Tag: Physical Therapy Education

How to Start a Physiotherapy Career

If one wants to help others with physical problems, one might want to start a physiotherapy career. By doing so, one could learn to evaluate physical problems, create plans for patients, and see to carrying out those plans. A physiotherapy career can be professionally rewarding.

The average physiotherapist is between 25 and 54, earns $50,000 to $60,000, and works in a full-time salaried position. Many of these started out with a BA degree, but the trend is towards hiring MA degree or doctoral degree holders who are beginning a physiotherapy career.

If one is considering a physiotherapy career, the degree one gets in important. A physiotherapy aide can get an entry-level degree at a university, community college, or technical school. This is a two-year degree. After graduation, the physiotherapy aide will perform many jobs in the treatment of patients, under the direction of the physiotherapist.

To begin a physiotherapy career as a professional, one needs to get either a master’s degree or a doctoral degree. With the master’s degree programs, one may have to enter the program at the same time one starts college. At other places, one simply takes about three years of school after the bachelor’s degree. Doctoral degrees have similar requirements.

Before one gets into a physiotherapy degree program, one needs to meet specific requirements. Coursework in various life sciences like biology, anatomy are needed. Also important are courses in fields like psychology and social science.

To choose a school to prepare one for a physiotherapy degree, it is wise to consider whether that school offers clinical experiences as a part of the training. It is also important to be aware of the degrees that are available to earn, and the length of the course of study.

The final step before getting that first job to start a physiotherapy career is accreditation. The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) is tasked with ensuring that physiotherapists are fit for the licensing exam. At that point, the licensure exam must be taken and passed. Employers are impressed with high licensure scores. Once the test is complete, you are ready to start your physiotherapy career.

Once the career is started, there will be several things to consider. One is that many states expect one to get routine updates on one’s education. This can be done through workshops and continuing education courses. You will not be able to keep your license without keeping up on the latest knowledge throughout your physiotherapy career.

Also, you may want to consider a specialty. There are physiotherapy career specialties in geriatrics, pediatrics, orthopedics, neurological disorders, and sports medicine, to name a few. By choosing a specialty, you make yourself more valuable, thus earning yourself a higher salary and often more respect. Besides this, you can choose a field that is the most important to you.

You can begin your physiotherapy career by researching schools and finding which ones have the best programs for you. If you do become a physiotherapy professional, you will find both financial and personal rewards await you.

How to Check Physiotherapy Credentials

When you have physiotherapy done, you are putting your body in the hands of someone you believe to be a trained professional. Pain and disfigurement could result if the procedures are done wrong. That is why it is a good idea to check a therapist’s physiotherapy credentials.

Physical therapy aides may play a role in physiotherapy. One is not out of line to ask about what kind of physiotherapy credentials such a person has. The standard may simply be a two-year course of study at a Jr. College or a specialty school. Yet, it is important that the clinic is not just hiring anyone who walks in off the street.

While physical therapy aides can help with certain treatment tasks, it is the physiotherapist that assesses the condition of the patient. This person also plans the course of treatment and specific treatments like special exercises.

This physiotherapist is the person to whom the patient will return for progress reports and who will oversee the work of the physical therapy aide. It is very important to ask for the physiotherapy credentials of this professional.

College coursework beyond the bachelor’s degree is required for good physiotherapy credentials. If a physiotherapy candidate meets all the requirements, a master’s degree with advanced training will prepare her for work in the field.

Physiotherapy credentials to look for are: Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT), International Education Consultants (IEC), International Consultants of Delaware, Inc. (ICD), International Education Research Foundation (IERF), and International Credentialing Associates, Inc. (ICA). Regardless of whether any of these credentials are required, the CAPTE (Commission on Accreditation for Physical Therapy Education) is the first credential needed.

There are different requirements for physiotherapy credentials in all 50 states. Different physiotherapy credentialing agencies are relied upon in different states. Some require a score of 600 or more on the licensing exam. Some require on-the-job training or professional references from physiotherapists who observe them in training.

Most states also require some ongoing education to keep physiotherapy credentials current. Find out how often the license needs to be renewed in your state. Then, you will know an outdated license when you see one. If you go into a physiotherapist’s office and see an old license, ask if that is the newest one. If your physiotherapist is not able to produce a current license, look elsewhere for your physiotherapy.

To check on these physiotherapy credentials, it is possible to contact the state licensing board of physical therapists. One can find the contact information of any state’s physiotherapy licensing board online. If all else fails, ask the physiotherapist to provide proof of her own training and licensing. It is to her advantage to encourage trust by being open about her physiotherapy credentials.

There is no need to be suspicious or unfriendly about asking for physiotherapy credentials. Chances are your physiotherapist is perfectly qualified to meet all your needs for physical rehabilitation or help with physical problems. It is important to find out about the physiotherapy credentials, but it is just as important not to make an enemy of your physiotherapist.