Director of physical therapy vs therapist

The differences between directors of physical therapy and therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a director of physical therapy has an average salary of $107,759, which is higher than the $55,943 average annual salary of a therapist.

The top three skills for a director of physical therapy include patients, rehabilitation and physical therapy. The most important skills for a therapist are social work, patients, and group therapy sessions.

Director of physical therapy vs therapist overview

	Director Of Physical Therapy	Therapist
Yearly salary	$107,759	$55,943
Hourly rate	$51.81	$26.90
Growth rate	17%	17%
Number of jobs	65,423	159,770
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	-	-

What does a director of physical therapy do?

A Director of Physical Therapy manages physical therapy services through developing strategies, policies, and procedures for a hospital, clinic, managed care organization, or similar organization. They supervise and assess the activities of medical, nursing, technical, and other personnel.

What does a therapist do?

A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.

Director of physical therapy vs therapist salary

Directors of physical therapy and therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Physical Therapy	Therapist
Average salary	$107,759	$55,943
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $183,000	Between $39,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	Walnut Creek, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Prime Healthcare	Childhelp
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between director of physical therapy and therapist education

There are a few differences between a director of physical therapy and a therapist in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Physical Therapy	Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Physical Therapy	Psychology
Most common college	Duke University	California State University - Long Beach

Director of physical therapy vs therapist demographics

Here are the differences between directors of physical therapy' and therapists' demographics:

	Director Of Physical Therapy	Therapist
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5%	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 4.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 11.3% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between director of physical therapy and therapist duties and responsibilities

Director of physical therapy example responsibilities.

Develop department budgets and manage QA adherence.
Manage PPS details efficiently to ensure high quality clinical care while maximizing reimbursement for the facility.
Attend all daily meetings including stand up, IDT, PPS, and direct and lead weekly rehab meetings.
Develop and improve the documentation system with the use of early EMR documentation software.
Direct the provision of patient care, clinical duties, and development of COTA.
Provide OT treatment for high volume caseloads in rehab, outpatient, SNF, and acute settings.

Therapist example responsibilities.

Manage ventilator and BiPAP's and create or update care plans per patient needs.
Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
Provide on-call crisis intervention as well as standard treatment, rehabilitation and support services with some interventions requiring specialize therapy services.
Develop and implement an effective curriculum of DBT inform group and art therapy classes specifically tailor for chemically dependent patients.
Provide trauma-inform individual psychotherapy, TREM group treatment protocol, and EMDR.
Utilize current brain base therapeutic techniques to teach clients adaptive skills to utilize in daily lives.

Director of physical therapy vs therapist skills

Common director of physical therapy skills

Patients, 39%
Rehabilitation, 17%
Physical Therapy, 6%
Treatment Programs, 5%
Occupational Therapy, 5%
Outpatient Clinic, 4%

Common therapist skills

Social Work, 23%
Patients, 12%
Group Therapy Sessions, 8%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Mental Health, 4%
Patient Care, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Director Of Physical Therapy
Director Of Physical Therapy vs Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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