Questions regarding becoming a Physical Therapist

[cameronWA]

Hi there, my name is Cameron and i'm looking into the physical therapy field to become a PT. Actually I was looking into the health care field as a whole. Is it worth it to earn a doctorate which from the research i've done is the standard for a PT now? Because the pay doesn't represent the average pay of those with a doctorate..

Or should I look into other health careers.. So I guess I was wondering the pro's and con's of being a PT, and if you were a student now, would you still pursue a career as one? Or is the pay/insurance hassles not worth the 6-8 years of schooling to become one? I guess what i'm asking is if the 6-8 years to earn your doctorate is worth it nowadays in the end to become a licensed PT, and if the PRESENT day salaries for PT reflects that, if not could you please list a few other notable professions in the healthcare industry I could research?

I do not want to go to medical school, and the doctorate is just pushing it for the schooling I would do, because I dont want outrageous debt. Any help is greatly appreciated.

- Cameron

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[cameronWA]

Bump...

Sorry if i'm sounding pushy or being annoying, I have been researching medical careers for a long time and I thought PT was perfect for me, but after reading a few people commenting about their jobs, and how many think the schooling is not worth it, im worried.

Just looking for some quick advice, thanks in advance!

 

[jbizzle]

Are you in college yet? The best thing for you to do is to go observe, then make a decision based on your experience and not anyone elses experience on this forum.

We post our opinions from our experiences. I truly love PT but there are current issues that worry some of us.

 

[cameronWA]

No I am not currently in college. So I should go shadow, or get a part-time aide job to see if it's for me, then decide if I want to go thru with it.

I was also looking at possibly becoming an RN, then working for 2 years, and then apply to PA school to become a PA. But I have no idea atm, as I am still researching. Thanks for the response!

 

[jbizzle]

So if you have been researching medical careers for some time now, why is it you want to be in the medical field?

You may want to break it down little by little this way.

 

[cameronWA]

The reason I want to be in the medical field is pretty simple. I enjoy helping people and seeing the people I help get better by my actions.. which is from my research alot of what PT's get to deal with.

Also what was swinging me more towards the PT, was the fact that I don't think I would be good at handling severe conditions that some nurses and/or MD/DO would deal with. But I don't exactly know how I would deal with it, given I have no experience yet.

 

[jbizzle]

A social worker can help a kid out of a bad situation and Help them have a better life. You can be a janitor and help people by cleaning their hospital room. Ok, I'm being a punk right now lol. You should definitely get some observation hours, you know, so you can tell me what it is about PT that makes you want to be one.

 

[cameronWA]

Not necessarily helping people.. but medicine, and the human body in general. Healing methods and stuff intrigue me.. not just helping some loser thats back in rehab for the third time.. haha. Alright man good talking

 

[RBNiu]

A social worker can help a kid out of a bad situation and Help them have a better life. You can be a janitor and help people by cleaning their hospital room. Ok, I'm being a punk right now lol. You should definitely get some observation hours, you know, so you can tell me what it is about PT that makes you want to be one.

Cameron, jbizzle is correct (even if he sounds like a punk ). You seem like you still have a superficial understanding of the PT field and of healthcare professions in general. Take the time to shadow several different positions (and the variety of settings and patients too!!) that you may be interested in. But first get into an undergrad institution since many healthcare professions require a bachelor's degree. Good luck and I hope you find your true calling.

 

[dizzy88]

Agreeing with jbizzle here and saying that you need to go out and do some job shadowing to make this decision. I would suggest going to an acute setting first, that way you see what PT's do and you get a sneak peak at what RN's do as well (along with other professionals as well, OT's, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, etc). Then go to an outpatient clinic if you haven't made up your mind.

Due to all the instability in reimbursement for PT at the moment, I would say you really have to love the profession in order to decide to go through with applying. It's a long investment time-wise and money-wise!

If you have any specific questions, I'm more than happy to help

 

[cameronWA]

Thats the main thing that scares me now, that large time-devotion and the cost of school. Does anyone know what a PA's job entails? Is it nonstop assisting in surgery or is it family consultation and teaching?? I am willing to go to school for a doctorate, but I read that you can become a PA within I think it was 4-6 years? Correct me if i'm wrong, but that seems intriguing to me because that means I can get to working a bit sooner.

 

[dizzy88]

Like PT's, PA's have a variety of settings you can work in. You can work in a primary care physician's office, pediatrics, surgery, etc. I can't speak for all PA schools, but the one at my university is a pain to get into. They require A LOT of patient experience. Average age of entering students is 27 here. They expect you to go out and work with a bachelor's degree for a long time to get patient experience before you even think about applying. So, although it's only 2 years (and you get paid pretty dang well too), you won't necessarily be working sooner. But again, this is just experience with the program at my university...we are kinda nit-picky about all health care programs here haha.

 

[jbizzle]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but that seems intriguing to me because that means I can get to working a bit sooner.

Hmmm....is the motivation here money? If so PTs don't make "much" (By much I'm comparing to other high paying health professions you can get in to. I don't come from a rich family so A PT salary is a lot to me)

 

[cameronWA]

My main motivation is not money, although it is a large key factor into any career im considering, because I plan on supporting a family in the future.

Also, I was possibly considering becoming a PTA and working, then deciding from then on what to do, either further education, or staying as a PTA.

 

[jbizzle]

My main motivation is not money, although it is a large key factor into any career im considering, because I plan on supporting a family in the future.

Also, I was possibly considering becoming a PTA and working, then deciding from then on what to do, either further education, or staying as a PTA.

You may have your direction right there. Have you seen the PTA thread recently, they are in demand as well and sone of the older post from current PTAs going into DPT that they did get paid pretty good. And you only need the pre-reqs then you apply for the program. But there has been a little talk about making PTA a BS degree, idk if this will happen or how soon.

 

[cameronWA]

I've seen alot of varying salaries with PTAs as well. But i've seen a few of the making 50k easy, and many PTs say they pay their assistants very well (60k-65k). I think this would be a good start, because later down the road, since I am still young, I could always pursue a DPT or some other degree if I see it fit.

 

[cameronWA]

But also, I dont think I have that good of chances of going far in college because of so far this senior year in high school (1st tri only, 2nd/3rd still to come.) my grades have been terrible. Mainly because I got kicked out of my house and came back and been not focusing on my future. And when I say my 1st tri grades are bad I mean it, by the end of this tri i'll be lucky to get 2 D's, and 3 B's.

Will this make it very hard to get into college? (Not some extremely prestigious college, just a public university.)