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Why I Want To Be A Physical Therapist

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Why I Want To Be A Physical Therapist
In all honesty I never knew what career I wanted to pursue until I was in high school, this is when I decided I wanted to be a Physical Therapist. I decided I wanted to be in this field when my Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists allowed me to work with them and showed me what a typical day was like for them. This career was very interesting to me, fun, and is ultimately why I chose this career it was a career I would be happy to go to everyday. I am majoring in exercise science and this major will provide me with more information about kinesiology and body movement which is needed in the field I plan to discuss with you more in depth. In any field you choose to work in there are necessary skills required for you as a worker. The skills …show more content…
Their responsibilities are to diagnose and treat patients of all ages, who have medical problems or other health related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform daily functions (US Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2017). Jen Gaines says that you have to educate patients on their injury and communicate with doctors, coaches, parents, and Physical Therapist Assistants. A typical PT setting can vary they can work almost anywhere they can practice in hospitals, clinics, private out patient facilities, and they can even work for professional sports teams. In Clinics, Hospitals, etc. (Physical Therapy Career, 2017). PTs employee structure consists of executive directors, Physical Therapists, Athletic Trainers, Exercise Specialists, and Billing Managers. Work weeks for PTs can be long they are typically 40 hour weeks but the PTs work schedule relies around the patient (American Physical Therapy Association, …show more content…
and network do that you can get yourself out in the real world and involved (Career as a Physical Therapist, 2017). The local job outlook for PTs in Atlanta, GA and the DC-MD-VA area are pretty good in Atlanta there are 2,840 jobs available and in DC-MD-VA there are 3,220 jobs available. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of Physical Therapy jobs to increase by 39%. The average pay varies depending on where you practice and the location in which you work for example the highest paid PT last year made $199,790 while the lowest paid PT made $57,060. In Atlanta the average salary is $80,860 and in Washington DC the average salary is $90,718 (US Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2017).
There are many careers related to my field of choice such as athletic trainers, chiropractors, occupational therapists, exercise physiologists, physician assistants, recreational therapists, speech pathologists, and nurse practitioners (US Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2017). What all these careers have in common is that they are trying to get patients back into their daily function as well as provide the patient with care and helping them reach a specific

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