Job transitions: from PT to ... ?

[tpb]

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Hi all,

I'm curious to hear stories from former physical therapists that have transitioned to other professions, both inside and outside the realm of healthcare. I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have moved into policy, administration, and research.

Are these sorts of transitions common? Are they easy to pull off?

 

[jesspt]

Hi all,

I'm curious to hear stories from former physical therapists that have transitioned to other professions, both inside and outside the realm of healthcare. I'm especially interested in hearing from those who have moved into policy, administration, and research.

Are these sorts of transitions common? Are they easy to pull off?

I can't tell you much about moving into administration, but it is fairly easy to get into part-time research, while still practicing as a clinician. Usually, one would contact a professor at a local university with a research question and solicit some assistance. Usually, they are more than happy to provide it. From there one just starts the process: preliminary literature search, review of the literature, work out the study design and logistics of data collection, submit for IRB approval, start the project.

It's a bit more complicated and quite a bit more time intensive than I have just made it sound, but it can certainly be done.

If you're looking for a full-time research position, they are hard to come by. You would have to look at some of the larger physical rehabilitation hospitals and research centers, and to the best of my knowledge, those type of positions area scarce even in those settings.