in tremendous effort to organize the content effectively and present it in a way that is engaging and helpful. Their passion for teaching and supporting fellow PTs shines through in each episode. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone studying for the OCS exam or seeking additional study material.
Austin summarizes the latest hip osteoarthritis CPG, highlights some of the changes from the previous version, and explains one of the more surprising recommendations.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
We're back from hiatus to discuss diagnosis and treatment of greater trochanteric pain syndrome. Hint: it's probably not bursitis.Articles referenced:Consensus statement: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37275836/Classification system: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35391855/ER de-rotation test: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6990389/ITB foam rolling: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30140558/Cadaver ITB stretch study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28217413/Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
Today we wrap up the 2021 Lateral Ankle Sprains CPG by covering the interventions section.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
Today Austin takes us through the 2021 update of the lateral ankle sprain CPG, also called the "Ankle Stability and Movement Coordination Impairments: Lateral Ankle Ligament Sprains Revision - 2021" guideline.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
Today we wrap up the mid portion Achilles tendinopathy CPG, but we also take things one step further by summarizing a 2015 article by Karin Silbernagel and Kay Crossley called, "A Proposed Return-to-Sport Program for Patients With Midportion Achilles Tendinopathy: Rationale and Implementation." For further reading, we also recommend taking a look at Silbernagel's "Current Clinical Concepts: Conservative Management of Achilles Tendinopathy" from 2020. If you haven't been using these principles, doing so could really level-up your Achilles tendinopathy rehab.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
We have a ton of information on midportion Achilles tendinopathy, which means it is likely to be an ankle/foot diagnosis that shows up quite a bit on the OCS exam. Today we walk through the first half of the 2018 CPG, including pathoanatomic factors, epidemiology, risk factors, clinical course, diagnosis, and outcome measures.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
Today we transition to the foot and ankle with a review of the 2014 plantar heel pain CPG. Since this CPG is showing its age a little, Austin augments the recommendations with some research updates.The Foot Posture Index noted in the episode can be found on Physiopedia here.Support the showUse code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Support the podcast and get study guides and bonus episodes at Patreon.com/physiofieldguide.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.
We're back! This is the first time we have had to revisit a topic due to a CPG update, and the relationship between the 2012 and 2021 LBP CPG is complicated. To make things worse, the 2021 CPG was pretty controversial when it was released. How should you use these two documents to prepare for the OCS? We cover it here.As mentioned in the show, you can support the podcast and receive some additional study material at Patreon.com/PhysioFieldGuide.Use code FIELDGUIDE for 40% off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show
Today Austin takes us through types of SLAP lesions and AC sprains with a special focus on relevant anatomy, classifications, and testing.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
We're back with another shoulder diagnosis: instability and dislocations. You should definitely be able to recognize complications and know what kind of imaging to request following different dislocations. We also review the Beighton score for assessing general hypermobility.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
There are a few uncommon shoulder conditions that might mimic more typical orthopedic conditions and could trip you up on the exam. Even though you may not see very many of these patients in the clinic, we would expect them to show up on the OCS. Today we cover calcific tendonitis and Parsonage-Turner Syndrome and how to distinguish them from more common conditions and from each other.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Now that Austin has covered a framework for classifying and treating shoulder pain, today we'll take a closer look at what is classically known as shoulder impingement and rotator cuff tears. This episode describes the standard model for these diagnoses as well as the problems with those models and the current push to leave them behind.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
There's currently a hot debate going on about how we should categorize, diagnose, and treat shoulder pain. Classic diagnoses like impingement have been sharply criticized, so Austin takes us through an alternative system that may serve you well in the clinic and on the OCS: the Staged Approach to Rehabilitation Classification: Shoulder Disorders, or STAR-Shoulder approach, proposed by McClure and Michener in PTJ in 2015.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
We've got a messy diagnosis this week: thoracic outlet syndrome. David breaks the diagnosis down by anatomy and compressed structure to help make sense of a syndrome that has poor evidence and little consensus.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Today we finish up the adhesive capsulitis CPG by covering examination and treatment.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Since adhesive capsulitis is the only shoulder diagnosis for which we currently have a CPG, it's worth spending two episodes to cover this in a bit more depth. Today Austin covers part 1 of the adhesive capsulitis CPG, including the sections on prevalence, clinical course, and diagnosis.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Since there are not yet any PT CPGs for knee OA, we pull together information from textbooks, articles, and two physician CPGs to cover what does and doesn't work for knee OA. We also review physiology, diagnosis, and an easy little CPR at the end.Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Today Austin covers a host of knee conditions, including jumper's knee, clergyman's knee, carpenter's knee, and just about any other profession's knee. Listen in to learn about various knee tendinopathies, bursitises, growth plate disorders, and more.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
We're back with a new episode covering the APTA's 2020 TKA CPG and with a new MedBridge promo code! Use code FIELDGUIDE for $175 off a MedBridge subscription.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
The CPG on patellofemoral pain is both long and dense, so Austin takes us through an information-packed episode with a very helpful practice question at the end to tie it together and explain how you should expect to use this information on the OCS exam.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
We finish the Knee Pain and Mobility Impairments: Meniscal and Articular Cartilage Lesions CPG (2018 revision) with this episode focused on articular cartilage lesions and surgeries. Additionally, we include an overview of the 5-stage decision tree model this CPG recommends and how the OCS exam might use information like this on the exam.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Today we cover the meniscus portion of the CPG also known as the Knee Pain and Mobility Impairments: Meniscal and Cartilage Lesions Revision 2018. Additionally, we pull in a CPG from the British Journal of Sports Medicine and some extra material to explain the CPG's recommendations.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
ACL injuries are one of the most studied orthopedic injuries, and we just couldn't get everything we'd like to say about them into the knee ligament sprain episode. So in this episode, David covers mechanisms behind non contact ACL injuries, the ACL injury prevention CPG, and ACL-deficient copers and non-copers.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
In this episode, Austin covers the highlights of the 2017 Knee Ligament Sprain CPG, including diagnosis, outcomes, and treatments. He also covers the Ottawa Knee Rules, which are bound to show up on the OCS exam.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
The variety of rheumatoid disorders can be daunting, and pulling information together to tell them apart is challenging. In this episode, David covers osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis, septic arthritis, and gout. After discussing each, the conditions are contrasted for easier recognition of clinical features.For more information on rheumatoid disorders, we recommend hopkinsarthritis.org.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Headaches can be tricky to diagnose and treat. In the headache section of the neck pain CPG, the authors recommend consulting two additional resources: the IHS's International Classification of Headache Disorders and the NICE's Headaches in Over 12s document. In this episode, David pulls the most important information from those documents together to help you distinguish some of the most common types of headaches.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
This information-packed episode finishes the 2017 neck pain CPG by covering diagnosis and treatment of neck pain with movement coordination impairments and neck pain with radiating pain. Additionally, Austin covers a CPR for cervical radiculopathy (and points out where it needs to be updated) and a CPR for intermittent cervical traction.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
After providing an overview of the cervical spine treatment-based classification from 2004 and how it fits into the 2017 neck pain CPG, Dr. Austin Kercheville explains the diagnosis and treatment sections for neck pain with mobility impairments and neck pain with headaches.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
The neck pain CPG expects physical therapists to screen for red flags, but it doesn't give much detail on how to do that. Dr. Austin Kercheville fills in those gaps with this discussion of neck pain red flags and indications for imaging.Find the articles referenced at physiofieldguide.com/resources.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Dr. Austin Kercheville begins our series on the 2017 neck pain Clinical Practice Guideline by covering neck pain prevalence, risk factors, clinical course, and prognosis.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Guest host Dr. Kim Richards, PT, DPT, OCS helps go through some practice questions on low back pain. Like the OCS, these questions are case-based with a couple surprise twists. See how well you've been learning your lumbar spine material by testing your knowledge on these questions.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
As we wrap up the low back pain CPG by covering the treatment section, David discusses two topics the clinical practice guideline doesn't cover well: lumbar stenosis (as well as how to distinguish it from intermittent claudication) and how to bias nerve tension testing for various branches of the sciatic nerve nerves.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
With the lumbar spine comprising 20% of the OCS exam, knowing both Fritz's 2007 treatment-based classification system and Alrwaily's 2016 update is essential to passing the exam. Dr. David Smelser breaks down these systems and includes a case study at the end.Find these articles at our helpful resources page.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
How is the OCS going to approach low back pain differential diagnosis and red flags? Dr. David Smelser discusses low back pain red flags using the CPG as well as a recent JOSPT article by Finucane et al. You can bet your bottom dollar this will be on the exam.Find the Finucane article at https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2020.9971.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Dr. David Smelser introduces the 2012 low back pain Clinical Practice Guideline and covers the sections on prevalence, risk factors, and clinical courses. A couple case studies reinforce how this information might be used on the OCS exam.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Dr. David Smelser discusses psychological pitfalls of human research, including the placebo, nocebo, Hawthorne, John Henry, and Pygmalion (also called "Rosenthal") effects and some ways to mitigate them.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
A large number of exam takers who fail to pass the OCS exam report that the section on research was one of their lowest-scoring sections. Dr. David Smelser discusses research basics as well as statistics and important values you will need to memorize to ace the research portion of the exam. In this episode, David covers levels of evidence, types of variables, p-values and alpha levels, type I and type II errors, effect sizes, Cohen's kappa, and likelihood ratios. And just to keep things interesting, these values are reinforced with real data from studies that could be relevant for the exam.Find more resources and subscribe to practice questions at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
Meet Dr. David Smelser, PT, DPT, OCS and Dr. Austin Kercheville, PT, DPT, OCS—two very busy Board-Certified Specialists in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. We're here to help you pass the OCS on a tight schedule like we did. In this episode, we introduce ourselves and give you a few tips to get you started with your study plan.Subscribe and sign up for more resources at PhysioFieldGuide.com.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/physiofieldguide)
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
