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Body
Work, the physical therapy field.
Article
taken from the San Francisco Chronicle /Chronicle Jobs
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Body
Work
With dozens
of specialties and a host of available positions, the physical
therapy field is wide open
By
Richard J. Berman
For the
last two months Michelle Cappello has been hopping to hire
a physical therapist assistant (PTA) to join her staff at
the Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes at Children’s
Hospital and Research Center at Oakland. So far, though, she
hasn’t received a single resume. “It’s hard
to find candidates in the Bay Area, “she says. “It’s
a tough market, a and there aren’t enough people in the
field.”
In an
attempt to lure qualified applicants to the clinic –
the only medical facility in Northern California devoted to
treating adolescent athletes – Cappello is expanking
her search to inclyude physical therapists (PT) to work with
teens recovering from sports injuries. “We just haven’t
been able to find any physical therapist assistants,”
she explains.
In such
a tight job market, physical therapists and physical therapist
assistants are in the driver’s seat when it comes to
deciding where they want to work. Sturdivant “Sturdy”
MaKee, a physical therapist at San Francisco Sport and Spine
Physical Therapy, says that opportunities in the profession
are almost endless.
“Study”
McKee, a physical therapist at San Francisco Sport and Spine
Physical Therapy, says that opportunities in the profession
are almost endless.
“It’s
huge,” he says. “You can specialize in anything
related to motion from working in a hospital to working with
top athletes. Some people like working in a hospital environment,
and others prefer private clinics.
“There
is really a job for everyone,” he says, pointing out
that there are dozens of specialties for physical therapists,
ranging from geriatrics to pediatrics.
For people
who like having on-the-job flexibility, it’s hard to
beat a career in physical therapy. Not only is there a diverse
range of available positions, but it’s fairly easy for
professionals to switch specialties.
“Your
career kind of builds on itself,” Cappello says. “What’s
wonderful about being a therapist is the ability to transfer
by taking continuing education classes to build your skills.
Having these endless options is a very attractive component
of the job”.
As might
be expected, the tight job market has caused salaries to rise
in recent years. In 2002, the average salary for physical
therapists in the United States was $57,330, but today it
is not uncommon for those jobs to command more than $85, 000
in regions of the country where demand is highest, including
the Bay Area.
Becoming
a physical therapists requires advanced academic and practical
post graduate training, and aspiring clinicians are required
to have a master’s degree in physical therapy, which
typically takes a minimum of three years to complete. The
profession is currently moving toward a requirement for practitioners
to hold a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, although
currently licensed therapists will be “grandfathered”
in. Once coursework is completed, all therapists must pass
a state
licensing
exam administered be the Physical Therapy Board of California.
“The test isn’t the hard part – it’s getting
through all of the coursework,” says McKee, who earned
his Master Degree in Physical Therapy at the University of
California San Francisco/San Francisco State University Graduate
Program in Physical therapy. In addition, many therapists
choose to join the California Physical Therapy Association,
the state chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association,
although this is not a requirement.
For people
who don’t have seven years to devote to becoming a PT
but still want to help patients regain their mobility and
physical function, a career as a physical therapist assistant
can be a rewarding one. PTA’s, who are required to practice
under the supervision and direction of a licensed physical
therapist, often work one-on-one with patients to help improve
mobility, relieve pain and prevent or limit permanent physical
disabilities b handling treatment procedures such as electrical
stimulation and ultrasound. Assistants can expect to earn
a starting salary of about $23 per hour – which translates
into more than $45,000 a year – after completing a two-year
associate’s degree from an accredited program. While
many states do not require assistants to be licensed, California
law stipulates that all PTAs must pass a state exam administered
by the Physical Therapy Board of California. Many hospitals
in the Bay Area, including Alta Bates Summit Medical Center,
have openings for PTAs to work with outpatient and inpatient
clients.
A third
option for those seeking employment in the field is a potion
as a physical therapist aide. PT aides do not perform any
clinical work, instead focusing on preparation for each patient’s
therapy session, moving impaired patients to and from appointments
and keeping therapy areas clean. Unlike assistants, aides
are not required to be licensed and there are no formal education
requirements, although in most cases a high school degree
is desirable. According to the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics, in 2002 the median annual earnings of physical
therapist aides were $20,670, although the highest 10 percent
earned more than 29,990.
One wrinkle
to being a physical therapist in California is that state
regulations prevent patients from working with a therapist
to treat an injury or medical condition without a referral
from a physician. McKee describes this approach as “archaic”
and says it dates back to statutes that where adopted in the
1960’s. Nevertheless, the climate may be changing. Cappello
says California’s practice act was amended earlier this
year to allow licensed physical therapists to “treat
wellness,” meaning that PTs can act as primary caregivers
to people who what to improve their physical strength or performance.
“We are not a ‘direct-treatment’ state though,”
she says, “so most patients still need to go through
a medical doctor to get a referral.”
While
physical therapists are best known for their clinical work
with injured or infirm patients, a major component of their
jobs takes place far from the hospital or clinic.
“Not
a lot of people know that a big part of our job is promoting
wellness in the community,” Cappello says. On addition
to managing therapy regimens, most PTs five community talks
to highlight important health issues such as preventing injuries
and avoiding overstraining and other common mistakes.
It’s
impossible to identify a single reason why people choose a
career as a physical therapist, but Cappello says that for
most practitioners it all come back to a positive interaction
with a therapist. In her case, her professional path began
to take shape in 1988 after she strained two ligament in her
know while playing on the soccer team at Villanova University.
Following her injury Cappello worked with a physical therapist
in Philadelphia to help her not only regain the strength and
range of motion in her leg, but also to return to the soccer
field. Inspired by the care she received at Villanova, Cappello
went on to earn a Master’s in Physical Therapy at Boston
University before moving to the Bay Area in 1994.
It is
jus such a great profession and I love working with teen athlete
who are trying to overcome injuries,” she says. “It’s
really the best job I could imagine.”
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