Physical Therapists
Victoria Borchardt
Job Description
Assist with rehabilitation of injured or ill people by helping them to move easier and have less pain.
Necessary Schooling/Certifications
After receiving your bachelor’s degree, a 3 year program is required in order to obtain a Doctor of Physical therapy degree. Most apply for a 1 year residency after their degree before they start working. All states require a physical therapy license before working.
Daily Activities
Physical therapists spend a lot of time on their feet assisting patients with different exercises that help determine the injuries and heal them. Aside from helping patients with exercises under their supervision, they also assign activities for the patient to complete at home to help improve the circumstances quicker.
What Skills are Necessary
In order to be a physical therapist you have to have patience and compassion for people. You have to interact with people so if you can't stand to help people and/or you're not very friendly, this wouldn't be the job for you. You have to be able to analyze things in order to determine what diagnosis each patient needs based on their issues. Lastly you need to be comfortable with your hands because a lot of patients treatment requires help from the physical therapists hands so if you're not comfortable utilizing your hands then this wouldn't work that well either.
Practice Settings
Physical therapists typically work in private offices, hospitals, or nursing homes.
Job Outlook
Within the next ten or so years the demand for physical therapists is predicted to go up 36% because of the amount of activity older people are doing that could cause heart attacks, strokes, or mobility related issues. Also the amount of people affected by diabetes is going up so as the years pass more people with diabetes will be needing physical therapists.
Physical Therapist Career Information : Physical Therapist Pros & Cons
Citations
Physical Therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm#tab-1