Are physical therapist specializations worth it?

[FuturePT24]

I'm about to enter PT school in June and eventually I think I'll want to go into teaching. Is keeping up with a specialty worth it? I've always wanted OCS after my name

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[Azimuthal]

For personal and professional development, yes. For $? Probably not unless your employer pays the fees.

 

[AP191]

From the PTs I've talked to, PTs with specialization like NCS make 10 to 15k on top of their salary. I don't know how accurate that is.

 

[DesertPT]

From the PTs I've talked to, PTs with specialization like NCS make 10 to 15k on top of their salary. I don't know how accurate that is.

That's probably very specialty and setting dependent. The OCS has become quite common, so I don't imagine a typical outpatient would be able to offer much more than an additional couple bucks per hour strictly based of that credential. But if a clinic specializing in women's health is looking to hire someone, having a WCS is going to put you in a great place because there are very few of them out there. Maybe the advantage is more in terms of hire-ability than salary sometimes too. I know Certified Hand Therapists (CHT) make $8-10k a year more than OTs/PTs in that specialty who are not CHTs, I'm guessing primarily because hand surgeons strongly prefer to refer to CHTs. As far as trying to get into teaching without having a PhD or other terminal degree, I think having a major certification (ie ABPTS board cert not CSCS or something) is going to help, especially if you are looking to go into part time teaching. If you are one of the very few CCS PTs out there, I bet you could find a job teaching cardiopulm at some program somewhere without a great deal of competition if you really wanted to. If a program is reaching out to the local PT community for someone to help with neurorehab lab, you better believe they are going to prefer and NCS. Same would go for OCS too I would think, though there are obviously a lot more candidates there. Most of the faculty I've talked to who got into teaching/working for the program without doing a PhD (aka non-tenure track faculty/instructors) landed a full-time job because of their previous experience helping with classes part time for the program.

 

[Cyrus44]

That's probably very specialty and setting dependent. The OCS has become quite common, so I don't imagine a typical outpatient would be able to offer much more than an additional couple bucks per hour strictly based of that credential. But if a clinic specializing in women's health is looking to hire someone, having a WCS is going to put you in a great place because there are very few of them out there. Maybe the advantage is more in terms of hire-ability than salary sometimes too. I know Certified Hand Therapists (CHT) make $8-10k a year more than OTs/PTs in that specialty who are not CHTs, I'm guessing primarily because hand surgeons strongly prefer to refer to CHTs. As far as trying to get into teaching without having a PhD or other terminal degree, I think having a major certification (ie ABPTS board cert not CSCS or something) is going to help, especially if you are looking to go into part time teaching. If you are one of the very few CCS PTs out there, I bet you could find a job teaching cardiopulm at some program somewhere without a great deal of competition if you really wanted to. If a program is reaching out to the local PT community for someone to help with neurorehab lab, you better believe they are going to prefer and NCS. Same would go for OCS too I would think, though there are obviously a lot more candidates there. Most of the faculty I've talked to who got into teaching/working for the program without doing a PhD (aka non-tenure track faculty/instructors) landed a full-time job because of their previous experience helping with classes part time for the program.

Desert is right about more money by just obtaining an OCS. I got mine last year and It did do too much in terms of extra income, but it opens a lot of avenues to allow for increase income, and stability in a job. Its pretty much a requirement to attend a Manual therapy fellowship, and helps put you a standard above the rest if the job market ever got saturated. If you obtain a fellowship you can teach and do research. But above all things it helps with your clinical judgment, and in a sense makes you a better clinician. I do not regret getting it, and I know I'm a better at my job for it.

As our profession continues to evolve (and becomes saturated) I wouldn't be surprised if a residency of choice in a field becomes a requirement. Then after you must pass a specialization exam to practice in that field. So, in that sense I would try to get a OCS to stay above the rest. If people are laughing at that comment, just look at the DPT. How many physical therapist have attended the transitional DPT programs out of fear that they may not be able to get hired over someone that did have one. The OCS will become standard for physical therapist wanting to work with orthopedics.