Occupation: 29-1120

Physical Therapists

Statistics
National
State
City
State
City
$101020
Median Wage (USD, 2024)
13200
Projected Job Openings (2024-2034)
10.9%
Projected Growth (2024-2034)
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.

Experience Requirements Overview

  • Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
  • Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
  • Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
  • Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Doctoral Degree

Related Work Experience: N.A.

On-Site or In-Plant Training: N.A.

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Detailed Work Activities

  • Communicate detailed medical information to patients or family members.
  • Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
  • Develop medical treatment plans.
  • Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
  • Analyze patient data to determine patient needs or treatment goals.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

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.

Work Styles

Innovation

A tendency to be inventive, to be imaginative, and to adopt new perspectives on ways to accomplish work.

Innovation

Achievement Orientation

Achievement Orientation

Intellectual Curiosity

Intellectual Curiosity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Tolerance for Ambiguity

Initiative

Initiative

Adaptability

Adaptability

Self-Confidence

Self-Confidence

Perseverance

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Leadership Orientation

Humility

Humility

Sincerity

Sincerity

Empathy

Empathy

Cooperation

Cooperation

Optimism

Optimism

Social Orientation

Social Orientation

Cautiousness

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Dependability

Integrity

Integrity

Stress Tolerance

Stress Tolerance

Self-Control

Self-Control

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 30.0 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. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.