Acute Conversations
Hosted by Leo Arguelles and Nicole Neveau · APTA Acute Care
4.9from 25 ratings
- 67
- Episodes
- 25
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2023
- First episode
- 1K
- YouTube views
About Acute Conversations
We share engaging conversations about acute care physical therapy so you can connect to your profession.
- Publisher
- APTA Acute Care
- Category
- health & fitness
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 10 Jan 2023
- Latest episode
- 7 Oct 2026
Latest episodes
67 episodes in the feed.
7 Oct 2026
The First Year Shift: Building Confidence in Acute Care Practice
Show Notes: What changes when you are no longer the student with a clinical instructor in the room? In this episode of Acute Conversations, hosts Dr. Leo Arguelles and Dr. Daniel Young welcome back Fiona Kearns and Mika Mendoza one year after their first appearance as students. Now practicing in acute care, they offer an honest look at the difference between being prepared and feeling prepared. Fiona and Mika discuss taking ownership of full caseloads, managing time and priorities, navigating complex discharge needs, and finding their voices within interdisciplinary teams. They also share the hands-on experiences that shaped their growth, from line management, ICU mobility and safe patient handling equipment to vestibular assessment, emergency care and cardiovascular practice. Throughout the conversation, both clinicians return to the same foundations: protect patient and clinician safety, know the basics, ask questions and keep learning. Their reflections also highlight the value of mentors and colleagues who create room for early-career clinicians to build confidence without pretending to have every answer. This episode offers practical perspective for students, new graduates, clinical instructors and experienced clinicians supporting the next generation of acute care physical therapists. Listen now on Apple or Spotify. Today’s Guests: Mikhaela Mendoza PT, DPT mikaimendoza21@gmail.com (mailto:mikaimendoza21@gmail.com) Fiona Kearns, PT, DPT fkkearns2000@gmail.com Guest Quotes: 3:49 Mikhaela “ I just told myself that, I trust in what I know, and if you don’t know, you just ask the questions, that the goal is to never feel like you’re the expert right away. That’s not necessarily the most realistic. It’s to just know when to ask the right questions.” 6:59 Fiona “ When you become your own clinician, you have had all of this feedback, and then you can develop your own treating style based on what you’ve learned from being a student and just feel like you can relax into that a little bit more.” Rapid Responses: What’s the most challenging sort of patient that you get to work with in the hospital that pushes your limits the most? Fiona: “ In terms of my brain limits, it’s definitely our intubated patients. Our… They just, you have to do… There’s so much monitoring, so much stuff that you’re thinking about beyond just them being intubated. Whatever, especially intubated strokes, I feel like those are the patients that they can be so unpredictable. They can be so impulsive. Sometimes they’re going to pull their lines. You j- just, I feel like I come out of those rooms and I’m sweaty and my head hurts and I have to just stand and stare at the wall for a minute and, like- … pull myself together.” If you’re on a nursing floor, what’s your go-to snack that you can find in the nurses station? Mikhaela: “ Usually some sort of donut that they always bring ’cause- … I feel like people are always celebrating something. Or the graham crackers in the drawer. Those are always a staple.” You know you’re working in acute care when… Mikhaela: “ You’re outside of work and you hear a random beep and your heart drops.” Fiona: “ I was gonna say, I feel like I walk into a room and I think about how I can 📍 rearrange it. And then I’m like, “Why would I need to rearrange this room?” 🎧 Connect with Our Hosts Leo Arguelles (pronounced LEE-O R-GWELL-IS) 📧 largue2@uic.edu 🐦 Twitter: @LeoArguellesPT (https://twitter.com/LeoArguellesPT) Nicole Neveau, PT, DPT, NCS 📧 ngunder1@gmail.com 🔗 LinkedIn: Nicole Neveau (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-neveau-pt-dpt-ncs-500a7050) Danny Young, PT, DPT, PhD 📧 daniel.young@unlv.edu 🐦 X: @DLYoungDPTPhD (https://twitter.com/DLYoungDPTPhD) 🌐 Bluesky: @dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social) 🎧 Listen now on Spotify (https://tinyurl.com/4d8effm7) | Apple Podcasts (https://tinyurl.com/3u6wysb7) (Or wherever you get your podcasts) #AcuteCare #PhysicalTherapy #HealthcareLeadership Interested in being a future guest? (https://www.jotform.com/build/230415551921146) APTA Acute Care “Optimizing Recovery, Elevating Care” Website (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/) Awards (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/Awards) Journal Access (https://journals.lww.com/jacpt/pages/default.aspx) https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram) Twitter @AcuteCareAPTA (https://twitter.com/AcuteCareAPTA) Facebook APTA Acute Care Instagram @AcademyAcutePT (http://www.acutept.org/link.asp?e=hwoolslayer@cmemanage.com&job=3119055&ymlink=170344733&finalurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Einstagram%2Ecom%2Facademyacutept%2F%3Fhl%3Den) YouTube APTA Acute Care Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@aptaacutecarepodcast) APTA Acute Care Resources (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=653071) APTA Adult Vital Signs (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=18270240) APTA Lab Values Document (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=10758036) Webinar Recordings (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=805714)
26 Aug 2026
DVT Mobility Research: Better Decisions for the Patient
Show Notes Should an acute lower-extremity DVT automatically stop mobility when anticoagulation is subtherapeutic? In this episode, Dr. Leo Arguelles and Dr. Nicole Neveau speak with Aubrey Little, PT, DPT, CCS, and Becky Johnson, PT, DPT, PhD, about the clinical question that grew from a quality-improvement project into a case-control study published in the Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy. Little and Johnson explain why a single laboratory value or protocol checkpoint cannot replace a comprehensive assessment. They discuss weighing the risks of immobility against potential adverse events while considering clot location, medical acuity, hemodynamic status, medications, laboratory trends, discharge pressures and the patient’s overall trajectory. The conversation also explores the documentation needed to make clinical reasoning visible and the value of bidirectional conversations with the interdisciplinary team. The study included 30 patients and 60 physical therapy sessions. Its findings do not establish that mobilization at subtherapeutic anticoagulation is universally safe. The researchers emphasize the limitations of a small retrospective sample and their inability to determine whether pulmonary embolism occurred. Instead, the episode offers a thoughtful look at risk stratification, evidence-informed judgment and how clinicians can question automatic holds without abandoning patient safety. Listen now on Apple or Spotify. Today’s Guests: Aubrey Little PT, DPT aulittle@gmail.com (mailto:aulittle@gmail.com) Becky Johnson PT, DPT, PhD rjohns1@midwestern.edu (mailto:rjohns1@midwestern.edu) https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-johnson-pt-dpt-phd-619244112/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-johnson-pt-dpt-phd-619244112/) Guest Quotes: 10:07 Aubrey “ I think that’s the intention of this paper is to really think about the patient more holistically as opposed to basing clinical decision-making off of one data point or one factor.” 13:09 Aubrey “ if somebody is working in an outpatient clinic, maybe they just had a knee replacement or a hip replacement and their suspicion for an acute DVT. Does that mean that we are going to, in the moment, suggest this person is fully immobilized, call the ambulance, call the stretcher- … you cannot walk on this limb until you make it to the hospital.” 19:18 Becky “ And so when we look at the adverse events that did occur, in retrospect we’re questioning, was that an adverse event? I think if you were the clinician treating the patient, you would’ve said no. But it did meet our criteria for that.” Rapid Responses: Do either one of you guys know what your theme song would be if you got to have a theme song every time you walked into the room at the hospital? Aubrey:” I would say September by Earth, Wind & Fire just ’cause that song immediately makes me dance.” Becky: “ Maybe the songs like, Look Who’s, Guess Who’s Back Again. Eminem. You know you’re an acute care or an ICU provider when… Aubrey: “You ask yourself, “Is one month too short to buy a new pair of shoes for work?” Becky: “ When you’ve got at least 8,000 steps by the time you get done with your shift.” Links: Incidence of Adverse Events When Mobilizing Patients With Acute Lower Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis at Subtherapeutic Anticoagulation Level: A Case–Control Study (https://www.ovid.com/jnls/jacpt/abstract/10.1097/jat.0000000000000284~incidence-of-adverse-events-when-mobilizing-patients-with?redirectionsource=fulltextview) 🎧 Connect with Our Hosts Leo Arguelles (pronounced LEE-O R-GWELL-IS) 📧 largue2@uic.edu 🐦 Twitter: @LeoArguellesPT (https://twitter.com/LeoArguellesPT) Nicole Neveau, PT, DPT, NCS 📧 ngunder1@gmail.com 🔗 LinkedIn: Nicole Neveau (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-neveau-pt-dpt-ncs-500a7050) Danny Young, PT, DPT, PhD 📧 daniel.young@unlv.edu 🐦 X: @DLYoungDPTPhD (https://twitter.com/DLYoungDPTPhD) 🌐 Bluesky: @dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social) 🎧 Listen now on Spotify (https://tinyurl.com/4d8effm7) | Apple Podcasts (https://tinyurl.com/3u6wysb7) (Or wherever you get your podcasts) #AcuteCare #PhysicalTherapy #HealthcareLeadership Interested in being a future guest? (https://www.jotform.com/build/230415551921146) APTA Acute Care “Optimizing Recovery, Elevating Care” Website (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/) Awards (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/Awards) Journal Access (https://journals.lww.com/jacpt/pages/default.aspx) https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram) Twitter @AcuteCareAPTA (https://twitter.com/AcuteCareAPTA) Facebook APTA Acute Care Instagram @AcademyAcutePT (http://www.acutept.org/link.asp?e=hwoolslayer@cmemanage.com&job=3119055&ymlink=170344733&finalurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Einstagram%2Ecom%2Facademyacutept%2F%3Fhl%3Den) YouTube APTA Acute Care Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@aptaacutecarepodcast) APTA Acute Care Resources (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=653071) APTA Adult Vital Signs (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=18270240) APTA Lab Values Document (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=10758036) Webinar Recordings (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=805714)
12 Aug 2026
Barb Smith on Pioneering Research for Better Acute Care
What does it take to move acute care physical therapy research from the journal page to the bedside? In this episode, Dr. Leo Arguelles and Dr. Daniel Young sit down with Dr. Barbara “Barb” Smith, associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Florida, clinician-scientist with more than 25 years of ICU experience, and recipient of the 2026 APTA Acute Care Lecture Award. Barb reflects on how acute care research has evolved from a time when PTs often contributed to studies without leading them to a future in which clinicians, educators and scientists shape the questions that matter most. She explains why research in complex hospital environments remains difficult, from varied patient populations and unit cultures to small single-site studies and the long delay between publication and clinical adoption. The conversation also explores why research should function as a team sport. Barb shares the value of multi-site collaboration, early partnerships with frontline clinicians and hospital leaders, and sustained mentorship for emerging researchers. Drawing on her work in respiratory strength training, she shows how clinically relevant questions can grow into evidence that changes practice. Listeners will leave with a clearer view of how collaboration, communication and curiosity can strengthen acute care research—and ultimately improve patient care. Show Notes Today’s Guests: Barbara Smith PT, PhD bksmith@ufl.edu (mailto:bksmith@ufl.edu) X: ilikebigbreaths (https://x.com/ilikebigbreaths) Guest Quotes: 16:24 “ But we still have some challenges, I think in the area of acute care research. Number one it’s hard to do , right?… And all of that noise can muddle up what might be a very, helpful or clear efficacy signal or rehabilitation signal. “Ah, this works.” But if we have all this other noise, we might not see that treatment effect. And so those are some threats sometimes to designing and developing and implementing research in this setting.” 18:54 “ Scientists, we’re not always the best conversationalists. And so disseminating our message, we use a lot of jargon, we use complicated terms… so there’s a dissemination issue, there’s a consumption issue where where maybe people are getting their information from different resources, and are those resources vetted scientifically?” 27:11 “So this is my pie in the sky dream…I love the fact that this academy is supportive of science and moving our evidence base forward, and have been so supportive of providing some grant funding through the foundation. I would love to pull all that money together and give it in one big project to a bunch of groups of people. And then we do this together.” Rapid Responses: When you’re out biking, Barb, how often do alligators come into the conversation? If you’re from Florida, never. If you’re not from Florida, every time. You know you’re an acute care or an ICU provider when… When your weekend and holiday schedule is more complicated than your fantasy football spreadsheet. Links: 🎧 Connect with Our Hosts Leo Arguelles (pronounced LEE-O R-GWELL-IS) 📧 largue2@uic.edu 🐦 Twitter: @LeoArguellesPT (https://twitter.com/LeoArguellesPT) Nicole Neveau, PT, DPT, NCS 📧 ngunder1@gmail.com 🔗 LinkedIn: Nicole Neveau (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-neveau-pt-dpt-ncs-500a7050) Danny Young, PT, DPT, PhD 📧 daniel.young@unlv.edu 🐦 X: @DLYoungDPTPhD (https://twitter.com/DLYoungDPTPhD) 🌐 Bluesky: @dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/dlyoungdptphd.bsky.social) 🎧 Listen now on Spotify (https://tinyurl.com/4d8effm7) | Apple Podcasts (https://tinyurl.com/3u6wysb7) (Or wherever you get your podcasts) #AcuteCare #PhysicalTherapy #HealthcareLeadership Interested in being a future guest? (https://www.jotform.com/build/230415551921146) APTA Acute Care “Optimizing Recovery, Elevating Care” Website (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/) Awards (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/Awards) Journal Access (https://journals.lww.com/jacpt/pages/default.aspx) https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/page/AspireandAchieveMentorshipProgram) Twitter @AcuteCareAPTA (https://twitter.com/AcuteCareAPTA) Facebook APTA Acute Care Instagram @AcademyAcutePT (http://www.acutept.org/link.asp?e=hwoolslayer@cmemanage.com&job=3119055&ymlink=170344733&finalurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Einstagram%2Ecom%2Facademyacutept%2F%3Fhl%3Den) YouTube APTA Acute Care Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/@aptaacutecarepodcast) APTA Acute Care Resources (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=653071) APTA Adult Vital Signs (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=18270240) APTA Lab Values Document (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/viewproduct.aspx?id=10758036) Webinar Recordings (https://www.aptaacutecare.org/store/ListProducts.aspx?catid=805714)
Who has been a guest on Acute Conversations
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
- Tricia Healy
- Kim Levenhagen
- Mika Mendoza
- Fiona Kerns
- Hannah Brandt
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- YouTube views
- 1,155
- Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 4.9 / 5
- 19 ratings
- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
- Quality
- 29
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 68
- Engagement
- 77
Contact Acute Conversations
- Guest appearances
- Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
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Questions about Acute Conversations
Who hosts Acute Conversations?
Leo Arguelles and Nicole Neveau host the show. Published by APTA Acute Care.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
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The show does not typically feature guests, based on episode analyses.
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