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I am considering a career in physical therapy. I like the idea of working on my feet, the exercise component, and the fact that physical therapy is a relatively low-stress job in the health sector where I can work with people directly.
What I am not fond of is paperwork and desk work more generally. I read that many physicians spend around 2/3 of their work day on paperwork (including electronic health records, etc.). I am wondering if it is nearly as bad for physical therapists.
What I am wondering is:
1) How many hours of your week and what fraction is typically spent on paperwork/computer work/desk work and how much of your day is spent actually working with the patient?
2) Do physical therapy assistants have to do much if any paperwork/computer work / desk work?
It depends on the setting (hospital, clinic, home-health, nursing home, etc) and on the software used for documenting. Some are well-designed and you only need to click through a few checkboxes, others are a relic of the DOS era.
You need to shadow a few PTs, that way you will see exactly what's going on. Asking questions here and on SDN won't get you very far.
FWIW, PT school is very hard and very competitive, far more so than MBA or Engineering school (I've done all 3).
I just got done with some pt and both therapists told me they wish they would of become pt assistants instead and that is what they would do if doing it all over again. They basically said they where drowning in debt and don't get to spend much time doing the things they love and why they became pt in the first place.
I agree with 2nc, shadow, shadow, shadow and ask a lot of questions.
That's a very good point, thanks for mentioning it.
OP - if you do go for a DPT, don't take out more than 50K-60K in loans. Some of my classmates have debts of 120K+, which is excessive IMO. And look for local grants, as some states have special programs where they pay for part of the schooling costs in exchange for your working in an under-served area after graduation. I did that, and will be free of all obligations to my state in 4/2018. My DPT only cost me 16K.
PTA programs are less costly, but may be even more difficult to get in.
2nccoast- did you ever consider or wish you had became a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician ("PM&R")? It looks like it has a lot of overlap with being a physical therapist.
I feel like my ideal job is being an adapted physical education teacher (little paperwork, fun job); I only wish there were jobs.
did you ever consider or wish you had became a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician ("PM&R")?
No. My main reason for going into PT was how to avoid injuries for myself as I am pretty active (scubadiving, skydiving, run, swim, weightlifting, etc - at various periods of my life). That it also gave me a relatively stress-free way to earn a living was the cherry on the cake.
Why not contact some actual PTs and get their experiences?
Exactly.
OP - call up a few PTs, offer to buy them coffee/lunch and pick their brains. You'll get much better info from talking directly with them than through these forums. And after that, if you still feel like it's worthwhile pursuing this track, ask if you could shadow them for a day or two.
28 years a PT here. As mentioned previously the debt of a DPT has changed the desirability of becoming a PT. I believe the average salary is in the 70's as employee, higher if self employed but then you need to pay health insurance and pay your own retirement.
In my area, you make more money being a garbageman and you are in a stronger union with better benefits.
Unfortunately I don't recommend becoming a PT, I think PA is a better option at this time. No heavy lifting involved (many therapists suffer career ending back injuries transferring stroke patients and other incapacitated patients), better money and lots of employment options.
In terms of paperwork, yes there can be a lot. Managed care insurance wants continued updates on progress and justification for continued services. Medicaid approval for specialized wheelchairs and other equipment requires extensive documentation without getting reimbursement.
In terms of an actual documentation for a visit, PT requires more documentation than a single doctor visit because PT usually requires a series of visits and you need to justify why each visit was needed and results obtained in order to be reimbursed by the insurer.
Last edited by NSHL10; 03-11-2018 at 08:55 AM..
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