Job Description:
Physical therapists (PTs) help rehabilitate patients, including accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions such as low-back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. They provide services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities. They restore, maintain and promote overall fitness and health.
Employment Facts:
Physical therapists (PTs) held about 185,500 jobs in the U.S. in 2008. Some physical therapists held two or more jobs, which makes the number of jobs held higher than the actual number of PTs. Most PTs work in hospitals or in offices of other health practitioners.
Educational Requirements:
In order to work as a physical therapist, one must first graduate from a physical therapist educational program with a master's or doctoral degree. Coursework includes biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as specialized courses such as biomechanics, neuroanatomy, human growth and development, manifestations of disease, examination techniques, and therapeutic procedures.
Other Requirements:
In order to practice, graduates from physical therapist programs must pass national and state licensing exams. In order to retain their licenses, many states require PTs to take continuing education classes and attend workshops.
Job Outlook:
The job outlook for physical therapists is excellent. This occupation is projected to experience faster growth, through 2018, than other occupations requiring at least a master's degree (The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Earnings:
In 2009, physical therapists earned a median annual salary of $74,480.
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A Day in a Physical Therapist's Life:
On a typical day a physical therapist will:
- examine patients' medical histories;
- test and measure the patients' strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration, and motor function;
- determine patients' ability to be independent and reintegrate into the community or workplace after injury or illness;
- develop treatment plans describing a treatment strategy, its purpose, and its anticipated outcome;
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Physical Therapists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm (visited March 23, 2010).
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, O*NET Online, Physical Therapists, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/details/29-1123.00 (visited December 6, 2010).
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