wannabeapharm said:Anyone in here majored in Physical therapy or works in the field? I'm curious about it and would like some personal insight on it
Thanks
lawguil said:What would you like to know?
Pt is a great field with great opportunities if you like ortho, neuro, cardio-pulmonary, sports rehab. On the flip side, PT is moving towards a clinical doctorate for entry level standards, however has very little to do with educational advancement. It is mainly an attempt at obtaining direct access, better reimbursement and appearing more qualified. The problem with the clinical doctorate for the student and potentially the profession is higher costs for education vs. relatively low wages and it will likely reduce the number of licensed PT's who pursue academic degrees.
PT is a wonderful education and profession. If you are interested in a program, look at the pre-reqs. for the program, shadow a PT and then explore all your options. L.
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truthseeker said:I agree with this response. The best way to find out is to shadow a professional. That said, there are many different settings that PTs practice in. Some work only in school settings, some with neuro patients, some with only ortho patients, some run or work in cardiac rehab settings, or do work hardening. There is a large variation of the type of job in each of these settings although the basic education in PT school prepares you for each.
There has been a lot of talk about the cost of a clinical doctorate vs the increased earning power. I am getting my DPT now and I don't really find it too financially challenging. When I was in PT school (16 years ago) it was a slam dunk to go once I was accepted. I think that the ratio of earnings to debt is not that much different than it was then. I made $30K out of school and my annual tuition in PT school was about $12K. I didn't have much debt coming out of undergrad because I worked through school. It is doable.
The advantage of the DPT is that it is more education. That prepares us better to recognize things that we are not trained to treat and refer appropriately.
Good luck.
wannabeapharm said:Thanks alot for the repsonses I appreciate it...What is the avg salary now for those who are graduating with a PT degree..most schools have gone into the DPT and some have the MPT degree and not many have the Bachelor in PT...
The schools that offer a degree in PT aren't expensive as an MD program
What is the best way to ask/find a PT to shadow? Is there job security in this profession unlike some other professions? I thought maybe it would be best to work at a hospital since I thought they provide the most job security
Chiropractice seems to be in relation to PT in my opinion...
Thanks
truthseeker said:I agree with Jac and Law, the degree might not matter now, but 15 years from now, it might if you are applying to a job. When we hire new grads, it is at about $50K but we are rural and it is harder to entice people to move out here.
The job security is actually quite good. There was a dip in the demand for about 2 years in 2000-2001 but that has equilibrated.
I think the best way to shadow, is just to call a clinic or hospital, preferably one that does some clinical education, but it is not that critical, and just ask if you can shadow. They probably get asked that all the time. You might have to have a TB test and watch some confidentiality and blood borne pathogen videos if you plan to shadow more than 1 or 2 days.
Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Good luck.
wannabeapharm said:So, how is a PT different from a Chiropractor and which is best?
awdc said:If you have concerns about job security, you can scratch chiropractic off your list of options. I think all chiropractors will agree with me that in general, making it as a DC is tougher than every other mainstream health profession. Reimbursement and demand for chiropractic services just aren't sufficient for the number of graduates and loans accrued in chiropractic school.
The thing with chiropractors is that you have some that will practice very similarly to PTs and some that will practice very differently from PTs (i.e. alternative medicine). Those that choose to practice more similarly to PTs find it tougher to generate an income they would like. The quality of training in exercise and rehabilitation varies among chiropractic schools as well. Some chiropractic schools will also lead you to believe that you have sufficient education and training to be a primary care doctor. Invariably, all chiropractic schools suffer from a clinical education that is less than desirable. Basic sciences education are sufficient for what chiropractors need to know (if they stick with functional musculoskeletal conditions) but not beyond that (i.e. not for becoming a patient's primary care doctor). Sadly, much of your success as a chiropractor comes not from your clinical acumen but how good of a business/sales person you are.
Don't get me wrong, there are some very good, ethical chiropractors out there. However, it's a gamble. Do you want to gamble $100K and years of your life to see if you can make it as a chiropractor? Basically, until the chiropractic profession can decide what it wants to be and clean house, I would stay away from it unless you really have a deep-rooted calling to become a chiropractor and understand all the hurdles you will face. That's my opinion as a former chiropractor.
wannabeapharm said:MUCH THANKS To your reply and advice....Hoenstly , I was curious about the career asw a chiropractor..I knew moreso of it being hard to pratice as one but it wasnt a choice of mines as a career...So you are a 'former' chiropractor...mind if I ask what happened? I definitely want to work in healthcare but my gpa is what bothers me so much..I work full time and can take maybe 2 or 3 classes a term but it may be limited b/c of work and also that my employer may not reimburse me for all these science classes or pre reqs since they arent related to my job...in my profession, I find it hard to get employment as well& I dont want to go thru this again with a degree...
So with that said yeah Pharmacy, PT/OT and Nursing are my options that I am considering..but its seems Nursing would be easier to get into but i want something that has good pay, work environemtn so I will be happy and eager to go to work..the turn off about nursing is you may have to work grave yard shift.....So I need Chem I,II, Org Chem Chem I, II, Maybe Physics as well or Anatomy..
So could you tell me how you made a transition
awdc said:To make long story short, my interest in chiropractic dropped during school and my interest in medicine went up during the latter part of chiropractic school. I'm a very science-minded kind of guy but I didn't want to practice as a quasi-PT. I wanted to be a physician. I felt limited and bored just treating mechanical musculoskeletal conditions (much of it being back pain). The financial difficulties of chiropractors and my own experience of trying to find a position that would even offer an adequate salary also turned me off. Since chiropractic pre-reqs were pretty much identical to med school, all I really needed to do was take the MCAT and apply just like everyone else.
I would advise you to go to the pre-professional advising office of the college/university. They usually have flyers on the pre-reqs you need to get into certain health professions. The good thing about the health professions is that there's a lot of overlap in pre-reqs.
By the way, even in pharmacy you might have to work graveyard shifts. And I would agree, it's important that you find out what you would like to do. More realistically, what would you not mind doing for the rest of your working life?
I know it's gotta be tough for you to have to work and go to class. Just don't bite off more than you can chew. There's no sense in taking too many classes just to end up not doing very well. Best wishes to you.