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Physical Therapist Occupation

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Occupation Paper With the employment rate of Physical Therapist predicted to grow 34% in the next seven years, job availability will be very high. The average salary for a first year therapist is $66,000 per year. In 2014, the median annual salary for physical therapists was $82,390. Depending on location and expertise, salaries can range from about $56,800 to $116,090 per year. The educational requirements to become a physical therapist include: specific prerequisite classes, a Bachelor’s Degree, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Some of the prerequisite classes are Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. It is also very helpful to have volunteer or observation experience. Once becoming a therapist, one is still …show more content…

To discover more about this occupation, I interviewed Sam Wedemeier who works at Athletico in Forest City. To become a physical therapist she had to go to school for a total of seven years. She attended Luther College for four years where she took prerequisite classes, majored in biology, and completed her undergraduate degree. After, she went to Des Moines University for three years of graduate school. Once completing that, Sam had earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She still has to do some continuing education. Her first year out of college she had four years to complete 40 hours of observation or clinics. Now, every two years she has to complete 40 …show more content…

In high school, she tore her ACL. Her therapist had her back to playing basketball quickly and she was able to play in college. Then again, she was the patient because she tore her labrum in her sophomore year of college. She was reminded of the things she liked about the therapist and the job that they did. She enjoys this career now because of how rewarding it is. Sam is able to help her patients get back to good health so they can live their life normally. Another reason that she likes her job so much is because each day is different, she never has a day just like the one before. A day for Sam can consist of young athletes, middle aged, or elderly people. Also some days are a combination of both. Each patient has a different need so that keeps it interesting and fun for Sam. Another difference is that some days she has evaluations and other days she does treatments. She said each day is very busy, but she likes it that

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