What does a Physical Therapist do?
Physical therapists are health care professionals who diagnose and treat patients with health conditions and limited ability to move and perform daily activities. They help in restoring physical function and mobility and teach how to properly use therapeutic exercise techniques. They also help promote overall wellness and encourage healthier and more active lifestyles. They design a recovery plan unique for every patient, provide treatment and therapy to help improve and manage their condition. They provide care to all kinds of individuals, from newborns to people at the end of their life.
Physical therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physical therapist resumes:
- Conduct in-services and train colleagues in effective techniques for safely managing the CVA patient.
- Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
- Perform physical therapy evaluation and treatment of orthopedic patients and supervise PTAs.
- Progress patients' functional mobility during treatment sessions by modifying task, intensity, and adaptive equipment utilize.
- Motivate patients to participate in treatment sessions by educating them on the benefits of early mobility following cardiac and thoracic surgery.
- Experience include IFSP and IEP writing and implementation
- Design plans of care for patients including amputees, CVA's, and special needs patients.
- Evaluate and treat rehabilitation setting patients that include orthopedic, COPD, and general decline in function patients
- Provide therapy to patients who recently undergo TKA, THA, spinal surgery, cardiac surgery, or brain surgery
- Set up iontophoresis patches, perform ultrasounds, and apply heat, ice, and tens units for patients.
- Provide physical therapy services for community-base SNF and long-term care facility.
- Lead preoperative information sessions for patients schedule to have joint replacement surgery.
- Set patients up for traction and assist patients with rehabilitation exercises and different therapy regimens.
- Provide physical therapy services in SNF setting for general medical, orthopedic, and neurological disorders.
- Support physical therapists by leading patients in exercises, providing ice/heat, ultrasound and electric stimulation.
Physical therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Physical Therapists are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Home Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Detail oriented, and Dexterity.
We break down the percentage of Physical Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 30%
Prepared patients for physical therapy treatment by welcoming, comforting, providing and/or assisting patient into physical therapy apparel or apertures.
- Rehabilitation, 15%
Specialized in outpatient orthopedic rehabilitation.
- Home Health, 13%
Evaluated and treated home health patients Communicated with physicians and case managers Coordinated care with nursing, speech and occupational therapy
- Quality Care, 5%
Supervised qualified Physical Therapist assistants and Aides offering encouragement and guidance aimed at providing high level of quality care.
- Physical Therapy, 3%
Performed orthopedic/neurological skilled physical therapy treatments
- Treatment Programs, 3%
Evaluated and implemented physical therapy treatment programs for patients in an outpatient setting with a variety of orthopedic and neurological diagnoses.
Common skills that a physical therapist uses to do their job include "patients," "rehabilitation," and "home health." You can find details on the most important physical therapist responsibilities below.
Compassion. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a physical therapist to have is compassion. Their role and responsibilities require that "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." Physical therapists often use compassion in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "achieved high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion. "
Detail oriented. Many physical therapist duties rely on detail oriented. "like other healthcare providers, physical therapists should have strong analytic and observational skills to diagnose a patient’s problem, evaluate treatments, and provide safe, effective care.," so a physical therapist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways physical therapist responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "trained and oriented interns and physical therapy assistants. "
Dexterity. This is an important skill for physical therapists to perform their duties. For an example of how physical therapist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a physical therapist: "expedited hands on rehabilitation programs for patients including teaching range of motion exercises, using various modalities and massage therapy. ".
Physical stamina. Another crucial skill for a physical therapist to carry out their responsibilities is "physical stamina." A big part of what physical therapists relies on this skill, since "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving to demonstrate proper techniques and to help patients perform exercises." How this skill relates to physical therapist duties can be seen in an example from a physical therapist resume snippet: "perform specialized patient care evaluations, identify complex patient problems and integrate physical therapy treatment with other health care professionals. "
The three companies that hire the most physical therapists are:
- HealthPRO1,168 physical therapists jobs
- Select Medical694 physical therapists jobs
- American Mobile Healthcare682 physical therapists jobs
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Compare different physical therapists
Physical therapist vs. Rehabilitation technician
A rehabilitation technician is responsible for assisting therapists and other medical personnel on supporting the patients in their daily activities and physical therapy sessions. Rehabilitation technicians provide high-quality care services for the patients by administering medications, accompanying them on medical appointments, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of all equipment and facilities to prevent hazards within the premises. They may also perform administrative and clerical duties such as updating patients' information on the database, writing reports, processing payments for medical procedures, and maintaining medical charts for reference.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a physical therapist are more likely to require skills like "home health," "quality care," "treatment programs," and "snf." On the other hand, a job as a rehabilitation technician requires skills like "cpr," "customer service," "rehabilitation services," and "direct supervision." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Rehabilitation technicians earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $30,968. On the other hand, physical therapists are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $74,879.The education levels that rehabilitation technicians earn slightly differ from physical therapists. In particular, rehabilitation technicians are 8.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a physical therapist. Additionally, they're 16.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical therapist vs. Certified athletic trainer
A certified athletic trainer is a health and medical expert who specializes in providing health care assistance to athletes. They typically devise strategies to prevent injuries during training sessions and other activities, develop health care plans, and provide immediate care or first aid when injuries occur. There are also instances where they work together with physicians and other health care professionals, such as when diagnosing and treating injuries, developing rehabilitation structures, and administrating other health care services.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, physical therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "home health," "quality care," "physical therapy," and "treatment programs." Meanwhile, a certified athletic trainer has duties that require skills in areas such as "cpr," "patient care," "athletic events," and "osha." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Certified athletic trainers tend to reach similar levels of education than physical therapists. In fact, they're 3.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 16.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Physical Therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Yuri Feito Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Exercise Science, Kennesaw State University
Physical therapist vs. Exercise specialist
An Exercise Specialist creates exercise plans designed to improve health for clients, such as those at high risk for heart, metabolic, or lung disease. They work at health clubs, hotels, gyms, and hospitals.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from physical therapist resumes include skills like "home health," "quality care," "treatment programs," and "snf," whereas an exercise specialist is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "customer service," "blood pressure," and "cpr. "
Exercise specialists make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $42,086. On the other hand, physical therapists are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $74,879.Most exercise specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to physical therapists. For example, they're 1.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 16.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical therapist vs. Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a healthcare professional who works with physicians to improve a patient's quality of life. Their profession encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chronic medical conditions involving disabilities, functional limitations, and impairments. As an athletic trainer, you will typically do various tasks, including recognizing and evaluating injuries, providing emergency care or first aid, and developing and implementing rehabilitation programs. You are also responsible for planning and implementing programs to help prevent sports injuries among athletes.
Types of physical therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
