Becoming a Physical Therapist

Physical therapists (also called physiotherapists) are specialists who help patients with some physical disorder or some malfunction resulting from injury (during an accident), disease or even aging. Through the process of physical therapy (or physiotherapy) he helps the patient in reinstating his fitness by relieving pain and avoiding the pain or disability from becoming permanent, thus ensuring that the patient can live a healthy life. Physical therapists mostly deal with medical conditions which cause disability or pain like arthritis, accidents that result in fractures or any other injuries that cause disabilities like low back pain, heart disease, etc. A physical therapist examines the patient and then develops a therapy plan depending upon the patient's medical history to treat him using different techniques (including exercises) and equipment. During the treatment the therapist provides complete physical and emotional support to the patient by guiding him wherever required.

Physical therapists generally work in hospitals, health clinics and agencies, rehabilitation centers, and orthopedic settings. The responsibilities of a physical therapist include:

• Performing initial screening of the patient in order to identify his needs and develop a physical therapy treatment plan accordingly.
• Consulting the patient to see what techniques and equipment would be best to treat him depending upon his medical history.
• Assisting the patient in learning to use various equipments and tools involved in the recovery process, like wheel chairs, walkers, etc.
• Keeping a proper record of the patient, conducting time-to-time examination and modifying treatment if required.

To be a physical therapist one needs to have a master's degree in a physical therapy program which must be accredited. The general route followed by a physiotherapist is to start with basic courses of science such as biology, physics and chemistry. In undergraduate studies some specialized courses like neuroanatomy, therapeutic procedures, examination techniques, etc. are also added. They also need to have some further laboratory classes. Before admission to certain physical therapy programs you may require to have some direct experience in the field. After you complete your degree in an accredited physical therapy program, you need to take a state exam which, if you pass, will give you the right to practice.



A physical therapist must have very good interpersonal skills. He must be communicative enough to inform the patient’s family about the actual situation and progress of the patient. He should be friendly and should have skills to teach patients about certain procedures that they can perform themselves, their utilities and the usage of certain equipments. He must have the passion to help patients. Also, as this job demands a lot of physical movement by the therapist he himself must be physically very fit. This job requires moving heavy equipment that is required in the treatment procedure.

Physical therapists must keep on improving their knowledge and updating themselves on a regular basis about the new advancements in the field by attending workshops and seminars, searching the internet and communicating with other physiotherapists.

The requirement of physical therapists is constantly growing. In 2006, there were 173,000 jobs in this field and this figure is expected to increase by 27% in 2016. This figure will further rise in the future due to the increasing demand for physical restoration and rehabilitation of the elderly and aged citizens. Also, due to the advancements in the medical field, brand-new restoration techniques have been adopted for accident victims. This also has increased the demand for physical therapists resulting in more and more job opportunities for them. There are, however, more job opportunities for licensed physical therapists than those who don’t have a practice license.

Moreover, physical therapists can work in two positions at the same time. They might be employed full-time in a private clinic and work part-time at some other place like a home health-care agency. They can also conduct research at an organization and teach on a part-time basis at an educational institution.

In 2006, the annual salary of physical therapists started from $46,510, with some physical therapists earning as much as $94,810. The earning bracket depends upon the number of positions a physical therapist holds at a time. If he works for a single position at a time, he might get an average salary. Part-time work would increase the earnings accordingly. To be in the highest income bracket, a physical therapist needs to initiate his own clinic on part-time basis with a job and after it starts making profit he can run it as a full-time job.

The profession of a physical therapist is growing continuously along with the ever-increasing world population. Physiotherapists not only help in taking care of the elderly population but they also provide valuable assistance to the victims of injury and accidents. The job of a therapist is to help a person successfully get over the trauma of an accident both physically and mentally. Together with a high salary there is a tremendous amount of job satisfaction involved in this career. If you have a knack of helping people in need then working as a physical therapist can be your calling.