Physical Therapy Career Field

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

I have spoken with physical therapists and some of their likes and dislikes about working as a physical therapists, and they said; “Being able to help heal people, as well as being able to experiment (more like play) with the innovative medical tools. On the other hand, the negative sides about becoming a physical therapist, is the long college education to obtain your license, you have to

My career goal is to have my own Physical Therapy practice, and to be my own boss. I want to help revolutionize the ways in which medical personnel approach their patients, as there tends to be a disconnection between patients and medical staff. One of the biggest challenges I will likely face is owning my own practice, because I would first need to work under another company until I gain enough experience and financial wellness to open my own office. However, money and experience are only a small portion of making my business and my vision successful. I will need to be diligent in my pursuits, despite any setbacks that may occur, in an effort to help my practice thrive. My patients will be my number one concern in this respect. If I implement

The job I plan on pursuing with kinesiology as my major is to become a physical therapist, which is also known as PT. Their main duty is helping patients rehabilitate with disabling injuries such as fractures, arthritis and low-back pain. Their duty is to help patients their relieve pain, increase mobility, and decrease long-term physical disabilities. Physical therapists focus on the evaluation of strength, balance, range of motion, co-ordination, endurance, and posture of each individual patient. Their patients can range from different age groups from infants to grandparents. The age group would provide a variety of therapeutic exercises for each of the health issues they would have. Depending

Beyond the educational requirements for physical therapists are the many other attributes that are needed to be successful. A career as a physical therapist requires a lot of studied skills, personal characteristics and physical fitness. A physical therapist should enjoy working with people and helping others. An ability to listen to patients and understand is important to success. Patients are often a victim of a traumatic experience, injury or are afflicted by a debilitating disease. The emotional distress can often be as trying as the physical dysfunction. (Kottler 11) Communicating and teaching skills are needed to help patients learn new movements and exercises to practice on their own. Physical therapists help patients set goals, regain and strengthen muscles and flexibility. Helping a patient find confidence in the program helps them to

The article that I chose was published by Mayo Clinic School of Health Science, the title of the article is “Physical Therapy”. The article informs the reader on the roles, goals, as well as the overall definition of a physical therapist. According to the article, “Physical therapists (PTs) work with patients who have impairments, limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes.” Therefore, a physical therapist works directly with the population that has a form of impairment in their movement, whether it is from an injury or an illness. The roles of a physical therapist are examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis

With the job outlook of the physical therapy field being expected to grow by 34 percent by 2024, faster than the average occupation, the average annual wage at a whopping $84,020, paid sick and vacation days and the flexible work environment, this seems like the perfect profession to enter. Having a career in physical therapy can be very rewarding because a physical therapist gets to watch as his or her patients improve every appointment through treatment. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in this profession. There are many disadvantages, and knowing these will help anyone interested in this field have a better understanding of how tough pursuing a career in this field can be. Being a physical therapist can be a rewarding experience and have amazing benefits. However, it is important to be aware of the disadvantages: the extreme amount of education, physical demands, emotional demands and the continuation of education requirements.

If you are interested in a hands-on job, in which you observe patients during treatment sessions, assist patients, and receive instructions from a physical therapist, consider pursuing a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant. There are many reasons you should consider a career in physical therapy. A physical therapist assistant works under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. In many practices, physical therapists rely on the physical therapist assistant to make sure that all the patients have access to physical therapy services. They help the physical therapist by providing physical therapy treatment sessions that the therapist might not get around to. According to American Physical Therapy Association physical therapy has a long history of returning individuals to their maximum level of physical function and in many cases; patients are being sent to physical therapy instead of surgery (“Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Careers Overview”). The physical therapist often depends on their assistant to provide services, such as workouts by helping the clients through many different exercises, massages, applying hot or cold packs, paraffin baths (“Physical Therapist Assistant - Career Overview”). Physical therapist assistants work with physical therapists, assisting them with the rehabilitation exercises and therapies relating with recovering from an injury or disability

It is a mid July summer day and as I clumsily shuffle down an uneven sidewalk, I can feel the heat from the cement radiate against my flesh and the feel of my sweaty palm on my caregiver’s forearm as she guides me through Old Town, a small historical landmark in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We head to a shop to get some ice cream to help cool us down. As we enter the shop I can smell the sweetness that fills the shop and I gladly welcome the cool air conditioner blowing on my face. I am excited to try the ice cream of this quaint little store, but as I look up to view the menu on the wall, I struggle to see what flavors they have. As I peer through a small tunnel in the middle of my vision, the rest of my vision so blurry I cannot make out any

The outlook for a Physical Therapist would be that it is going to to increase but by very little. The average increase is 2.00% each year. So if there is a 2.00% increase each year there is a 2.00% chance that someone will get a career as a Physical Therapist. People need to think of the location when finding a career. Which is the geographic location of where a person would like to live to be able to commute back and forth from work. Working as a physical therapist means working with all kinds of people so various amounts of people might not be every ones type.Working as a Physical Therapist gives the option of working in an office with patients, working at a high school with injured athletes or working with major sports team. Last is how far someone wants to travel. What that means is if someone is living in a small town like Knox Pennsylvania and they want to work with the Pittsburgh Steelers that would mean traveling 2 hours to work everyday. Not everybody wants to travel that far so keep that in

Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapist’s careers are on the rise! According to my interest in adaptive technology, and my passion for helping others, a career as a Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapist (PTOT) appears to be a very positive, and a rewarding career choice for me! As a result, as a PTOT I will be working with new adaptive technologies and career advancement, reveling in ultimate job security, and new methodologies, open to growing employment opportunities, experiencing unlimited options, and the rewards of helping others to be healthy, healthy and knowing I had a part in a their recovery is key. However, as I embark on this career path as a PTOT that I have considered all the positive attributes, and the negative

In the words of Field (2007), "physical therapists develop therapies and exercise modalities to help patients ease pain, recover from injuries or illness, or regain use of body parts." The relevance of physical therapy as a health care profession cannot hence be overstated. This is more so the case given that due to injuries, accidents, old age or disabilities; individuals could at some point need intervention designed to alleviate pain, improve mobility or even restore function.

A physical therapist works with many different people to reduce pain and improve flexibility. PT’s first evaluate a patient based on what happened to them. Later, they create a personalized treatment for the patient based on what happened to them. They work in clinics, hospitals, sports facilities and many more locations. The average pay of a physical therapist is $80,000 dollars a year which depends on experience and location. To become a physical therapist, you must get a four year undergraduate degree. Then you must get a graduate degree from a physical therapy program. Finally a PT must pass a national licensure exam to be able to practice. This career relates to sports medicine because many PT’s work with athletes that have gotten injured

As a freshman, I applied to Springfield College as a Pre-Physical Therapy Major. I did not get accepted and I honestly believe that was the best for me. It gave me the time to reevaluate if I really wanted to pursue a career in physical therapy. It allowed me to focus on my school work and adjust to a completely different life style. It had given me opportunities to shadow a Physician’s Assistant, a doctor, to broaden my options for my future. Even through all those experiences and my time as a Sports Biology major I realized I still had a passion and desire to achieve a degree in physical therapy Sports Biology has helped me towards the path of reaching these future goals. I have been challenged and overcome obstacles in this major such as

Some of the first known practices of physical therapy are from the early Greek and Romans. They had writings that said both the sun and water were beneficial. The Chinese, Persians, Egyptians, and Greeks said exercise and massage were beneficial. The first school of therapy was established at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Washington, D.C. after World War I