Career profile Physical Therapist

Table of Contents

• What does a Physical Therapist do?
• What is a typical salary for a Physical Therapist?
• What personality traits are common among Physical Therapists?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Physical Therapists need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Physical Therapist do?

Physical Therapists assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.

What kind of tasks does a Physical Therapist perform regularly?

Physical Therapists are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
• Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
• Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
• Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
• Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
• Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
• Administer manual exercises, massage, or traction to help relieve pain, increase patient strength, or decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
• Obtain patients' informed consent to proposed interventions.
• Test and measure patient's strength, motor development and function, sensory perception, functional capacity, or respiratory or circulatory efficiency and record data.
• Direct, supervise, assess, and communicate with supportive personnel.
• Review physician's referral and patient's medical records to help determine diagnosis and physical therapy treatment required.
• Identify and document goals, anticipated progress, and plans for reevaluation.
• Provide information to the patient about the proposed intervention, its material risks and expected benefits, and any reasonable alternatives.
• Provide educational information about physical therapy or physical therapists, injury prevention, ergonomics, or ways to promote health.
• Inform patients and refer to appropriate practitioners when diagnosis reveals findings outside physical therapy.
• Discharge patient from physical therapy when goals or projected outcomes have been attained and provide for appropriate follow-up care or referrals.
• Administer treatment involving application of physical agents, using equipment, moist packs, ultraviolet or infrared lamps, or ultrasound machines.
• Refer clients to community resources or services.
• Construct, maintain, or repair medical supportive devices.
• Evaluate, fit, or adjust prosthetic or orthotic devices or recommend modification to orthotist.
• Teach physical therapy students or those in other health professions.
• Conduct or support research and apply research findings to practice.
• Participate in community or community agency activities or help to formulate public policy.

The above responsibilities are specific to Physical Therapists. More generally, Physical Therapists are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Physical Therapist salary?

What personality traits are common among Physical Therapists?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Physical Therapist are usually higher in their Social, Investigative, and Realistic interests.

Physical Therapists typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Physical Therapists typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Physical Therapists typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Physical Therapist tend to value Relationships, Achievement, and Recognition.

Most importantly, Physical Therapists very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Physical Therapists strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Lastly, Physical Therapists strongly value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Physical Therapists must consistently demonstrate qualities such as concern for others, integrity, and social orientation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Physical Therapists, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Physical Therapists need?

Many Physical Therapists have earned a graduate degree. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a doctoral degree, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D..

Physical Therapists may need some on-the-job training, but most candidates will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Educational degrees among Physical Therapists

• 0.4% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 1.0% completed high school or secondary school
• 0.9% completed some college coursework
• 2.9% earned a Associate's degree
• 28.1% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 23.0% earned a Master's degree
• 43.8% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Physical Therapists

Important Abilities needed by Physical Therapists

Physical Therapists must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Physical Therapists need abilities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Physical Therapists, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Physical Therapists

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Physical Therapists frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Physical Therapists, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.