If you would like a career as a physical therapist or PT, you must graduate from an accredited school in one of the Physical Therapy Degree Programs or get your Doctorate degree. There are over two hundred such accredited programs in the U.S. and most offer courses of study for either degree. Only twelve offer only the degree degree. Upon graduation, you will be able to earn a great salary as a practicing PT.
A Few Details About Physical Therapy Degree Programs
These programs thoroughly ground a student in all the important techniques needed to achieve success as a physical therapist. PTs are responsible for conducting patient evaluations, and formulating a care regimen for them. The program will concentrate on two basic objectives: how to increase and strengthen patient mobility and how to manage their pain from accidental injury or congenital physical problems. To address these problems with efficiency, students must study in one of the degree programs for two or three years. The programs build on basic scientific and mathematical skills gained in undergraduate programs. The degree program requires completing study in the following areas.
- Administering patient exams
- Medical screening
- Diagnostic processes
- Patient management
- Therapeutic interventions
- Outcome assessment
Many of these courses are conducted in the classroom or laboratory, but they will also be expected to gain skills in a clinical setting working with real patients. Other mandatory courses of study include advanced biology classes, anatomy, physiology, patient exercise technique, cellular histology, biomechanics, neuroscience, pharmacology, radiology and imaging, pathology and behavioral science.
What Happens After You Get Your Degree
Once you have graduated one of the programs you are ready to begin an exciting career as a physical therapist. You will help patients who suffer from the following conditions.
- Spine or neck injuries
- Arthritis or those with arthritic symptoms
- Broken bones or sprains
- Serious burns
- Stroke victims
- Amputee patients
- People with multiple sclerosis
- Those with spina bifida
- Cerebral palsy patients
Your job will be to help these people regain or increase their mobility. You will also help them learn to deal with extreme pain in many cases. The hope is that you can guide them to a normal life and enjoy the activities most take for granted.
Physical Therapist Salaries
Physical therapists make a good basic salary higher than many professionals. The average salary was about $73,000 in 2008. 50% of PTs earned salaries ranging from $60,000 to $85,500.
The lowest paid earned over $50,000. The highest more than doubled that figure at $104,350. Many enter this field in order to help people and a great deal of empathy is an important quality for a PT to have. It is also nice that these dedicated professionals earn a healthy salary for their efforts to improve the lives of those debilitated and in pain.