Essay On Physical Therapy
Physical therapy has been in my life several times recently because of the numerous amount of injuries that have been piling up from football. Football is a grinding sport that requires physical contact every single day. This routine of bodies slamming into each other lasts for about three months every year but the after effects are felt long past the athlete hangs up his cleats. Athletes are sometimes left with debilitating injuries and that is when a physical therapist comes in to relieve some of the pain the athlete has. Physical therapist are heroes in disguise that assist all walks of people feel better faster. Regardless of age, physical therapists facilitate services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients with injuries or disease.
A physical …show more content…
therapist is an unheralded job that sometimes goes unnoticed. The pure definition of “a physical therapist is somebody who assists patients with a physical dysfunction by the use of therapeutic exercise.” (Physical) Physical therapist goes through numerous duties during a typical day, such as working with patients to create plans to relieve them of their pain, so they feel better faster through rehabilitation of their ailment. Even for being an unheralded job, “the career of physical therapist is projected to grow by 36% from 2012 to 2022, because of the number of growing chronic conditions and the baby boomers growing older.” (BLS) To become a physical therapist, one has to go through rigorous college courses and on the job training.
The United States has 218 accredited programs spread across the nation. The programs can be attended at four year universities or colleges such as University of Ole Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, and Mississippi State University just in the state of Mississippi. Several programs offer DPT programs, Doctor of Physical Therapy, which typically last three years and include clinical internships, a clinical residency program after graduation, and after a residency has been completed a physical therapist may choose to further their education by completing a residency in an advanced clinical area. The residency programs include orthopedic physical therapy, geriatric physical therapy, neurological physical therapy, and pediatric physical therapy. Some of the courses one would take over the process of the DPT program include biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and pharmacology. The courses for the program would cost around $15,000.00 to $30,000.00 at an accredited university over the attendance period of four
years. The career of physical has jobs available nationally with the career expected to grow 36% from 2012 to 2022, substantially quicker than the average for all occupations. The occupation expects to develop at an immense rate because of the growing number of conditions that require physical therapy and the nation’s largest generation the baby boomers, which are the babies born post World War II between 1946 and 1964, are growing older and need physical therapists to assist them to relieve pain and make it so they can move around around better. “The salary for physical therapists can be far between one another. For example, a low-level physical therapist starting out starts out between $65,000.00 and $75,000.00 dollars, a mid-level physical therapist has a range between $75,000.00 and $85,000.00 dollars, and a high-level physical therapist who has several years of experience and top of the field working commercially or in private practice has a range of $85,000.00 to $100,000.00 dollars.” (Slade) Physical therapy jobs are available nationally for a physical therapist and a physical therapist assistant working commercially and in private practice going from home to home. Some benefits and advantages of being a physical therapist include the median annual wage was $80,000.00 in May 2012 and several companies offer a “401k which enables employees to save money via payroll deductions on a pre-tax basis and invest into a variety of stocks and bonds offered by the plan.” (Drayer) Also, some companies such as Drayer physical therapy institute which is now the parent company for Batson’s physical therapy “offers medical and vision, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, accidental death, and dismemberment insurance.” (Drayer) Depending on the company, Drayer for example offer paid time off and paid holidays starting from year two of full time employment and increases the more time an employee works for the company. “The career of physical therapist may have one of the highest job satisfaction levels in the country, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey, make physical therapy an appealing field to enter.” (Wagner). One advantage a physical therapist has is that from the beginning of the field most people enter wanting to assist people and make people feel better and recover, so the individual benefits from some of the satisfaction that assisting people brings.
The drawbacks and disadvantages of being a physical therapist can be daunting, but it can be rewarding to the right person. Starting off in college, the courses a student has to take will cost an arm and a leg. A student has to plan on going to school for years to obtain the necessary degrees then have to attend to receive a postgraduate degree and attend a doctoral program. Once a physical therapist starts the work a full-time schedule including some weekends and then the physical therapist soon realize that the job is more physically demanding than they previously thought. They must be hands on all day and supporting the full weight of the patients. Once a physical therapist finally becomes settled into their job, they soon receive a notice of a license renewal that must be renewed every couple years by doing paperwork and taking a state by state determined amount of required hours at a university to learn new techniques to keep up with the advancement of the medical field. A physical therapist sometimes “work in outpatient clinics, inpatient rehabilitation clinics, schools, homes, industrial, workplace, and other occupational environments.”(apta) Physical therapists can sometimes have working, mental, and emotional stress from all of the demands of the job. This is because several physical therapists enter the field wanting to aid people feel better and the problem with this is when the patient comes to the physical therapist in pain. “Physical therapy has a high burnout rate. The long hours of intense one-on-one time is emotionally fatiguing. And while we universally love our patients, there’s always one rotten apple in the bunch who just breaks you down.” (Levine) Complications may arise and patients may not progress as well as the physical therapist may have hoped. The patient may be more of hindrance to themselves by not adhering to the physical therapist’s direct orders causing some emotional stress. Stress is a part of every job and the individual has find ways to live their own life by using their personal free time on themselves.
Physical therapists officially can be traced back to the start of the twentieth century and World War I with the injured men needing aid. Physical therapists or physiotherapists at the time were field doctors or regular doctors during this time and started this new position.
With this new position, “physical therapists formed their first professional association in 1921, called the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association. Led by President Mary McMillan, an executive committee of elected officers governed the association, which included 274 charter members. In 1922, the association changed its name to the American Physiotherapy Association (APA). In the 1930s, APA introduced its first "Code of Ethics," men were admitted, and membership grew to just under 1,000.” (apta) With the looming war on the horizon with Nazi Germany and imperial japan then the “nationwide polio epidemic during the 1940s and 1950s, physical therapists were in greater demand than ever before. The association's membership swelled to 8,000 and the number of physical therapy education programs across the US increased from sixteen to thirty-nine. By the late 1940s, the association had changed its name to the American Physical Therapy Association, hired a full-time staff, and opened its first office in New York City. A House of Delegates representing chapter members was established to set APTA policies. The House elected a Board of Directors, previously the Executive Committee, to manage the association. In addition, sections were created to promote and develop specific objectives of the profession. The first two sections were the School and Private Practice sections.
In the 1960s, APTA membership reached almost 15,000, and the number of education programs nationwide grew to 52. Now headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, APTA represents more than 90,000 members throughout the United States. A national professional organization, APTA's goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education. Currently 213 institutions offer physical therapy education programs and 309 institutions offer physical therapist assistant education programs in the United States.” (apta) Physical therapist have seen their profession come from absolute nothing to a thriving career over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. My mentor, Austin Slade, has helped me tremendously over the course of this project by giving me ideas and insight into his profession. At just twenty-three years old, Mr. Slade is at Batson’s Physical Therapy for less than one year; although, he is young, he has a number of internships which include Providence Hospital in Mobile, Alabama, Gulfport Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Picayune Physical Therapy. Mr. Slade spent two years studying to become a physical therapist assistant and graduated from Pearl River Community College with an Associate’s of Physical Therapist Assistant degree and has his license to practice as a physical therapy assistant (PTA). Being young is unique for the position as he recently graduated from college, so Mr. Slade can relate to the younger population, which helped in our relationship when I was down on myself, in an occupation which mainly deals with an older demographic. Mr. Slade will never know how grateful I am of him because without him this project would not have been possible. Even though physical therapy has been in my life numerous times recently because of the numerous amount of injuries that have piled up from football, I would not be at the point I am now without the aid of a physical therapists and their assistants. Although football is a grinding sport that requires physical contact every single day, my body has been held together and strengthened by the exercises that my mentor has taught me through this project. Football is a routine of bodies slamming into each other which lasts for about three months every year but the after effects are lessened with the support of physical therapists across the nation. Athletes are sometimes left with debilitating injuries and that is when a physical therapist comes in to assist and relieve some of the pain the athlete has. Physical therapist are heroes in disguise that assist all walks of people feel better faster. Regardless of age, physical therapists provide services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients with injuries or disease.
A physical …show more content…
therapist is an unheralded job that sometimes goes unnoticed. The pure definition of “a physical therapist is somebody who assists patients with a physical dysfunction by the use of therapeutic exercise.” (Physical) Physical therapist goes through numerous duties during a typical day, such as working with patients to create plans to relieve them of their pain, so they feel better faster through rehabilitation of their ailment. Even for being an unheralded job, “the career of physical therapist is projected to grow by 36% from 2012 to 2022, because of the number of growing chronic conditions and the baby boomers growing older.” (BLS) To become a physical therapist, one has to go through rigorous college courses and on the job training.
The United States has 218 accredited programs spread across the nation. The programs can be attended at four year universities or colleges such as University of Ole Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, and Mississippi State University just in the state of Mississippi. Several programs offer DPT programs, Doctor of Physical Therapy, which typically last three years and include clinical internships, a clinical residency program after graduation, and after a residency has been completed a physical therapist may choose to further their education by completing a residency in an advanced clinical area. The residency programs include orthopedic physical therapy, geriatric physical therapy, neurological physical therapy, and pediatric physical therapy. Some of the courses one would take over the process of the DPT program include biomechanics, anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and pharmacology. The courses for the program would cost around $15,000.00 to $30,000.00 at an accredited university over the attendance period of four
years. The career of physical has jobs available nationally with the career expected to grow 36% from 2012 to 2022, substantially quicker than the average for all occupations. The occupation expects to develop at an immense rate because of the growing number of conditions that require physical therapy and the nation’s largest generation the baby boomers, which are the babies born post World War II between 1946 and 1964, are growing older and need physical therapists to assist them to relieve pain and make it so they can move around around better. “The salary for physical therapists can be far between one another. For example, a low-level physical therapist starting out starts out between $65,000.00 and $75,000.00 dollars, a mid-level physical therapist has a range between $75,000.00 and $85,000.00 dollars, and a high-level physical therapist who has several years of experience and top of the field working commercially or in private practice has a range of $85,000.00 to $100,000.00 dollars.” (Slade) Physical therapy jobs are available nationally for a physical therapist and a physical therapist assistant working commercially and in private practice going from home to home. Some benefits and advantages of being a physical therapist include the median annual wage was $80,000.00 in May 2012 and several companies offer a “401k which enables employees to save money via payroll deductions on a pre-tax basis and invest into a variety of stocks and bonds offered by the plan.” (Drayer) Also, some companies such as Drayer physical therapy institute which is now the parent company for Batson’s physical therapy “offers medical and vision, dental, short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, accidental death, and dismemberment insurance.” (Drayer) Depending on the company, Drayer for example offer paid time off and paid holidays starting from year two of full time employment and increases the more time an employee works for the company. “The career of physical therapist may have one of the highest job satisfaction levels in the country, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey, make physical therapy an appealing field to enter.” (Wagner). One advantage a physical therapist has is that from the beginning of the field most people enter wanting to assist people and make people feel better and recover, so the individual benefits from some of the satisfaction that assisting people brings.
The drawbacks and disadvantages of being a physical therapist can be daunting, but it can be rewarding to the right person. Starting off in college, the courses a student has to take will cost an arm and a leg. A student has to plan on going to school for years to obtain the necessary degrees then have to attend to receive a postgraduate degree and attend a doctoral program. Once a physical therapist starts the work a full-time schedule including some weekends and then the physical therapist soon realize that the job is more physically demanding than they previously thought. They must be hands on all day and supporting the full weight of the patients. Once a physical therapist finally becomes settled into their job, they soon receive a notice of a license renewal that must be renewed every couple years by doing paperwork and taking a state by state determined amount of required hours at a university to learn new techniques to keep up with the advancement of the medical field. A physical therapist sometimes “work in outpatient clinics, inpatient rehabilitation clinics, schools, homes, industrial, workplace, and other occupational environments.”(apta) Physical therapists can sometimes have working, mental, and emotional stress from all of the demands of the job. This is because several physical therapists enter the field wanting to aid people feel better and the problem with this is when the patient comes to the physical therapist in pain. “Physical therapy has a high burnout rate. The long hours of intense one-on-one time is emotionally fatiguing. And while we universally love our patients, there’s always one rotten apple in the bunch who just breaks you down.” (Levine) Complications may arise and patients may not progress as well as the physical therapist may have hoped. The patient may be more of hindrance to themselves by not adhering to the physical therapist’s direct orders causing some emotional stress. Stress is a part of every job and the individual has find ways to live their own life by using their personal free time on themselves.
Physical therapists officially can be traced back to the start of the twentieth century and World War I with the injured men needing aid. Physical therapists or physiotherapists at the time were field doctors or regular doctors during this time and started this new position.
With this new position, “physical therapists formed their first professional association in 1921, called the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association. Led by President Mary McMillan, an executive committee of elected officers governed the association, which included 274 charter members. In 1922, the association changed its name to the American Physiotherapy Association (APA). In the 1930s, APA introduced its first "Code of Ethics," men were admitted, and membership grew to just under 1,000.” (apta) With the looming war on the horizon with Nazi Germany and imperial japan then the “nationwide polio epidemic during the 1940s and 1950s, physical therapists were in greater demand than ever before. The association's membership swelled to 8,000 and the number of physical therapy education programs across the US increased from sixteen to thirty-nine. By the late 1940s, the association had changed its name to the American Physical Therapy Association, hired a full-time staff, and opened its first office in New York City. A House of Delegates representing chapter members was established to set APTA policies. The House elected a Board of Directors, previously the Executive Committee, to manage the association. In addition, sections were created to promote and develop specific objectives of the profession. The first two sections were the School and Private Practice sections.
In the 1960s, APTA membership reached almost 15,000, and the number of education programs nationwide grew to 52. Now headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, APTA represents more than 90,000 members throughout the United States. A national professional organization, APTA's goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education. Currently 213 institutions offer physical therapy education programs and 309 institutions offer physical therapist assistant education programs in the United States.” (apta) Physical therapist have seen their profession come from absolute nothing to a thriving career over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. My mentor, Austin Slade, has helped me tremendously over the course of this project by giving me ideas and insight into his profession. At just twenty-three years old, Mr. Slade is at Batson’s Physical Therapy for less than one year; although, he is young, he has a number of internships which include Providence Hospital in Mobile, Alabama, Gulfport Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Mississippi, and Picayune Physical Therapy. Mr. Slade spent two years studying to become a physical therapist assistant and graduated from Pearl River Community College with an Associate’s of Physical Therapist Assistant degree and has his license to practice as a physical therapy assistant (PTA). Being young is unique for the position as he recently graduated from college, so Mr. Slade can relate to the younger population, which helped in our relationship when I was down on myself, in an occupation which mainly deals with an older demographic. Mr. Slade will never know how grateful I am of him because without him this project would not have been possible. Even though physical therapy has been in my life numerous times recently because of the numerous amount of injuries that have piled up from football, I would not be at the point I am now without the aid of a physical therapists and their assistants. Although football is a grinding sport that requires physical contact every single day, my body has been held together and strengthened by the exercises that my mentor has taught me through this project. Football is a routine of bodies slamming into each other which lasts for about three months every year but the after effects are lessened with the support of physical therapists across the nation. Athletes are sometimes left with debilitating injuries and that is when a physical therapist comes in to assist and relieve some of the pain the athlete has. Physical therapist are heroes in disguise that assist all walks of people feel better faster. Regardless of age, physical therapists provide services that restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients with injuries or disease.