Hi i am a current undergrad at UCLA. I plan to go to DPT school afterwards. I was wondering what kind of opporunities to work with sports teams there were as a DPT. I would like to work for professional/collegiate teams etc, kind of like ATC's. But i don't know if there is any positions like that for DPT's. Also what are competitive GPAs for DPT school? Thanks.

A lot of professional teams hire physical therapists usually who posses an athletic training degree as well to sit on the bench...I know the NY METS do this...He sits right along with the other trainer...The physical therapy practice which I volunteer at does a lot of the physical therapy for the athelets at the college I go to. One of the therapists travel with some of the teams once in a while.

We just had a lecture about this in class. The speakers we had were Ph.D/ ATC and one was a PT/ATC. It is better to have a ATC degree for working with athletes b/c ATC work more closely with them. Physical therapists work more closely with patients of all ages and disabilities. If you want to focus on just athletes i would recommend you get an ATC degree although it was alot of work and the pay is not as good as a PT. The PT/ATC said she made better money as a PT, but feels once her children have gone back to college she would like to return back to ATC. As for GPA it depends on the school. I'm going to UB and was accepted with a 3.8 avg but my friend got in with a 2.9. However, no one in my class is from another school this is because they only usually accept students who were undergrads from UB. Hope this helps

so what's the real difference between ATC and PT. If PT's are "higher" than ATC, they can't just go into athletics? why are salaries so different?

so what's the real difference between ATC and PT. If PT's are "higher" than ATC, they can't just go into athletics? why are salaries so different?

PT jumped on the insurance bandwagon when medicare got started. Now PTs are providers and directly reimbursed by most all Ins companies for their services. They can generate revenue.

ATCs are trying like mad to hop on the medicare train but so far not much luck. They cannot generate as much revenue and often work as PT techs when in a clinical environment.

This is the reason for the pay scale differences.

As far as working with sports, the ATC has the advantage b/c of the emergency response training they get and the specificity of training they get with athletes. But there are lots of AT programs with 'not so much selective' admissions and there is tons of competition for 'glory' jobs like pro sports and d1 college. In this realm the head ATC/PT salaries are likely more comparable than in a clinic.

A PT/ATC is a perfect combination. I would take a PTA/ATC on the sideline ANY day over a pure DPT.

The ATC is invaluable on the sideline of an athletic team.

As a former team Doctor, and PT...the ATC is a Docs best friend.

On the sideline I couldn't agree more. ATC's are way more competent. However, I think it's tough to beat the PT's in the clinic. I know several PT/ATC's, but that's becoming less common now that the ATC is a four-year program at many universities as opposed to a certificate.

I have a good relationship with the local school districts ATCs. They send athletes to me pretty consistently (through their MD of course), with the understanding that they return to the training room as soon as they are ready. It can be a tricky balance, but it works. I still think PT's have more options for working with the athlete's than ATCs.

I still think PT's have more options for working with the athlete's than ATCs.

Regarding the fact that PT's have more option working with athletes...I would have to argue that this is false, when it comes to upper level athletes, i.e. Collegiate/professional/olympic athletes. Local PT clinics get alot of high school and weekend warrior athletes. ATC's at the HS don't have time to properly treat all their athletes, so like PT2MD said they refer thru Docs to the outpatient PT clinics.

In the upper level athletics I do know of some professional/collegiate athletic programs who employ PT's to run their rehabilitation programs. It is really a good blend. The PT can do what he/she is excels at, and that frees time for the ATC to attend practices, evaluate injuries, perform treatments, and and run the administrative aspect of sports medicine. This is more common is professional athletics because there is so much going on at one time but in the collegiate setting I do not think this is the norm. Most colleges employ only ATC's who have completed their Masters of PhD. Obviously there are exceptions but as I said the ATC role is more prominent in college athletics.

Does anyone know how many jobs are posted on the APTA website for athletics?

A PT/ATC is a perfect combination. I would take a PTA/ATC on the sideline ANY day over a pure DPT.

The ATC is invaluable on the sideline of an athletic team.

As a former team Doctor, and PT...the ATC is a Docs best friend.

DocWagner

Where would you put an ATC/PA in the sports med system? Thanks, Keau

In the upper level athletics I do know of some professional/collegiate athletic programs who employ PT's to run their rehabilitation programs. It is really a good blend. The PT can do what he/she is excels at, and that frees time for the ATC to attend practices, evaluate injuries, perform treatments, and and run the administrative aspect of sports medicine. This is more common is professional athletics because there is so much going on at one time but in the collegiate setting I do not think this is the norm. Most colleges employ only ATC's who have completed their Masters of PhD. Obviously there are exceptions but as I said the ATC role is more prominent in college athletics.

Does anyone know how many jobs are posted on the APTA website for athletics?

I do agree that you'll find quite a few ATC's in the pro/college level. This is consistent with our local pro teams here in Houston. However these jobs are pretty tough to come by. I can't pretend to speak for the athletic training profession, however I would imagine that you will find most of the ATC jobs out there are for high school and lower profile college programs. Another point is that athletic training focuses almost entirely on - well athletes. This sounds great initially but the shine does wear off over time. There are plenty (repeat plenty) of drawbacks to working with athletes. These inlcude but are not limited to coaches and parents along with - well coaches and parents.

I could have worded my earlier post a little better. I think both professions a strong. It's simply a matter of choice.

ATCs are way more suited to handle the variety of potential problems an athlete or team might have. I am both ATC and DPT. An ATC is a cross between an EMT, an orthopedic PT, and a PA, with some of the skills of each and all of the skills of none. I agree with Doc Wagner, a GOOD ATC is a team physician's best friend.

In PT school, we never talked about, let alone practiced an extraction from a pool of a diver with a cervical injury, or a gymnast with a cervical injury from a pit of foam blocks, or discussed in detail eating disorders with high school dancers, or how to treat a blister etc . . .

In undergrad athletic training, we didn't talk about cardiac rehab, or stroke rehab, or Parkinson's, or the potential consequences of CHF, how to deal with someone with dementia etc . . .

ALL professional teams have trainers, SOME (most) have PTs.