Education
What do you have to do after graduate work to become a physical therapist?
Take a national examination
What are the 3 types of scope of practice within the physical therapy profession?
Jurisdictional, professional, and personal
What is a similarity between the physical therapy and dietetics profession?
There is a wide range of career paths within each profession (can work with different populations, in different places, etc.).
What is the consensus among most physical therapy students about learning more about nutrition?
Physical therapy students tend to want to have more nutrition education during their program.
Can physical therapists work in private practice?
Yes!
What is the name of the degree that physical therapists get in graduate school?
Doctor of Physical Therapy
How is the jurisdictional scope of practice determined?
What do physical therapists help patients with?
Diagnose patient’s functions and movement, develop individualized plans of care, ease patient’s pain, increase patient’s mobility, prevent further pain or injury, overall facilitate the health and wellness of patients
Why might some physical therapists not include nutrition education into their care, even though it is within their scope?
They feel like they have not had enough education or they are not allowed to due to state laws.
What are some of the main areas PTs work in?
Sports, surgery recovery
How many years of graduate work is normal for physical therapists?
3 years
Sally is a physical therapist from Virginia but she recently moved to California. What should she keep in mind and how does this relate to scope of practice?
Jurisdictional scope of practice varies from state to state, so she may not be able to do everything she did as a physical therapist in Virginia now that she is in California.
What determines the specific role of physical therapists?
Their specific work setting
What is one example of a specific condition physical therapists and dietitians can work together on?
Irritable bowel syndrome, Chronic constipation, Endometriosis, PCOS, Interstitial cystitis, Histamine intolerance, Mast cell activation
What area of physical therapy would have a physical therapist working for a hospital?
Surgery recovery or severe injury recovery (hospital environment)
What are common undergraduate degrees for aspiring physical therapists? (pick 2 out of the 5)
Biology, psychology, health science, exercise science, kinesiology.
Roger is a physical therapist who has a client come to him with an issue he has never worked on before. What scope of practice does this fall under and what should Roger do?
This falls under personal scope of practice. He should refer the patient elsewhere and refrain from doing anything that is outside of his scope of practice.
What is one physical therapist role that dietitians could work with?
Trick question :) dietitians could work with every physical therapist in different capacities
Why should physical therapists and dietitians work together?
Ensure that patients receive comprehensive, personalized care
Improve patient’s overall quality of life
Quicker recovery
Optimize performance
Prevention of issues PTs often work with
How many PT jobs were there in 2025?
283,700