Health Career Option
For my career assignment, I have chosen to research the career field of a Physical Therapist. Physical Therapy is a growing field in the medical field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “employment of physical therapists is expected to grow by 36 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.” The main focuses I strive in this career assignment are to provide my ambitions to why I chose my career option, explain briefly what a Physical Therapist does for his/her community, provide insightful key points from guest speakers and advisors, and understand the holistic career route to becoming Physical Therapist. Thus, by understanding the following key points, I will be able to provide
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Physical Therapy is a graduate’s/doctorate’s degree. The first step to becoming a Physical Therapist is getting accepted to an accredited Physical Therapy School. Prospective applicants who are interested applying to PT school must meet the following requirements: complete a bachelor's degree, complete course prerequisites for your designated programs, pass the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), accumulate experience/shadow hours in a physical therapy setting and ask letters of recommendations. For the letters of recommendation, it is advised that the three recommenders are a Physical therapist (PT), a science professor, or who is either another word/academic reference. These following requirements will prepare an applicant for physical therapy school. Once a student has completed their degree in Physical Therapy, he/she will Yes, once a student has completed their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, he/she is eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). According to Applicants may take the exam three times in a twelve-month period. Every graduate of physical therapy must pass to become a licensed physical therapist or licensed/certified physical therapist assistant (or to regain licensure/certification if lapsed) in the United States …show more content…
The prerequisite classes are as follows: Anatomy with lab Physiology with lab, Biology 1 (not botany or zoology), Biology 2 (not botany or zoology) General Chemistry 1 with lab, General Chemistry 2 with lab, General Physics 1 with lab, General Physics 2 with lab, Psychology, and Statistics. These classes are precursors that are incorporated in physical therapy concepts. One must have a foundation with these science courses as accumulating good observation of what a Physical Therapist. Most schools require a minimum of 150 hours of PT experiences; however, most competitive applicants typically do more than what is recommended and accumulate their experience across a variety of settings. Examples of physical therapy settings are as follows: Acute Care Hospital, Rehabilitation/Subacute Rehabilitation Facility, Extended Care Facility/Nursing Home/Skilled Nursing Facility, Free-standing Physical Therapy or Hospital Outpatient Clinic, School/Preschool, Wellness/Prevention/Fitness, and Industrial/Occupational Health. By doing well in prerequisite classes and accumulating PT experience, it will help an applicant gain possible letters of recommendations for his/her application to Physical Therapy
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.
You can do two years of schooling and earn your associates’ degree. You will take courses like kinesiology, therapeutic massage, pathology, anatomy, physics, clinical education, speech, and college algebra (Carrington). You must also do an externship at a location to gain experience and knowledge of what you would be doing. This work includes a ton of observation time of what the job is like and a lot of odd jobs just to help the place out. While doing these hours the Physical Therapist Assistant in training will be folding towels and wiping down a lot of workout equipment (APTA)Once all of these classes are taken students need to sign up for the test that your state requires you to take
Physical Therapist Assistant is a fascinating career to be in because you will get to handle patients who are recovering from an injury or any health condition patients have. In the field, you work with a team that provide Therapy services and work under the supervision of a Physical Therapist. Assistant’s writes down patient’s status and takes notes after every checkup to see growth. They work with patients from newborns to the elderly. The Assistant educates patients on how to properly stretch and what to do after treatment. Also, they help assist patients in movements and show how to use equipment’s. The main goal for a Physical Therapist Assistant is to reduce pain, prevent another injury, gain flexibility and be
A physical therapy assistant needs to have a high school diploma or certification that is equivalent. They also need to take courses in science and mathematics in high school. The prospective physical therapy assistant then goes on to get an associate degree in an accredited program for physical therapy assistants. Accreditation of these
The day I attended physical therapy for a broken arm was the day I wanted to get into physical therapy. It taught me techniques to help me regain control of something that I have lost temporary of like an arm or leg. That day when I attended physical therapy was the day my life changed and only for the better, I hope. This is a career which I want to pursue and become part of. To start my career I would like to become a physical therapist assistant to learn the fundamentals and then later, move to become a physical therapist, and maybe have someone assist me. But to become a physical therapist assistant or PTA one must complete a program and have excellent grades to achieve this goal. The physical therapy assistant is a graduate of a
Physical therapists are required to complete at least six years or higher of education before work begins. This means that a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree must be achieved. Only a few colleges or universities offer master’s programs, therefore a student must enter a doctoral program to attain this profession. Acquiring a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree requires three years of education only after receiving a bachelor’s degree. Most students join residency programs that can last anywhere from nine months to three years to
In this text, I concern myself with physical therapy as a career alternative. In so doing, I will amongst other things identify a number of services within the said career alternative. Further, in addition to discussing the roles of the workforce within the identified services, I will also highlight the impact of the said roles on health care organizations.
When considering the physical therapy career field, I concluded that my interests and skills are compatible with the career requirements in this field. My sisters friend whom I chose to interview for this paper, contributed to my interest in physical therapy. By doing this research I would like to learn the average pay for a physical therapist. Also, what are suggested classes for a physical therapist while in college? This research will help me better understand what a physical therapist does and will either help me lean towards or away from a career in this field.
The major of exercise science: applied kinesiology prepares students for a variety of fields in the health/human sciences. Throughout the specified and course intensive curriculum, students learn advanced problem solving skills, interpretation of critical information, and understanding/ manipulating kinetics of the human body; each skill will grow stronger throughout the curriculum and will be essential in treating patients. PT is one of many career choices for exercise science majors. In order to practice independently in any setting, the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree must be obtained. In order to obtain the degree, one must be accepted into the DPT program, requiring the prior completion of specific coursework as well as 10-1000 hours of volunteer work specific to the field.
In order to be successful in the profession as a physical therapist there are several prerequisites a person has to accomplish. One of the first prerequisites to become a physical therapist is you must graduate from a physical therapist educational program and obtain a master or doctoral degree. The master's degree programs for physical therapy typically are two to two and a half years in length, while doctoral degree programs usually last 3 years. In addition to classroom and laboratory instruction, students will complete supervised clinical experience to get a feel of the work environment. The coursework will include physics, biology and chemistry. Other additional coursework included during the physical therapy program is therapeutic procedures, biomechanics, examination techniques, human development, manifestations of disease, and neuroanatomy. You can specialize in one of those certain topics, which will concentrate more on a certain area. Students must also obtain a license in order to practice physical therapy. A license can be obtained by
The classes I need when I go into college is biology, chemistry, physics and college-preparatory math. I'm also planning on taking anatomy to learn more about the body. There is a program at school that allows students to job shadow our PT. Another option is job shadowing. There are many physical therapist in our are that I could job shadow to gain more experience in the field. All of these looks great on college and job
What education and other professional skills are required for this job, as a Physical Therapy Assistant?
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
Either way, physical therapy bound students are well off. Most physical therapy departments, offering a master’s degree, require students to take certain mathematics courses along with physics, biology, chemistry, and anatomy. Those who are in this four-year program often take human physiology and anatomy, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, and anatomical kinesiology. These classes are taken over the course of one’s first four years of college. To obtain a master’s degree and eventually a license in physical therapy, the student must endure a couple additional years of schooling (Education-Portal.com).
Student’s will have to go through seven years of schooling to achieve their goal of becoming a Physical Therapist. When applicants start their journey of becoming a Physical Therapist, applicants must go through a bachelor 's degree program of 4 years and major in a health related field such as Anatomy, Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. After completing 4 years of Bachelor 's program applicants should apply for a Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. When applying for a D.P.T program competition can be very competitive because for certain D.P.T programs only 30 applicants out of 200 or more can get accepted. Stated from the website, “Learn How to Become”, “As of 2014, there were 228 physical therapy programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (C.A.P.T.E), most of which last 3 years”. When an applicant finally gets accepted into a D.P.T program students must complete a clinical internship in a certain area they wish to pursue with supervised experience. When applicants graduate from