Career Path Of Physical Therapist

Introduction

I would like to pursue the prospective career path of a physical therapist, and I am committed to transformational processes of learning to fulfil the requirements of the respective career path, along with education and practical training experience. ‘Physical Therapy’ is one of the professions in the healthcare sector, and also known as physiotherapy. They perform rehabilitation, health promotion, disease prevention, physical intervention, prognosis, patient education, and physical examination diagnosis with the objective of maintaining, promoting, and restoring health. Physical therapists can choose a career in education, consultation, health administration, and research. Personally, I am very interested in primary care treatment; physical therapy is also provided in a supplementary manner with other healthcare services. Primary care is about immediately healing the wounded or at least enabling the immediate needed care. It makes them equivalent to the healers in ancient times, and there is a feeling of fulfilment in that. Providing primary health care in the form of physical therapy is an opportunity for me to live a life of content. Working with patients of diversified age groups, genders, cultures and faiths will feed compassion in my soul and allow me to live a decent life as a physical therapist. They create treatment plans, prevent patients from getting injured, and rehabilitate them from injuries.

Analysis

MAS Medical Staffing states that three fundamental skills of physical therapists are a passion for helping others, a commitment to rehabilitate, and assistance in the maintenance and development of patients’ health in the best possible manner. However, the knowledge-based physical therapist skills needed to become a physical therapist fall into three sets of categories: basic, transferable, and workplace. The basic skills include communication (listening), reading comprehension, while transferable skills into other professions includes operating medical diagnostic equipment, giving health care instructions, planning health care treatments, and operating medical diagnostic equipment. Additionally, workplace skills are complex and include strength and coordination because they involve physical, emotional, and psychological involvement of physical therapists for multiple hours a day. In order to be movement experts who aim to improve the quality of life through patient education, hands-on care, and exercise, It is an opportunity to work as a facilitator in a wide array of settings, including workplaces, hospitals, people’s homes, sports and fitness facilitate, nursing homes, workplaces, schools, and outpatient clinics. Apart from a decent income (median) salary of 85,000 U.S. dollars per annum, a student has to earn a doctor’s degree in physical therapy, coupled with passing an exam for state licensure.

Career-based physical therapist skills involve a continuous learning process to keep oneself updated. A constant learning habit assists physical therapists, like any other profession, in staying updated on the existing knowledge and skills in the field. Additionally, self-directed learning at the workplace results in career growth. Investing in education is an ongoing process, and after getting a doctorate degree, learning becomes an ongoing process at work. Supplementing the practical experience with self-directed learning allows thought processes to extend boundaries of helping others and enabling patients with the best possible care. Soft skills also play a critical role because they are recognized as the most common concern of employers. However, physical therapists’ reliance on interpersonal skills is extensive due to constant interaction with patients, health care centres, family and friends of family members, and physically doing whatever they can possibly do to heal the wounded or someone who needs any sort of health service. They are usually first in the line of defence against providing relief to patients suffering from any sort of disease or illness. The importance of physical therapist skills and expertise is due to the direct impact on the healthcare services received by the patient in whatever healthcare setting.

The years of therapeutic education and training in human physiology allow physical therapists to specialize in interdisciplinary areas of anatomy, kinesiology, physical fitness, and biology. In order to better understand the psychological needs of patients, many physical therapists receive extensive education and training in psychology, which enables physical therapists to help patients cope with the associated emotional challenges and physical ailments. At the basic level, physical therapy courses provide insight into the sufferance caused by patients due to serious illnesses and injuries, which subsequently affect pain management and movement difficulty. The recovery of such patients depends on the physical therapists. Physical therapists serve the purpose of working as an agency of recovery for the patient through individual attention and focused exercise plans. The professionals in physical therapy assist the patient in restoring build strength and range of motion, managing pain as the patient recuperates, and improving flexibility. On the other hand, at an in-depth level, physical therapists work in hospitals, private offices, hospitals, homes, and nursing clinics. The scheduling of physical therapists at an in-depth level takes place during normal business hours of the work and is sometimes scheduled for weekends or evenings.

In practice, hands-on therapy is required when working as part of a rehabilitation team, and it aims to provide stretching manoeuvres and exercises to patients who are going through chronic illness. Additionally, hands-on therapy as part of the rehabilitation team provides assistance for serious injuries through easing pain and facilitation in the case of wellness and health. As per the WebPT blog dedicated to physical therapy, the areas for soft skills are critical to the profession of physical therapist. Skills like interpersonal communication, writing, Sales Savvy and Marketing techniques, time management, and leadership know-how have a critical role in effective service delivery to patients. At least a seven-year commitment, including an undergraduate program, allows physical therapists to gain skills and education to adequately provide primary care to patients while earning 70 thousand U.S. Dollars on average per annum. After gaining a degree in a related field for a bachelor’s program, aspiring physical therapists in chemistry, physics, biomedical, physiology, and engineering apply for a doctoral degree program in Physical Therapy (DPT). Within three to four years, depending on the selected courses of the program, a Physical Therapist becomes a doctor in the field with sufficient understanding of the disciplines at coursework that includes rehabilitation science, anatomy, physiology, orthotics, pathology, pharmacology, and prosthetics.

Conclusion

My interest in the doctoral program in Physical Therapy over the years will determine my specialization, and a wide array of options include neurology, paediatrics, and orthopaedics, which provide them an edge over other candidates for employment. The years after education are for becoming licensed physical therapists, and the major milestone to clear is the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), which is aimed at testing practical and theoretical understanding of physical therapy knowledge. Additional exams also exist, and a typical residency program provides detailed insight into the available stream of specialization to further explore professional work. After gaining hands-on experience with senior physical therapists at work for three to four years, physical therapists are offered areas for practice, such as neurological physical therapy, geriatric therapy, and pediatric therapy. The dedicated effort required for the discipline of physical therapy is also supplemented with hands-on experience for a reasonable period before actually gaining the license to treat patients without legal constraints. The long journey is certainly exhaustive, but the reward in financial and emotional terms justifies the effort of nearly ten years. Last but not least, physical therapists have the opportunity to live a meaningful life by serving humanity in different places.

References

Hughes, M. (2020, March 5). 5 Nonclinical Skills Every PT Should Have. WebPT. https://www.webpt.com/blog/5-nonclinical-skills-every-pt-should-have/

Physical Therapist Career Path – How to Become a Physical Therapist | Glassdoor. (2013). Glassdoor Blog. https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/guide/physical-therapist-careers/

Physical Therapist Skills: What You Need to Succeed Now. (2018, February 27). MAS Medical Staffing. https://www.masmedicalstaffing.com/2018/02/27/physical-therapist-skills-needed/