At Physical Therapy Colleges, Learn to Help Others Improve Movement and Reduce Pain

On a whole, the role of the physical therapist is to provide services that help individuals improve mobility, alleviate pain and to prevent or limit physical disabilities as the result of disease or injury. Physical therapists play an important role by promoting fitness and health and their patients not only include accident victims but also individuals with disabling conditions such as lower back pain, heart disease and cerebral palsy. Job opportunities for physical therapists are good, especially in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Individuals who wish to pursue a career as a physical therapist typically need a master's degree from accredited physical therapy colleges, along with a State license.

There are actually several different types of master's degrees offered through various physical therapist schools. When the profession was still in its early stages, only a Bachelor's Degree was required, but today that has been replaced by Master's and Doctorate degrees. For example, there is the Direct Entry Master's Physical Therapy Degree which is a perfect choice for those that have completed their Bachelor degree, it's a two year long program with the second year consisting of field work. There is also the Direct Entry Doctorate, which is similar to the Master's degree and is typically one year longer.

After you have determined what kind of degree you are going to pursue, Masters or Doctorate, and researched the requirements, you then need to determine which physical therapy colleges you are going to apply to, and depending on which school you choose, you will have different programs to study. Some programs you will find it necessary to study are Patient Care Fundamentals, Clinical Education and Medical Terminology.

There are many physical therapy colleges located throughout the United States. You can do a comprehensive online search to find the best one for you, depending on where you live and what degree you wish to pursue. One important consideration to keep in mind before choosing a school is the size of the physical therapy program as well as the educational curriculum. You need to ensure that the classes you take will best meet your needs.