Physical Therapist resume examples for 2025
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How to write a physical therapist resume
Craft a resume summary statement
A well-written resume summary is basically an elevator pitch. You are summing up your skills and experience in a few sentences to wow recruiters, hiring managers, and decision makers into giving you an interview. Here are some tips to putting your best foot first with your resume summary:
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in physical therapist-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
These tips will help you demonstrate why you are the perfect fit for the physical therapist position.Hi, I'm Zippi, your job search robot. Let me write a first draft of your summary statement.
List the right project manager skills
Your Skills section is an easy way to let recruiters know you have the skills to do the job. Just as importantly, it can help your resume not get filtered out by hiring software. Here is how to make the most of your skills section and make sure you have the right keywords:
- Look at the job listing and skills listed. You need to include the exact keywords from the job description to get your resume in front of an actual human. Do you have those skills? Fantastic! Be sure to list them.
- Include as many relevant hard or technical physical therapist skills as possible for each job you apply to.
- Be specific with the skills you have and be sure you are using the most up to date and accurate terms.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a physical therapist resume:
- Patients
- Rehabilitation
- Home Health
- Quality Care
- Physical Therapy
- Treatment Programs
- SNF
- Physical Therapy Treatment
- Restore Function
- Direct Patient Care
- Occupational Therapy
- Discharge Planning
- Compassion
- Physical Therapy Assistants
- Adaptive
- Outpatient Clinic
- PTAs
- Functional Mobility
- Nursing Home
- Patient Education
- Physical Therapy Evaluations
- Discharge Summaries
- Excellent Interpersonal
- Work Ethic
- Ultrasound
- Patient Evaluations
- Acute Care
- Injury Prevention
- Therapeutic Exercises
- Family Education
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How to structure your work experience
A work experience section is a vital part of your resume because it shows you have the experience to succeed in your next job.
- Put your most recent experience first. Prospective employers care about your most recent accomplishments the most.
- Put the job title, company name, city, and state on the left. Align dates in month and year format on the right-hand side.
- Include only recent, relevant jobs. This means if you're a fairly experienced worker, you might need to leave off that first internship or other positions in favor of highlighting more pertinent positions.
How to write physical therapist experience bullet points
Your resume is not a list of responsibilities or a job description. Instead, it is your chance to show your accomplishments and show why you're good at what you do.
- Use the What, How, and Why format. Answering these questions turns a bland job description into an effective showcase of your abilities.
- What were your responsibilities or goals?
- How did you accomplish them?
- Why were your results important? (How did it impact your company? Can you quantify the results in numbers? )
Here are examples from great physical therapist resumes:
Work History Example #1
Physical Therapist Technician
Kidspeace National Centers For Kids In Crisis Of New England
- Evaluated and treated primarily geriatric patient population with varying diagnoses, ranging from orthopedic to cardiopulmonary to neurological rehabilitation.
- Supervised therapists in all rehabilitation disciplines.
- Evaluated and treated neurology and orthopedic geriatric patients.
- Performed home assessments for patients planning to return to home following rehabilitation.
- Performed musculoskeletal ultrasounds and ionto-electrophoresis.
Work History Example #2
Physical Therapist
Lighthouse
- Received appreciation award for patient care at facility.
- Treated various bilateral TKR, THR post operative patients and managed the patient's rehabilitation till discharge.
- Supervised support staff including physical therapy assistants and rehab aides.
- Created a professional patient/caregiver brochure on Parkinson's disease to be used by facility.
- Supervised and delegated appropriate tasks to PTAs and rehab aides
Work History Example #3
Student Physical Therapist
Autumn
- Pariticipated in family education and case meetings as well as maintained 95-98% caseload.
- Assessed patients' rehabilitative needs and conducted PT programs for patients (children through geriatric).
- Initiated and conducted appropriate preventive and rehabilitative therapy procedures in coordination with the plan of care.
- Evaluated and treated in inpatient rehab, outpatient, and home health settings.
- Communicated with doctors regarding rehab protocols and patient progress.
Work History Example #4
Physical Therapist
Baton Rouge General Medical Center
- Advocated for the best interest of patients with physicians and facility personnel.
- Participated in team meetings in inpatient rehab setting and managed patient care plan.
- Worked in acute rehabilitation as needed.
- Treated various bilateral TKR, THR post operative patients and managed the patient's rehabilitation till discharge.
- Managed full caseload, Performed in-service on PNF techniques.
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Add an education section to your resume
The education section should display your highest degree first.
Place your education section appropriately on your resume. If you graduated over 5 years ago, this section should be at the bottom of your resume. If you just graduated and lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education. If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries from physical therapist resumes:
Doctoral Degree In Physical Therapy
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2004 - 2007
Highlight your physical therapist certifications on your resume
Certifications can be a crucial part of your resume. Many jobs have required certifications.
Include the full name of the certification, along with the name of the issuing organization and date of obtainment.
Here are some of the best certifications to have on physical therapist resumes:
- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)
- Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
- Certification in Orthopedic Manual Therapy (COMT)
- Certified Program Evaluator (CPE)
- Pediatrics
- Wound Care Certified (WCC)
- Master Therapist (MTAPA)
- Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS)
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA)