How to Become a Physical Therapist

A physical therapist (PT) works with patients who have suffered physical disabilities as the result of an accident or a disease. In consultation with doctors and other medical professionals, the PT designs a patient's rehabilitation therapy and works with the patient over a course of weeks, months or even years. Therapy can include exercise, deep-tissue massage and ultrasound treatments.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Career Counseling

1. Understand that you will need a bachelor's or master's degree in physical therapy, and that it will include numerous science courses, including chemistry, biology and physics. You should begin taking these science courses in high school.

2. Work on polishing your interpersonal skills. You will often have to advise frustrated patients and family members about long-term physical therapy.

3. Go to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Web site (apta.org) for up-to-date information about this field. Also look for the APTA list of accredited schools and contact your top choices for their admissions information.

4. Maintain an excellent grade point average. The physical therapy field is highly competitive.

5. Consult local hospitals, rehabilitation centers and private therapy practices about their hiring forecasts. Try to get your internship where jobs might be available after you graduate.

6. Pass the mandatory licensure exam after you have received your degree. Check your state's exact licensing requirements long before graduation.

7. Decide if you want to specialize in an area such as neurology, pediatrics or sports medicine. Ask your counselor about the additional training or degrees required for certification in a specialty. Remember that you can work toward a specialty after you graduate from college.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that many states require you to take continuing education classes or workshops in order to retain your license.
• If you have a bachelor's degree in another field, you can enroll in a master's degree program in physical therapy.
• You will need to remain in excellent physical shape because you will be using your muscles on a daily basis as you perform your work.

Who Can Help:

• eFax is the world’s #1 Internet fax service.  Send and receive faxes by email and kiss your fax machine goodbye. 30-Day Free Trial

[retired1]

on 5/7/2009 Is this a career a 40 year old will be able to adapt to?

[emergencyops]

on 2/4/2009 ...and each has their own pros and cons.

[emergencyops]

on 2/4/2009 This article is a good starting point for anyone considering the field of PT. As mentioned, it is a competitive field, and schooling is competitive as well. More and more schools are going to Doctorate programs instead of Masters. The studying is extremely intensive; learning the material is easier for some people more than others...you will quickly find that out as you interview to get into a school's program and as you enter your first semester.

Best wishes to those who are deciding on a career in PT. As I have witnessed second-hand, it is a very rewarding profession. You will be in-demand when you graduate and the hard part will be deciding between all the prospective employers who practically throw themselves at you. There are many office settings to choose from, including inpatient, outpatient, and clinical; there is a demand for both FT and PT positions, and each has their own p

[xDoctorK8]

on 12/26/2008 Excuse me, I'm 15 years old, and looking on a site like this, seeing how to plan my future. Gee, this isn't Grand Theft Auto! My bad!

Don't generalize all teenagers as not caring about careers.

[VladZak]

on 11/3/2008 I'm currently in High School and am going to work towards the PT field. Blahblahpt, do you have any pointers or tips on what to read and study to get a head start? Help will be highly appreciated.