Have you ever had an injury that required months to heal? If so then you most likely needed physical therapy to rebuild your muscles. Physical therapists work with people to increase the mobility and strength of their muscles after a surgery or an injury. I think I would enjoy being a physical therapist because they help people understand how to help themselves heal. I also think it would challenge me because this job presents different problems every day and I have always enjoyed a challenge.
General Work Activities Physical therapist need to be able to perform a variety of skills. They need to be able to assist and care for others. They need to be able to make decisions about a patient’s best course of treatment and solve any problems that arise in a patients treatment. They need to establish and maintain relationships and communicate with their co-workers and patients. They need to be able to perform activities that use the whole body when demonstrating a treatment to the patient and they have to be able to use job-related information to let a patient know what they need to do. They would need to be able to develop goals and strategies for their patients. They might need to teach others about their work or explain the meaning of a treatment to someone else.
High School Courses People thinking about becoming a physical therapist should have a strong background in math and and science. Anatomy and physiology,health education, and nursing would be helpful courses to take in high school. As a physical therapist you need to know a lot about the human body and how it works, these are courses that would help develop your knowledge of the human body.
Skill and Abilities Physical therapists need a plethora of different skills and abilities to succeed in their field. A main skill that is needed is communication. They need to be able to communicate listening to their patients and understanding what the problem is and ask questions when they don’t understand. They need to be able to reason and problem solve by combining pieces of information and draw a conclusion. They also need to be able to work well with people. They need to be able to see the needs of people and help them when it’s needed.They also might need to teach an individual a certain set of exercises.
Physical Abilities Physical Therapist need to be able to stand for long periods of time and help patients walk to and from physical therapy equipment. They also need to speak clearly for patients to understand and they also need to be able to understand the speech speech of another person.Physical therapists need to be able to be in good shape because their everyday activities can be strenuous. They have to react and move quickly in order to respond to an emergency.
Working Conditions Physical therapists always work indoors. They also work in close contact with people. They are often within inches of another person. They have a high level of social contact. They are responsible for the safety and well being of their patients. They could possibly deal with patients who are angry or depressed because of their injury. They also have to communicate well with their patients and co-workers on a daily basis. They also have to be accurate and precise because errors could lead to endangering the safety of the patient. Physical therapist have to make important decisions independently without consulting other physical therapists. They have a set schedule each week usually no more than 40 hours, but it’s possible that they would work night and weekends.
Interests
Physical therapists consider relationships important. They like to work with and help people and don’t like to feel pressured into going against their conscience. They like to use their strongest abilities and be recognized for their work. They like jobs where people look up to them. They like to be independent and try out their own ideas. Physical therapists