Physical Therapists
O*NET files this work under Physical Therapists: people who assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury. The skills rated most useful are speaking, social perceptiveness, and service orientation. Expect to plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients. With a code of SIR, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Investigative interests also help, rated 4.9 out of 7. Getting in usually takes graduate school and often five years or more of related experience, a level O*NET calls extensive preparation. It tends to suit people who want helping, teaching or caring for people, and it offers little for anyone seeking creative work with room for original expression.
What they do
Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.
Main tasks
- Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
- Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
- Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.
- Instruct patient and family in treatment procedures to be continued at home.
- Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
- Confer with the patient, medical practitioners, or appropriate others to plan, implement, or assess the intervention program.
Skills
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Service Orientation
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and social perceptiveness.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 2.2 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SIR takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Doctoral Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Acute Care PT (Acute Care Physical Therapist)
- Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
- Home Care Physical Therapist (Home Care PT)
- Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT)
- Outpatient Physical Therapist (Outpatient PT)
Related careers
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.