Today, healthcare is full of countless professions, all playing a crucial part in our healthcare system entirely. Some of these professions attend to multiple different tasks and duties. While some focus on one specific thing, their importance is still evident. You may be here asking, what is a physical therapist's salary? For a fundamental reason, of course. Before entering the healthcare profession you desire, learning all the necessary information about the career, including salary, is critical to the job-obtaining process. Keep reading to learn what a physical therapist salary looks like and what an example job description may entail...
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, the average physical therapist's salary is $92,920. However, in healthcare, your average wage heavily depends on your experience and where you are stationed performing your job. Thus, how much does a physical therapist make? Here you'll be able to learn all you need about what a physical therapist is, how to become one, and more.
What Is a Physical Therapist?
If you have just begun exploring the world of healthcare, you'll want to be educated on the professions you're looking into. So what is the general job description for a physical therapist? A physical therapist is a healthcare professional heavily focused on improving the quality of life for their patients. In the simplest definition, physical therapists assist the injured and ill with improving movement and managing pain. Physical therapy heavily reduces symptoms for those suffering and can help prevent conditions from worsening. Due to this, physical therapists are often seen as a crucial piece to preventative care and rehabilitation treatments for patients with chronic conditions, various illnesses, or other injuries.
How to Become A Physical Therapist
As with any profession included in the healthcare industry, the road to getting into healthcare can be daunting and may take an extensive amount of time, depending on the specific career you have set your sights on, and becoming a physical therapist is no different. To officially practice as a physical therapist in the United States, you must earn a doctor of physical therapy degree. These can be acquired from taking and completing a Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education--accredited physical therapist education program. Upon obtaining this necessary education, you'll be able to become a physical therapist after passing a state licensure exam. If you wish to learn more about becoming a physical therapist and all of the facts, be sure to take a look at the American Physical Therapy Association website.
What Does a Physical Therapist Do?
Although we know the general purpose of a physical therapist and the healthcare conditions they assist with, what precisely does a physical therapist do while on the job? Usually, a physical therapist will receive referrals from other healthcare professionals, such as doctors. However, appointments can be made by patients on their own accord. For all new patients, a physical examination will be performed first to evaluate the patient's condition further and gain more knowledge on how to go about treatment. Some of the daily tasks of a physical therapist include diagnosing a patient's condition by observing the ability to stand, walk, and perform tasks, listening to the patient's concerns, documenting patient progress, developing care plans for patients, and more.
Should I Become a Physical Therapist?
After educating yourself on all the facts, should you still become a physical therapist? For those genuinely interested in the field, this is a fantastic option for a profession. With a high average salary that will allow you to live comfortably, physical therapy is accompanied by countless other benefits for those with the title. Due to the high demand for physical therapy, there are plenty of job opportunities for those in search of them, and the demand is only rising. Additionally, working in physical therapy can provide an incredibly flexible schedule, even strengthened if you choose to go into working per diem. However, of course, these are only a few benefits of being a physical therapist out of many.
How to Find Jobs in Physical Therapy?
If you're prepared to take the journey to become a physical therapist, you may be here in search of more work for your profession. Regardless, you've come to the right place for your desired answers. Right here at Nursa, we are home to an on-demand PRN healthcare staffing app that is here to solve all of your work needs.
What is a healthcare staffing app, and how does it work? A PRN nurse app is a solution to staffing for workers and healthcare facilities. A healthcare staffing app strives to connect workers with facilities swiftly and efficiently, giving facilities the ability to fill in last-minute empty shifts and workers the ability to pick up these shifts. PRN, or per diem, means to work on an "as-needed" basis. Hence, all of the shifts posted on Nursa are temporary, only when a healthcare facility requires the help. As a result of this unique way of working, countless healthcare workers and facilities have taken on the idea of per diem work, acquiring numerous benefits from doing so. Download Nursa and watch for PT jobs to come to your area soon!
