How many minimum volunteer hours I need to get?

[stephilosphy]

Any ideas?

How many minimum volunteer hours I need to get to apply for DPT?

I just have about 30 hours so far, I know that's not enough.

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[hujee]

It depends on the school - some have no requirements, some have around 100. Overall, I think the more the better for every school. They want to know you know what you're getting into, that you know as much as possible.

 

[MinnDasota]

I agree, the more the better. Each school is different.

 

[katiedawn]

The program that I got into only required 40 hrs, which is what I had at the time. It was the only one I was prepared to apply for for this year. The other programs I was looking into for 2011 required anywhere from 32-75 hrs.

You might want to split your time up in different settings if you can. I did acute/outpt/big clinic/small clinic. Some programs may require a specific number of hours in the different settings.

(I had knee surgery in the spring of 2009 and had three months PT before the getting my hrs completed for the application... so I did have more exposure than just the 40)

 

[Future PT 12]

it really depends on the school. Like most people have already said, the more hours you have the better. I sat in a seminar at my school for PT's and a lady from the PT admissions department gave us this advice...


"Do not spend all your hours in 1 PT setting!"

You should divide your hours evenly among the different types of PT settings.

For Example:

20 hrs - Geriatrics
20 hrs - Orthopedic
20 hrs - Pediatric
20 hrs - Cardiac
20 hrs - neurological

This shows PT schools that you explored the various PT settings. You did not just volunteer at one setting just to complete the required hours.

The lady at the PT admissions office told us that by splitting up our volunteer hours, this would give us a + in the admissions process