Physical therapy credentials

[BASuperman]

I am a sophomore athletic training major hoping to attend physical therapy school after completing my undergraduate work. I have been looking into different areas of PT that I want to specialize in and how I can earn myself more credentials in order to increase my attractiveness to future employers and patients.

What I do know for sure is that I want to get the ATC (certified athletic trainer) and CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist) credentials. I will get the ATC after graduation and am eligible to take the CSCS test my senior year of undergraduate work if i am correct.

What other credentials would be beneficial to try to obtain? I know there are certain ones for only PT's and certain ones for only ATC's so I figure if I get a variety of intertwining and relatable ones from both careers I can gain alot of knowledge doing so and make myself a better physical therapist in the long run.

So which ones would be beneficial for me, and how may I go about getting them?

For ATC i think (PES) "perfromance enhancement specialist" (CES) "corrective exercise specialist" and (OT) "orthopedic technologist" would be good options
And for PT i think (SCS) "sports clinical specialist" and (AAOMPT) "manual therapist" would be beneficial.

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[DancerFutureDPT]

The PT credentials you can't get until after you're a licensed PT, so don't worry about that now.

As for credentials, in our class of 75 people, I only 3 for sure were licensed ATCs (several were AT majors and either never took/passed the exam, or didn't transfer their license to the state of our program), and I don't think any were certified personal trainers...honestly PT schools probably won't give much weight to CSCS/NASM certifications. If you want to get them so you can actually train people and make money, do it. If you're just doing it to look good, it's an expensive test to take just to have some letters after your name (IMHO).

 

[MsLadyTherapist]

I am a Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Infant Massage Instructor applying to both PT and OT programs. As a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine, I'm also studying personal training to eventually get my CPT but I'm in no rush for the personal training side... On the other hand, I find it very unusual that so many Physical Therapist's really don't know much about Massage Therapy. Yet, Massage Therapy is such a vital part to the rehabilitation process and has been used in sports practically since the beginning of time....

I think you are heading in the right direction. In the end it depends on what exactly you want to do with those credentials and your career.

In my case, I think I made an excellent choice in getting my massage therapy license since it applies directly to both OT and PT....and there are many additional options with mt.

In the end some companies may just need a PT and don't care for the credentials so they won't pay you any different. However, your credentials can make you versatile and give you the ability to work in other settings.
This may give you some insight: What different settings can you work in with all the extra credentials?

ex. as an LMT i can work in a Spa...
however, PT's don't work at spas...
ex. as an LMT i can do outcalls...
however, as a PT i cannot do outcalls like a 1hour deep tissue massage (about $100)...
BOTH LMT and PT can do home health
ex. as an LMT i can teach any Massage Therapy program classes....
however, as a PT i cannot teach MT program classes....


There are a few areas that are interesting because they blend---LMT's can practice certain modalities that PT's and OT's can also be certified in such as Craniosacral...Myofascial Release....and a few others...