How To Become A Physical Therapist
How To Become A Physical Therapist
Physical therapy can be a lucrative and rewarding career choice. You get to help people improve their quality of life while working in a field with very little risk of unemployment. Average salary for a physical therapist range from $52,000 - 70,000. If you are considering a career in this field, you might be wondering how to become a physical therapist...
CAPTE Accredited Program The first step of course, is to go to a CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education) accredited university and get either a Masters or PhD in physical therapy. Then you need to take the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) administered by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy and get a license for the state where you wish to work. After that you look for a job. Eventually you might want to open up your own practice. These are the basic steps you need to follow. Before you actually put these into practice, it helps to do a little research. Specialities If you are doing research on how to become a physical therapist, the first thing you will need to do is look online to find out which universities offer degrees in physical therapy. Once you have found the listings for physical therapy programs, you need to look into these programs and decide which one is right for you. There are mainly five types of specialties: cardiopulmonary, geriatric, neurological, orthopedic and pediatric physical therapy. Course Curriculum To actually become a physical therapist, you of course will need to apply, be accepted, and complete the program that you decide on. This degree program will teach you all the skills you need to know, and give you good advice on how to become a physical therapist in whatever specialty you might be interested in. Courses include anatomy, kinesiology, neuroscience, pathology, orthopedics, radiology, pharmacology, and therapeutic exercise, among others. This is the biggest and most time consuming part of becoming a physical therapist. National Physical Therapy Examination The next step you will need to find out more about the licensing exam. You will need to find out what is included in the exam and where you can take it. Once you have completed your education you then need to study for and pass the NPTE and get a license for practicing as a physical therapist in your state. Job Search The final thing you need to research when you are looking into how to become a physical therapist is job search and career options. There are a lot of job search websites out there, including a few that are focused solely on physical therapists. You can use these websites to find out more about available positions in your area, as well as salary and benefits information. Once you have passed your licensing exam, you can apply for positions and most likely you will find one relatively quickly. If you have at least six months of physical therapy experience, you can consider traveling positions. Once you have figured out how to become a physical therapist and gotten some work experience, you can start looking into how to become a physical therapist with your own practice if you are interested in this possibility. |
