How long is a short term goal? Is it within my session?

I can see why you would be confused, as there is no agreed upon definition of what a short term goal and long term goal is. But I can tell you that generally a short term goal is not what you plan to achieve in your session.

As a rough guide, I’d suggest:

In addition short term goals should be SMART goals.

Examples of a short term goal for someone in rehab could be:

• To walk independently with a Single Point Stick, 100m indoors in 4 weeks

• To independently go up & down 3 steps with a single rail in 6 weeks

• To be able to do up the buttons on a shirt independently in 3 weeks

For Long Term Goals, I would consider these to be your larger goals that are about where someone wants to get to (or get back to) in their life.

Examples might be:

• to return to work as an accountant

• to be able to live independently by myself

• to be able to go on holidays in a caravan with my husband

Often long term goals don’t need to be as specific or measurable as a short term goal wiould be expected to be

When asking about your goals, the examiners will want to see that you understand “what’s next” for your patient, how everything fits into the “big picture” and that you have been able to choose your treatment to work towards the goals.

So I would suggest that you focus on setting good quality, specific & relevant goals. Whether those goals are defined as short term goals or long term goals isn’t as important.

*** Keep in mind that the above timelines etc are only an estimate based on my experience and there is no consensus.