What is the certification and licensure required to be a physical therapist?

• Physical therapists should be certified and licensed after their completion of Physical Therapy education.
• All stated insist the physical therapists be licensed.
• However, the requirement for eligibility for certification varies with every state.
• Typical requirements for certification include a graduation degree an accredited Physical Therapy course.
• An examination is conducted by the National Physical Therapy Examination and passing this test will fetch the students a certification as a physical therapist.
• A number of states require that the candidates have a continuing education to retain licensure and certification as a physical therapist.

An overview of a Physical Therapy Job:

Physical therapists also known as PT’s are medical professionals who are involved in providing treatment facilities to individuals of all ages including the newborns and the very old. Physical therapists provide assistance support to individuals who are suffering from medical or any other health related problems, injuries or illness which restricts their ability to move and perform day-to-day functional activities. Further, they are involved in examining every individual to develop a treatment plan which will enable the physical therapist to promote the ability to walk, move, restore pain and prevent disability of patients. In addition to this, they also work towards developing a fitness and wellness regime programs for healthier and active lifestyles. These professionals help in rehabilitating patients that include accident victims and also conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, fractures, low-back pain etc.

They are evaluate the diagnose dysfunction movement and they make the patients do therapeutic exercises by adapting function training techniques using physical agents or equipment. These professionals usually coordinate with a vast number of professionals such as dentists, occupational therapist, pathologists, physicians etc. The job of a physical therapist is both challenging as well as demanding. Physical therapists often use massage treatments to improve the muscle condition of the patients by using ultrasound machines and infrared lamps. They also educate the patients and their families on the use and care of wheelchairs, crutches, artificial limbs and braces. The focus of these patients is to improvise on the mobility, endurance and flexibility of the injured parts of the body in a patient. Their main aim is to relieve the patients of any pain by restoring their control and discomfort that is cause due to any kind of injury. They are employed in health care sectors such as nursing homes, hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Employment of these professionals is likely to grow faster than average through the year 2014. After obtaining a certain period of experience as physical therapists, these professionals can move up to the position of hospital supervisors.

How to prepare for a career in physical therapy?

The job of physical therapists requires a minimum amount of educational qualifications to be hired to the profession. Following are the educational qualifications to be a physical therapist:

Educational Requirements:

• To be a trained physical therapist one needs to have atleast a master’s degree in Physical Therapy, which typically lasts for two to two and half years in length. In order to start with this education, one must have a science background.
• Even a doctoral degree in Physical Therapy will have give a candidate excellent employment prospects. Although, a doctoral degree program usually lasts for three years.
• Students who apply for a master’s degree in Physical Therapy must have completed undergraduate courses in programs such as anatomy, social science, mathematics, chemistry, statistics and biology.
• While applying for any master’s or doctoral degree program, students must complete volunteer experience training with an experienced physical therapist in a hospital or any health care clinic.
• The education of physical therapists includes structural and foundational courses which include pathology, cellular histology, biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and neuroscience as well as behavioral science programming which includes clinical research.
• In addition to classroom exposure, students are also given supervised clinical experience as part of their education.
• In order to practice legally, graduates or doctorates must pass state examinations to acquire licensure.
• Candidates who are seeking for job opportunities can directly apply for physical therapists jobs in rehabilitation centers, hospitals or any other health care sectors.
• Most of the times, college placement officers prove helpful.
• Internship or part-time work taken up during college education tends to be beneficial once you have completed with your education programs.

What is the salary package for a physical therapist?

The salary of a physical therapist depends on a number of factors such as experience in the industry, type of employment, geographical location of employment etc. However, the remuneration given to these professionals is considerately high compared to their contribution to the organization.

The average median salary of a physical therapist is estimated to be $79,895 annually. The lowest ten percentile of physical therapists earn salary up to $63,997 and the top ten percentile of professionals receive an income of $84,788 per annum. They are also given bonus for their extra work which ranges around $197.67 – $5,181 for a year. Thus increasing the average salary to a range of $51,377 and $88,535.

Experience counts for determining the salary range for a physical therapist. It is seen that a physical therapist with experience of less than one year earns salary ranging around $48,491 – $67,966 per annum while those with experience of one to five years in the industry receive salary ranging around $49,042 – $73,742 annually.

Physical therapists working in large hospitals earn salary ranging around $45,906 – $81,853 for a year. On the other hand, physical therapists who are employed with rehabilitation centers earn a salary ranging around $49,769 – $78,933 annually.

Geographic location is an important determinant to determine the salary of a physical therapist. It is seen that a physical therapist working in the state of New York earns a salary ranging around $47,780 – $76,442 annually. On the other hand, professionals employed in the state of California get paid salary ranging around $49,836 – $87,213 per year.

Apart from the traditionally salaries, these professionals also enjoy perks as part of their employment in an organization which includes health and life insurance policies, paid holidays and paid sick leaves.

What abilities are required for this job?

Apart from educational requirements, physical therapists must have a certain set of skills and abilities in order to perform the duties and responsibilities handed to him and also help him excel and move to higher position in the profession. Following are some of the skills and abilities required to be a physical therapist:

Skill Set:

• Ability to observe details: This professional is expected to have a considerate amount of observational skills which will help in observing patients behavior in terms of his medical history, patient’s texture, skin color etc. Physical therapists must have good smell, touch and sight.
• Interpersonal Skills: Physical therapists must have the ability to showcase their motivation and integrity towards their patients. They should have the ability to explain their thoughts and ideas clearly with other professionals. A physical therapist must be emotionally strong and physically healthy to meet all the responsibilities of his job.
• Ability to cope with stress: The day of a physical therapist is long and requires a physically demanding nature. As a result, he must be able to handle stress that comes with the job position with ease and be able to work as part a team meeting deadlines.
• Technological Skills: Much of their record managing work deals with operating the computer systems. Therefore, these professionals need to have the ability of not only the basic operations of a technology but also the ability to adapt to the changes in technology.
• Ability to solve problems: These professionals face a number of problems during their treatment process. Hence, they need to have a fair amount of problem solving skills by analyzing the data and grasping the information.

What does a physical therapy job entail?

A physical therapist is enumerated with a wide range of duties and responsibilities to part of his profession. Following is a list of the primary duties and responsibilities vested to a physical therapist:

Duties:

• The primary duty of a physical therapist is to prepare an individual treatment plan to maintain restore and improve the physical functioning of the patient and relieving the patient from pain.
• They are involved in evaluating the laboratory reports in order to identify and determine the problem or injury of the patient.
• It forms the duty of a physical therapist to calculate a patient’s strength which will help him to develop a sensory function plan and also to record data efficiently.
• It is the duty of this professional to administer the treatment application in using equipment, ultraviolet and ultrasound machines.
• They are involved in evaluating the effects and progress of the various treatments and adjust treatment is necessary to achieve maximum benefits.
• An important duty of a physical therapist is to identify patient’s problem and determine goals predicting the progress and develop plans for revaluation.

Responsibilities:

• The primary responsibility of these professionals is to educate the patient and their family members about Physical Therapy, prevention of injury and the different ways to live healthy lives by promoting good health.
• They are responsible for conducting and supporting research methods in order to apply the research finding to practice.
• These professionals are responsible for instructing the patient and their family about the treatment procedures that should be continued at home.
• They are responsible for reviewing the physician’s prescription and patient’s medical records which help to determine the Physical Therapy treatment required.
• It is the responsibility of the physical therapist to coordinate with other medical practitioners to implement a proper invention program pattern.
• They take the responsibility of teaching new recruited physical therapists as well as other professionals related to the health career.
• They are responsible for directing rehabilitation activities inside the heath care center and also for the maintenance and repair of medical equipment.