PT in a state's Department of Education

[theT333]

I am a pre-DPT student. I have become aware of a scholarship in which the state department of education will pay for 2/3 years of a DPT tuition, if the recipient commits to working for 4 years with the department of education in the school system. The state is New York in this case.

Is anyone experienced working in this setting? Or can give any insight into this setting? I have only just learned of this setting and it is quite an opportunity. Of course, you could be sent to a less than ideal part of the city and work with difficult students, but that comes with the territory it seems. The benefits seem better than average, starting salary I believe is 68-70K~. Days would end at 3 pm and the summers you do not work so there is plenty of time and opportunity to pick up more work as a PT or pursue other means of income through personal training, strength and conditioning, other forms of entrepreneurship perhaps, etc.

Last question: what does the job entail in terms of job duties in the school system?
Thank you for any and all input.

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[wiseOldPT]

School PT can be quite different than traditional. It is worth talking to some school PTs and potentially shadowing (I know that is hard right now). Many school PTs love what the do and can't imagine another setting. Some differences are that goals have to be related to education. So you can't work on something that doesn't fit into what a child needs to do in school. A lot of adaptive equipment is usually involved- things like standers, or getting seating options optimized for a child. Many school PTs seem themselves as more of a consultant working with other members of the educational team. It also varies by state and district, and even school. If you are in a school that is for high needs children, that is different than seeing a caseload of kids with more minor needs. There can also be a lot of paperwork with IEPs at least a couple times a year, but the plus is not the daily insurance hassles. I suggest talking directly with someone working for the schools in NY to learn more. A specific thing to ask them about is mentorship/training for new grads. A challenge of school based PT is you are often treating alone, so hard to learn from more senior clinicians.

 

[theT333]

School PT can be quite different than traditional. It is worth talking to some school PTs and potentially shadowing (I know that is hard right now). Many school PTs love what the do and can't imagine another setting. Some differences are that goals have to be related to education. So you can't work on something that doesn't fit into what a child needs to do in school. A lot of adaptive equipment is usually involved- things like standers, or getting seating options optimized for a child. Many school PTs seem themselves as more of a consultant working with other members of the educational team. It also varies by state and district, and even school. If you are in a school that is for high needs children, that is different than seeing a caseload of kids with more minor needs. There can also be a lot of paperwork with IEPs at least a couple times a year, but the plus is not the daily insurance hassles. I suggest talking directly with someone working for the schools in NY to learn more. A specific thing to ask them about is mentorship/training for new grads. A challenge of school based PT is you are often treating alone, so hard to learn from more senior clinicians.

Thank you for sharing that was great insight. I have never even considered this as a possibility before now so it is interesting to hear more.