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Physical Therapist Career Paper

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The career I choose is physical therapy. Physical therapists develop plans for the patient to follow and recover. They use exercises and stretching techniques to treat and prevent further injury of the patient ( “Summary”). I choose this career because I enjoy helping people get better. It is important to understand the education or training requirements, skills or talents needed, salary and benefits offered, and the duties, for a particular career when making this decision.
Physical therapists typically work in physical therapist offices or hospitals (“Summary”). They work in offices of physical therapy or hospitals to provide acute care for patients in the hospital. Physical therapist will work 40 hour weeks depending on part time or full …show more content…

A day in the life of a physical therapist would consist of showing the patient stretches or exercises to treat the injury. Physical therapist also make plans specified for the patient to follow at the office and at home to recover quickly and properly. Also during the process they observe and evaluate the patients progress to help them know what else they may have to do to recover (“Summary”).
The average pay for a physical therapist in 2015 was $84,020 annually and $40.40 per hour (“Summary”). Initial pay as a physical therapist could be around $67,000. With about 5-9 years of experience you could make about $80.000, and with 10-19 years you can make over $100,000. Occupational therapy makes about $80,000 annually, and a PT assistant makes about $46,000 annually. (“Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Degree Average Salary”) Some other similar jobs would be an audiologist which they make about $74,890 annually, and a recreational therapist makes about $45,890 annually …show more content…

To be a physical therapist some important personality traits would be to have empathy, compassion and be detail oriented. When someone is feeble or having a hard time maneuvering due to pain and or the injury, it is good to have have immense empathy. Being a physical therapist it's good to be organized with plans of rehabilitation for each patient. Going through a residency before becoming a physical therapist would be a good life experience to prepare for this career. A residency is one year or longer program to become more sagacious and have more experience (“Summary”).
I plan to attend UCO to get my bachelors degree for physical therapy. The University of Central Oklahoma is a 4 year college located in Edmond, Oklahoma. The total cost per semester at UCO is $14,686. In state tuition costs $5,157, room and board is $7,390, books and supplies costs $1,200, and other fees costs $939. Of the students applying for financial aid, about 56% of them received it (“University of Central

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