Physical Therapist Schools
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physical therapists held about 137,000 jobs in 2002. Doctors refer patients to physical therapists for rehabilitation from a wide range of physical problems and this number is increasing all the time as the baby boom generation starts to age. For this reason, employment of physical therapists is expected to increase faster than the average.
Physical Therapy Training
There are over 200 physical therapy schools in the USA. Over half of these offer physical therapy degrees at masters level, and just under half offer doctoral physical therapy degrees. Therapists must pass a licensure exam after physical therapy training.
Your physical therapist training should include the following areas:
General science - biology, chemistry, and physics
Biomechanics
Neuroanatomy
Human growth and development
Manifestations of disease
Examination techniques
Therapeutic procedures.
Physical therapy schools offer a mixture of classroom and laboratory study, along with supervised clinical experience. You should have a background in the sciences and math, and it is useful to have gained some voluntary physical therapist training.
After Physical Therapy School
After graduating from physical therapy school and gaining your license, you can work in such venues as hospitals, clinics, sports centers and private practice. You can choose to specialize in rehabilitating a wide range of patients, including those with physical disabilities, those recovering from injuries, those suffering from a disease.
You can expect an excellent salary as an experience physical therapist, but you will need to continue physical therapy training to retain your license after physical therapy school.
| Schools are listed in alphabetical order by state then city. |
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