Physical Therapist

Physical therapists provide the service of the helping of restoring muscular or nerve damage upon a living organism. They improve the functions of mobility, help relieve pain, and prevent permanent physical damage of patients with injuries or disease. Fitness and health are key to helping patients get through physical therapy. Patient problems vary from physical disabilities such as car accidents to nerve damage like arthritis.

Physical therapists, or also known as PT’s, start off by viewing the patients medical history, then they test the patients strength, range of motion, posture, balance and coordination, respiration, muscle performance, and motor functions. Also PT’s determine whether or not a patient is capable to be independent to reintegrate back into the workplace or community after their injury or illness. Finally, after screening the patient for all these test, they set up a treatment strategy, the purpose, and the anticipated time it will take to recover.

Working conditions of a physical therapist are mainly physically demanding due to the patients inabilities of physical movement, therapist often have to bend over, kneel, crouch, and lift for extended periods of time. Therapist, in addition, also have to lift heavy equipment and patients, because they cannot stand, walk, turn, or perform a physical task that is demanded from them. To learn the basics of therapist duties, most PT’s practice in hospitals, clinics, or private offices, but some PT’s usually practice in hospital rooms, homes, or schools.

A majority of full-time physical therapists usually work a forty hour week, some of those days might include weekends and evenings. Overall, a majority of physical therapists spend time on their feet due to the aid of patients. In order for a person to become a physical therapist one must have plenty of education and pass a few physical programs. First off, physical therapists in the making must first graduate from a physical therapist educational program with a masters or a doctoral degree. When going to school for this job expect to take classes such as biology, chemistry, and physics.

More specialized courses are required for this source of work too, and these include as follows; biomechanics, human growth and development, nueroanatomy, manifestations of disease, examination techniques, and herpetic procedures. Other requirements to becoming a physical therapist is that you have to be licensed anywhere in the U. S. The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) puts upcoming therapists through a National Physical Therapy Exam in order to become a licensed therapist.

In order to keep a license for this job, the newly licensed therapist must take continuing education classes and go to workshop. Certain states have different requirements, so its always important to contact individual State License Authorities. Plenty of education is needed for this occupation, therefore there will be hard work and determination along the steps of getting a degree for this job. The beginning annual wage for this occupation is about twenty-six to fifty-three dollars an hour. The yearly salary for a physical therapist varies about $54,710 to $110,670.

The states that consists of the annual mean wage or salary a year are Nevada with $97,810, Alaska with $91,990, and Tinsmith $90,500. The wage of a physical therapist has a rose by . 3 percent since last year, so a slightly higher pay has been issued in the country. Employment for therapists has a high demand in the states of California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. The median pay for a physical therapist is about $37. 63 for an hourly wage, and the median annual salary is about $78,270.

Physical therapists jobs are in high demand, also they pay extravagantly well in some parts of the country. There are plenty of colleges to get hands on experience in the field of physical therapy, but there are few schools that provide the best hands on teachings. The top school to go to in the U. S. to go for schooling in physical therapy is the University of Southern California, or also known as USC. USC provides areas such as Clinic Psychology, Healthcare Management, Nursing-Anesthesia, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Asst. and Social Work. The second best, nation-wide college for medical teachings is the University of Delaware, and they provide three health teaching services which consist of; Clinical Psychology, Nursing, and Physical Therapy. Finally, the third best college to go to for health teachings is the University of Pittsburg, and they provide classes such as Audiology, Clinical Psychology, Healthcare Management, Nursing, Nursing-Anesthesia, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Public Health, Rehabilitating Counseling, Social Work, and Speech-Language Pathology.

At the University of Pittsburgh they have certain specialties within the nursing teachings which are Clinical Health Specialists (psychiatric/mental heath), Nurse Practitioner for adult, family and pediatric levels, and Nursing Service Administrations. Schooling to become a physical therapist usually takes a few years of school, but there are certain levels of degrees a person can get in this field of work. There is an Associates degree with takes about two years, and that give the person the ability to practice as PT assistants.

A Bachelors/Masters degree in physical therapy which provides an accelerated program to get both degrees quicker. A Direct Entry Masters(MPT) degree gives a person credit for finishing their Liberal Arts requirements and it gets them closer to earning their licensure with advanced training. MPT programs areas long as two to three years of schooling that needs plenty of devotion towards school work and the last year of teachings. A Direct Entry Doctorate(DPT) prepares graduates for entry positions into the physical therapy field.

There also is a Transitional DPT which is a two year program that helps people earn their Bachelors and Masters degree to finish with their Doctorate degree in order to ”bridge the gap”. Schooling is a major part in being successful in this field of work, it takes dedication, hard work, and commitment. My personal plan that I have in store for myself is a long process, but in the long run it will be the benefit of me. I currently am enrolled into Crafton Hills College, which is a community college, I plan to stay there for two year to earn my Associates degree in Physical Health.

After I get my Associates degree I plan on serving time in the military for about four years then I will depart from the military. Once I’m departed from the military I will then use my four years of free college that was granted for me from the military to go to the University of Southern California(USC). I will then take courses needed for physical therapy teachings which will take about six to eight years. In the university I will gain my Bachelors degree first, then I shall get hands on experience by practicing at a nearby hospital to get my mindset on what I plan on doing for the rest of my life.

After another two years of schooling and practicing I should earn my Masters degree in physical therapy which will give me the opportunity to apply for my licensure in physical therapy. In order to get my license in physical therapy I will have to take the National Physical Therapy Exam given by The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, after passing the exam I will then apply for an entry level physical therapist where I will hopefully find a job to start my career.

I will still be in school to earn my Doctorates degree to be a more experienced therapist, so therefore I will have a greater job security and would be qualified to earn a better rate of pay. After I earn a Doctorates degree I will continue to work until retirement to live a successful, well spent life. When I took the colors test, which Mrs. Matthews required me to take, I came up as blue. There are four colors in which you might be that are blue, orange, green, and gold.

When you take this test each answer of a question represents a color and is tallied up in points, then whichever color you answered more is the color they represent. I scored the highest in the color blue which means a person is sensitive, caring, and understanding. Once you take your test and find your color there is a tab you can press that says jobs, those jobs will help you match up with your personality to create a more successful chance of a career. As I did as followed I went looking for my predestined career of choice and as I scrolled up and down it was no where to be found.

Though this can be a sign of failure I see it as a sign of success, if I am headstrong and determined, in which I plan to be, I believe I can achieve my goal in being what I’ve always wanted to be. In my opinion, if I can show that this survey for the color coordination for jobs is wrong or inaccurate that will be an accomplishment that more personal and rewarding than most people would have ever thought. If a person wants to be what they want go for it, determination and a good mindset to her your going in life is all you will ever need to make what you want to become.

The people a physical therapist sees on the daily workforce can have a vast variety of injuries, sickness, or diseases that some people didn’t even know exists. There are quite a few areas physical therapists specialize in which are cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiology, geriatric, integumentary, neurological, orthopedic, pediatric, sports, and woman’s health. The area of cardiovascular and pulmonary health are patients that have cardiopulmonary disorders and/or those who get cardio or pulmonary surgery. Clinical electrophysiology is helps determine and records the electrical activity within the skeletal muscles.

Geriatric physical therapy focuses on all the conditions that are caused from ageing such as arthritis, osteoporosis, hip and joint replacement, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. , therapists in this area usually treat patients which are older. Integumentary therapy includes patients that have been wounded by burns, organ problems, or any skin disorders. Neurological physical therapy focuses on those who have nerve damage or diseases which include Alzheimer’s disease, CMT disease, brain injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.

Neurological disorders affect the vision, balance, daily activities, movement, and muscle strength of a person, so when physical therapist treat patients such as these they are extremely careful and cautious. Orthopedic disorders consist of fractures, sports injuries, arthritis, sprain, strains, spinal conditions, and amputations in which physical therapists for this field diagnose, manages, and treat patients with these musculoskeletal system.

Pediatric physical therapists help infants, children, and teens that have detected health problems in the areas of congenital, developmental, skeletal, neuromuscular, or acquired diseases or disorders. Physical therapist that cover for sports can focus on recreational athletes, professionals athletes, or even Olympians that have been injured in which therapist treat them by rehabilitation, therapists in this field usually have to have a specialize certificate.

Woman’s health usually applies to problems related to the birth of a child, or post-partum which include lymphedema, osteoporosis, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, prenatal and post-partum periods. Physical therapists can vary through a vast variety of fields and patients, specialization in these fields in key when working with patients. I was told by my teacher to go out and sit down with a local physical therapist to ask them questions about what they do in their daily lives, but I wasn’t able to see a physical therapist although I did get to watch them perform their daily duties with patients they work for.

The physical therapy office i decided to visit to watch was the “ProCare Physical Therapy” in Redlands off Orange Tree lane. This physical therapy office covers a certain amount of injuries to help patients improve on their daily lives such as spinal conditions, sports injuries, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, auto injuries, personal injuries, Arthritis, Carpal tunnel syndrome, and work hardening/conditioning. This office specializes in six general areas that are soft-tissue mobilization, joint mobilization, pinal traction, postural alignment training, cardiovascular and strength training, and neuromuscular stimulation in which Edward Castro, the physical therapist of ProCare, performs upon his patients. Soft-tissue mobilization helps relax muscles and improves flexibility by using methods such as a therapeutic massage or myofascial release. Joint mobilization involves hands-on mobilization to get the normal range of motion of joints restored.

Spinal traction helps remove spinal pressure to relieve neck and lower back pain, it can also improve blood flow and relaxation by mechanical or manual treatments. Postural alignment training helps a person learn how to pick up and put down heavy objects the right way, lowering the chances of lower back or spine injuries. Cardiovascular and strength training is more specialized for sport injuries, but it helps a patient recover quicker through procedure full of endurance to help prevent reinjury.

Finally, neuromuscular stimulation helps improve the function of a patient muscles who had trauma or surgery which also helps to promote pain relief, swelling reduction, and muscle relaxation. This office covers a vast variety of techniques and treatments for patients local to Redlands, I would highly recommend this physical therapist office for any person in need of a physical therapist. The people a physical therapist sees on the daily workforce can have a vast variety of injuries, sickness, or diseases that some people didn’t even know exists.

There are quite a few areas physical therapists specialize in which are cardiovascular and pulmonary, clinical electrophysiology, geriatric, integumentary, neurological, orthopedic, pediatric, sports, and woman’s health. There are plenty of colleges to get hands on experience in the field of physical therapy, but there are few schools that provide the best hands on teachings. For a person to become a physical therapist one must have plenty of education and pass a few physical programs.

Working conditions of a physical therapist are mainly physically demanding due to the patients inabilities of physical movement. For all the physical labor a physical therapist performs in the daily workforce they make a good portion of money that helps create competition for higher rate of pay. My color that I was given due to the “colors test” I scored highest in blue, which didn’t really put me under this career of choice, but it gives me a chance to prove myself through the determination and hard work to get what I really want in life.

Through all the schooling I need to succeed to grasp the career I want so badly will take about eight to ten years to get a job in which I have security of my job and a mindset to gain experience I what I plan to do. A person who goes through schooling, statewide to nationwide testing, time, experience, hard work, and dedication too be a physical therapist earns the right to be called a natural life saver.