what education and training is required to be a physical therapist

Physical therapists aid injured and ill patients manage their pain, better their range of motion, and get back to operation at their highest potential.

Joining this rewarding career requires years of teaching, mastery of a variety of skills, and both national and state licensure. To assistance you lot go started on your path to becoming a licensed physical therapist, we outline half-dozen steps, plus other requirements to call back about.

Table of Contents

• Concrete Therapy Instruction
• Concrete Therapy Requirements
• Afterward Graduation
• Launching Your Physical Therapy Career

Concrete Therapy Instruction

Whether you lot're currently in high school or college, choosing a grad school that offers a robust DPT degree will exist an important step forth your journey to becoming a practitioner.

Step one: Earn a Available's Degree in a Related Field

Typically, students will need to earn a bachelor's degree in a field related to health science, exercise, and/or sports. For some graduate programs, students may besides be required to complete specific prerequisites, such every bit courses in physics, kinesiology, biology, chemical science, physiology, and anatomy.

Enquiry the prerequisites of the doctoral degree programs yous are interested in and exist sure to take the classes you need.

Step 2: Complete a Doctor of Concrete Therapy Degree

Adjacent, students must enroll in and complete an accredited Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program. DPT degree programs brainstorm with didactic courses in pathophysiology, imaging, biomechanics, anatomy, and more than. During the second year of the plan, students consummate their white coat ceremony and enter the clinic for easily-on rotations supervised by a clinical instructor.

More innovative schools may also include a simulation component. For instance, the Academy of St. Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS)—the largest PT school in the United States 1 —features a state-of-the-art simulation center on each of its five campuses. There, DPT students have the chance to practice clinical interactions with mock patients earlier they enter the clinic.

Some graduate schools also offer innovative scheduling options. USAHS offers its DPT program in ii formats:

• Residential DPT: This format blends online coursework with in-person clinical labs on weekdays. It typically takes less than three years to complete.
• Flex DPT: This format blends online coursework with in-person clinical labs on select weekends each month. Designed for working students, it typically takes four years to complete.^one

Learn More than About Our DPT Programs

Physical Therapy Requirements

Afterwards you lot obtain your doctoral degree, you must become licensed in the land where you will practice.

Step 3: Pass the NPTE

In order to become a licensed concrete therapist, you must pass the National Physical Therapy Test (NPTE), which is given by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT). The estimator-administered exam consists of 250 multiple-choice questions split into 5 sections. It is scored on a scale of 200–800; scoring a 600 or above is considered passing. The NPTE is offered four times each twelvemonth: in January, April, July, and October. The FSBPT allows candidates to take it upwards to 3 times in one yr. In 2019, 91% of first-fourth dimension candidates who were graduates of
U.S.–accredited PT programs passed the NPTE.²

Pace four: Obtain a License to Practice

Licensure looks unlike within each state. Almost states require practitioners not only to pass the NPTE simply likewise to fulfill boosted criteria, such as compliance training, background checks, etc. To maintain licensure, physical therapists must come across standing education requirements every two years in most states. Continuing education courses go on physical therapists electric current with the wellness professions ' standards and trends.

Check with your country board to learn almost your licensing requirements.

After Graduation for Physical Therapists

Once y'all've go a licensed physical therapist, you may consider furthering your practise with a residency or fellowship program. Or, you can get board-certified with a specialty focus.

Step 5: Complete a Residency Program (optional)

A clinical residency is a post-graduate program that includes additional training, coursework, and clinical experiences. A residency is a expert way to brainstorm specializing in your surface area of greatest involvement. Concrete therapy fellowship programs are also available.

Pace 6: Earn Board Certification (optional)

After becoming licensed and gaining piece of work experience in the field, physical therapists have the opportunity to become board-certified clinical specialists through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS).

In that location are ten specialty areas of physical therapy: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary, Clinical Electrophysiology, Geriatrics, Neurology, Oncology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Sports, Wound Management, and Women'southward Health.

In order to become board-certified, applicants must at a minimum pass the National Concrete Therapy exam and consummate an American Physical Therapy Association -accredited residency program, or at to the lowest degree 2,000 hours of clinical experience . Boosted requirements may apply depending on the specialty area .

Launching Your Physical Therapy Career

Physical therapy is a rewarding career path—you'll take the opportunity to alter people'south lives for the better using traditional methods and some non-traditional treatments like cupping therapy. Here are some other aspects to consider as you prepare to launch your career.

Which Qualities Should a Physical Therapist Cultivate?

Qualities that will help you lot in your PT career include compassion, communication skills, attending to detail, dexterity, physical stamina, creative thinking, and the power to manage time wisely.

Where Do Concrete Therapists Work?

The physical therapy profession will require you to work across many different settings with a multifariousness of patient ages and issues, then you volition have a wealth of options and opportunities when start your physical therapy do .

Concrete therapy settings include:

• Hospitals
• Outpatient clinics
• Sports grooming and fitness centers
• Inpatient rehabilitation facilities
• Nursing and extended intendance facilities
• Patient homes
• Schools and education centers
• Virtually

If you have a taste for independence and entrepreneurship, you lot can choose to start your own private do. Alternatively, you could pursue a part in healthcare leadership or join an existing role with other physical and occupational therapists.

How Long Does It Take to Become a Physical Therapist?

Becoming a physical therapist tin can take anywhere from three to eight years. Before you can enroll in a Doctor of Concrete Therapy caste programme or DPT program, you must first earn a bachelor'due south degree from an accredited institution, ideally with a major in wellness scientific discipline . A available's degree typically takes three to iv years to complete for full-time students. Then y'all will need to enroll in a Doctor of Physical Therapy or DPT program , which volition accept about three to four years to consummate.

How Much Do Physical Therapists Make?

The median salary for a physical therapist was $89,440^three in 2019. However, salaries vary widely based on the position, setting, experience level, educational activity level, and geographic location.

At the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, nosotros offer an esteemed Md of Physical Therapy program that challenges students to be versatile, empathetic, and well-skilled practitioners. Our DPT students learn to assess patients, create handling plans, and use hands-on therapy techniques in existent-world simulations.

The largest PT schoolhouse in the United states of america,* the University of St. Augustine for Wellness Sciences (USAHS) offers a easily-on Medico of Concrete Therapy (DPT) degree. Join a collaborative cohort of peers who larn under the mentorship of expert faculty-practitioners. Practice with mock and real patients in our state-of-the-fine art simulation centers and acquire beefcake with our high-tech tools. Prepare for clinical practice with a broad range of patients, too as for avant-garde roles in research, do leadership, and policymaking. Residential (online coursework + in-person labs on weekdays) and Flex (online coursework + in-person labs on weekends) formats are available.

*Based on total DPT degrees conferred, as reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Educational activity Data System (IPEDS). Data is captured past IPEDS through interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education'due south National Eye for Education Statistics (NCES). https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/

1. The program is designed to exist completed in this amount of time; yet, the fourth dimension to completion may vary by pupil, depending on individual progress, credits transferred, and other factors. [↩]
2. FSBPT, "NPTE Examination Year Reports": https://www.fsbpt.org/Free-Resources/NPTE-Pass-Rate-Reports/NPTE-Exam-Year-Reports [↩]
3. Agency of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook , "Physical Therapists," terminal modified Sept. 1, 2020: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physical-therapists.htm [↩]

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Source: https://www.usa.edu/blog/how-to-become-a-physical-therapist/

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