Physical Therapists Essay, Research Paper

Physical Therapy

A Physical Therapist (PT) is someone who helps another rehabilitate his or her bodies after an accident or disease that would disable one?s ability to function as well.

A Physical Therapist makes it possible for people to function again therefore getting those people back into the world regularly. Physical therapists need to be skilled in many things. One of such skills is judgement and decision making. Some of the other skills Physical Therapists should have are reading comprehension, critical thinking, active listening, and speaking. Speaking is a very important skill. A Physical Therapist needs to be able to convey information to his patients and other professionals involved with cases. Others also need to be able to understand what one is saying clearly.

A Physical Therapist is required to have a Master?s degree. Training is usually one to four years. The Master?s degree usually takes about six years to earn. The University of Illinois in Champaign has a Physical Therapy major. A curriculum for a Physical Therapy major usually includes physics classes along with the usual English, psychology, and sociology classes.

A Master?s degree is the main requirement to practice Physical Therapy. The degree takes six years and there are usually seminars one can attend to better the knowledge one has. With the Master?s degree one could begin to teach about Physical Therapy as well as continue to practice.

As of 1998, there were 260 annual job openings in Illinois alone for physical therapists. The average salary for a physical therapist in Illinois ranges from$43,600 to $76,100. Physical Therapy openings come up in hospitals and it is also common to start one?s own practice.

Physical Therapists are a very large part of our medical profession. They help those people who can not help themselves. They even seem to find cure for those people that are told they may never do something again. Physical Therapist help people to return their lives to what they were before they had an accident or disease that maimed a part of their body.