Physical Therapist Responsibilities

Physical therapists have many roles as a healthcare professional such as an educator, collaborator, preventer and promoter (APTA, 2011). For example, physical therapists provide education to patients on how diseases affect functional levels, as do nurse educators. Physical therapists collaborate with other disciplines when developing the best plan of care for patients just as nurse educators determine the best curriculum plan for students. As a preventer, physical therapist can help patients with fall prevention. Another example, is how physical therapists can promote fitness regimens for patients. Ms. Singletary works alongside several other healthcare professionals like nurses, occupational therapists, speech therapists, nurse practitioners and physicians.
Singletary, are providing exercises, assisting patients out of bed, stretching of muscles and assisting with ambulation. The most important role in client care described by Ms. Singletary is being a motivator for patients to get them back to a high level of function. A typical day for Ms. Singletary is assisting patients with ambulation, gait training, balance training and muscle strengthening exercises. Another added responsibility to the role of a physical therapist that most healthcare professionals are not aware of is providing wound care to patients. Actually, physical therapists can have a specialty in wound care treatments. Ms. Singletary’s current professional role is typical for wound care to be provided because she works in a home health setting. In the home health setting, post-operative patients are very common such as knee replacement patients or total or partial hip replacement patients. Just like a nurse, it is very common for the physical therapist to have to perform wound care to the incision site or remove surgical staples from the incision as