Physical Therapists

Also Called:

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT),

Home Care Physical Therapist (Home Care PT),

Inpatient Physical Therapist (Inpatient PT),

Pediatric Physical Therapist (Pediatric PT)

What they do: Assess, plan, organize, and participate in rehabilitative programs that improve mobility, relieve pain, increase strength, and improve or correct disabling conditions resulting from disease or injury.

Healthcare & Human Services icon

Healthcare & Human Services

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
  • Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
  • Record prognosis, treatment, response, and progress in patient's chart or enter information into computer.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

Optimism

Sincerity

Perseverance

Empathy

Self-Control

Social Orientation

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Social

See Related Jobs

Investigative

See Related Jobs

Realistic

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

  • Notice when problems happen

Hand and Finger Use

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

  • Put together small parts with your fingers

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Reading work related information

Social

  • Looking for ways to help people

  • Understanding people's reactions

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Physical Therapists jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop