Physical Therapy: Becoming the Professional
Entering any career and succeeding in it would require determination and patience. The same applies if you would like to pursue a medical career in physical therapy. Physical therapy is noted as one of the fastest increasing medical profession with a projected increase of 27 percent by 2016.
How can you become a physical therapist?
Like I said, in any field you would like to excel in, there are personal skills and attitude which would ensure that you would succeed. As a physical therapist, you should be patient since recovery and improvements can prove to be slow sometimes. There are even patients who may not always agree or follow your plan as a therapist.
Working with patients with disabilities would require not only patience but motivation skills. As a therapist you are not only a diagnostician and a therapist but a coach as well. Therapists need to motivate patients to work hard to ensure physical improvement.
Lets go to the technical requirements of becoming a physical therapist. A physical therapists education would often include a solid foundation in biology, chemistry, algebra, trigonometry and geometry. Generally speaking, math and science. You can start while young, some physical therapists have gained much of their experience as early as high school. They would participate or volunteer as an assistant with the schools athletic trainer. This would expose them to some physical therapy and treatments that trainers use in sports.
When studying to become a physical therapist, there are two options. There are regular undergraduate programs that you can take and later on can continue with a masters or doctoral degree afterwards. There are some schools which offer a combined undergraduate and graduate program which lasts for six to seven years.
In the United States, there are about 200 accredited programs offered. To look for accredited schools you plan to enrol in, the American Physical Therapy Association website ha a complete and updated list. After finishing the education program, they are required to pass a licensure exam before they can practice their career. Licensure exams are both conducted in a national and state level.
There are some programs that encourage and require students to be involved first and have hands-on experience. These programs would require their students to be a part of a physical therapy department of a hospital or clinic before they can graduate.
If you want to become a physical therapist, paying attention to your high school grades would pay off. Getting into some physical therapy programs can really get physical and competitive. There are schools and programs which have higher requirements than that of a medical school.
A physical therapist assistant meanwhile is responsible in assisting the physical therapist with their jobs. Their trainings although less complicated, still require them to provide massages and exercises to patients. They primarily address patients with leg supports. As an assistant of a physical therapist, most of the times physical therapist assistants perform clerical and secretarial responsibilities.
A physical therapist assistant curriculum is different in each program institution. But most curricula would include theory, practice, basic medical science, general education courses and hands-on experience during internship. Licensing comes after education, it is different for each state.
Being a successful professional in the physical therapy field, not only relies on excelling in your academics. Physical therapy is not only concerned with curing and attending medical problems, it is also concerned with motivation and providing inspiration to patients.