Physical Therapy in a School Setting

[wstone22]

I was wondering if anyone could share some knowledge about what it is like to practice as a PT in a school system. This is something that I've been interested in, but I have not been able to find much information about it.

I'd like to know what a typical day consists of (i.e. do you go to many schools within the system each day? do you work with multiple students simultaneously?) and what reasonable expectations for salary would be (starting and after about ten years).

Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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[markelmarcel]

This is something I've debated on as well, as my first degree is in education. The only contact I have come across is those PTs that work at schools for disabled children; so they see the same children all the time,and a lot of them live on site, so they get to know the kids/families very well and are very integrated with getting the kids ready for the "real world" post-school... I don't know much more than that...

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

I shadowed a coworker of mine who left outpatient ortho to go work for a school in the Chicago burbs. I shadowed her for two full days, so my experience was limited, but still worthwhile. The elementary school she was at is half "mainstream" and half alternative...but they integrate the kids so they are all in class together. Most of her cases were CP, Down Syndrome, or autism spectrum. Depending on the student, she would either work with them in class, or bring them to the rehab room (they had PTs, OTs, and SLPs that all work in the same gyms and see the same kids, just at different times). For some of the students, it was just getting them out of their wheelchair and to help them sit up straight for circle reading time. Other kids she'd take outside to the playground, have them do stairs and puzzles in the hallway, or do an actual exercise PT session if the kid was high functioning.

The nice thing is it is school hours, so you work 8am-3pm 5 days per week, summers and holiday breaks off. She was able to do home health or other PRN work during breaks, and she and her husband love to travel internationally so they had time to do that in the summer (I think he also worked in education and had summers off). I'm not sure about pay since I didn't want to flat out ask, but she said it was less than she was making at a reputable outpatient ortho clinic, but again it's 9 months of work, not 12. Benefits are great though, and she had the same pension/retirement plan that teachers get.

I'd suggest shadowing if you can find the opportunity to do so. It's really interesting work.

 

[wstone22]

Thanks so much for your replies! This is definitely something I'm considering, and when I have time, I'll definitely try to shadow. So far, it sounds great, especially if I could make over 50K after a while. Maybe I could even work as a part-time personal trainer over the summer, something that I'd really enjoy.