Physical Therapist Job
What is a Physical Therapist?
A physical therapist provides services aimed at rehabilitating or preventing the conditions resulting from injury, disease, and other causes. The physical therapist provides these services to people of all ages who have functional conditions resulting from back and neck injuries, sprains/strains and fractures, arthritis, burns, amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, birth defects, injuries related to work and sports, and others.
A physical therapist's treatment often encourages patients to use their own muscles to enhance their flexibility in hopes of eventually advancing to more intense exercises that improve strength, balance, coordination, and endurance. The ultimate goal of physical therapy is to increase a patient's ability to function independently. Another aspect of a physical therapist's role involves teaching patients how to use medical equipment such as prosthetic devices and wheelchairs.
What does a Physical Therapist do?
The work of a physical therapist involves teaming up with doctors and therapists in order to rehabilitate patients with physical injuries, diseases, limitations, and impairments. Physical therapists develop and prescribe exercise schedules and frequently use applicable heat, cold, electricity, sound, and water technologies to relieve pain and stimulate muscles. Most commonly, physical therapists focus on rehabilitation stemming from injuries, but members of this group of healthcare professionals also specialize in sports therapy, orthopedics, and pediatrics.
Where do Physical Therapists Work?
Physical therapists work in rehabilitation clinics, in home care programs, in community health centers/day hospitals, in schools, the workplace, and in various private practice settings. Physical therapists are increasingly finding jobs as consultants and administrators, getting involved in research, and teaching in universities.
Career Opportunities
Projections indicate that career opportunities in physical therapy are tremendous. As the baby-boom generation ages and enters the stage of life most susceptible to heart attacks and strokes, there will be an increase in the need for rehabilitative treatment. It is also predicted that more young people will require physical therapy as advances in medical technology make it possible to save the lives of infants born with birth defects. In addition, technological advancements will also increase the survival rate of trauma victims, which will create demand for qualified physical therapists. This optimistic prediction also applies to physical therapist assistants. It is expected that physical therapists will increasingly utilize and expand the role of physical therapy assistants to cut the financial costs of physical therapy treatment.
Licensing in Canada
Physical therapists must be licensed or registered in order to practice physical therapy in Canada. Registration requirements vary in each province, with some requiring successful completion of the Physiotherapy National Examination. In Ontario for instance, The College of Physiotherapists of Ontario (CPO) requires that all graduates pass the Physiotherapy National Exam before an independent license to practice is granted.
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Call: 1 (877) 670-3426
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