What Are Some Pros and Cons of Being a Physical Therapist?

Question by karen t: What are some pros and cons of being a physical therapist?
I was thinking of being a physical therapist when I get out of high school and college. But Im not sure yet, I don’t know whether I want be a nurse, a physical therapist, or a teacher. I just want to know some pros and cons of being a physical therapist?

Best answer:

Answer by jannsody
A physical therapist (PT) may have a job that is both mentally and physically draining. The coursework is very challenging with a lot of information and concepts to be learned, and PT school admissions is quite competitive, too. I’m sure that the field is very rewarding though.

Regarding nursing, the curriculum is also supposed to very rigorous as well. There is no room for error as a nurse that administers medication and performs certain procedures (such as a catheter) on a patient. Nursing (and social work/counseling) is supposed to have a high burn-out rate and may also be mentally and physically exhausting.

Before majoring in “education” to become a teacher, please get a part-time job as a teacher assistant (perhaps when a bit older) to find out if one feels comfortable in that type of environment. I used to work as a part-time teacher assistant and my coworker was finishing up her “student teaching” (on-the-job training) requirement at another school and said how some of her classmates wished that they’d gotten a job in a classroom before majoring in education since the teacher needs to be able to not only teach the required material but also handle behavioral problems of certain students.

If you’re still interested in PT, how about job shadowing/observing in the various areas that they might work such as at a rehabilitation hospital for those with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), spinal cord injury/paralysis, stroke (“brain attack”) which is another type of brain injury, patient with an amputated limb, or those with a hip/shoulder/knee replacement – pediatric hospital – outpatient clinic – nursing home/long-term care facility.

For general career info: http://www.bls.gov/oco and can search.

Please only consider programs in your field of interest that is accredited within the industry:

For accredited PT programs: http://www.apta.org

Accredited programs in nursing: http://nlnac.org/

For accredited programs in teacher education: http://www.ncate.org

US colleges: http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ

For possible local volunteer opportunities: http://www.volunteermatch.org

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