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.
Director of physical therapy responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of physical therapy resumes:
- 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.
- Participate and contribute to the interdisciplinary care team.
- Document and chart functional levels utilizing progress notes and interdisciplinary care team.
- Implement specialized rehabilitation treatment plans in order to regain strength and flexibility as well improve balance and coordination.
- Work with post-operative patients who undergo different types of arthroscopic surgeries such as reverse-total-shoulder, total-hip, and total-knee-replacements.
- Assist therapist in routines; following directional verbal communications with therapist in order to interact with assistance in patients' recovery.
- Maintain budget expectations with management of rug levels andrevenue from other payer sources.
- Supervise the fabrication of therapeutic splints and orthotic adaptations.
Director of physical therapy skills and personality traits
We calculated that 39% of Directors Of Physical Therapy are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Physical Therapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Dexterity, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Physical Therapy that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 39%
Developed and managed outpatient physical therapy facility for large rural medical group * Responsible for treatment of full caseload of patients
- Rehabilitation, 17%
Shadowed occupational therapist in an acute rehabilitation setting * Observed inpatient assessments and interventions * Assisted with ADL intervention preparation
- Physical Therapy, 6%
Created physical therapy department in chiropractor office by designing layout of clinic, establishing operating policies, and procuring equipment.
- Treatment Programs, 5%
Planned treatment programs and selected portions to be delegated by Physical Therapist Assistant and supervised the provision of these treatment programs.
- Occupational Therapy, 5%
Assisted in occupational therapy treatments in inpatient bedside acute hospital treatments
- Outpatient Clinic, 4%
Headhunted from South Africa to establish an outpatient clinic in VA!
Common skills that a director of physical therapy uses to do their job include "patients," "rehabilitation," and "physical therapy." You can find details on the most important director of physical therapy responsibilities below.
Compassion. The most essential soft skill for a director of physical therapy to carry out their responsibilities is compassion. This skill is important for the role because "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." Additionally, a director of physical therapy resume shows how their duties depend on compassion: "compassionatelyassisted patients with debilitating conditions such as back pain, arthritis, fractures, head injuries, and strokes. "
Dexterity. Another essential skill to perform director of physical therapy duties is dexterity. Directors of physical therapy responsibilities require that "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." Directors of physical therapy also use dexterity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "directed all operations for third largest air force medical service physical therapy department comprised within the presidential airlift wing. "
Time-management skills. This is an important skill for directors of physical therapy to perform their duties. For an example of how director of physical therapy responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "physical therapists typically treat several patients each day." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of physical therapy: "assigned resident caseload to therapist and ensured mds information reports were accurate and on time. ".
Detail oriented. director of physical therapy responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "like other healthcare providers, physical therapists should have strong analytic and observational skills to diagnose a patient’s problem, evaluate treatments, and provide safe, effective care." This resume example shows what directors of physical therapy do with detail oriented on a typical day: "prepared detailed written reports, and developed and carried out active treatment programs based on assessment findings. "
The three companies that hire the most director of physical therapys are:
- Alliance Physical Therapy Partners18 directors of physical therapy jobs
- U.S. Physical Therapy14 directors of physical therapy jobs
- Alliance Physical Therapy11 directors of physical therapy jobs
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Compare different directors of physical therapy
Director of physical therapy vs. Therapist
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a director of physical therapy are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy," "physical therapy clinic," "treatment programs," and "occupational therapy." On the other hand, a job as a therapist requires skills like "social work," "group therapy sessions," "crisis intervention," and "mental health." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Therapists earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $55,972. On the other hand, directors of physical therapy are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $94,891.The education levels that therapists earn slightly differ from directors of physical therapy. In particular, therapists are 26.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a director of physical therapy. Additionally, they're 9.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of physical therapy vs. Manipulative therapy specialist
An in-home therapist provides case management, counseling, resource system development, support system development, and crisis intervention services for family members and children. They provide goal-oriented and structured therapy on referral issues for families that help recover from neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse. Also, they provide time-limited, goal-oriented, and structured therapy in the families' natural environment for families that need help to recover from neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that director of physical therapy responsibilities requires skills like "physical therapy," "physical therapy clinic," "treatment programs," and "occupational therapy." But a manipulative therapy specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "gmp," "patient care," "t-cell," and "cell processing."
On average, manipulative therapy specialists earn a lower salary than directors of physical therapy. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, manipulative therapy specialists earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $51,149. Whereas directors of physical therapy have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $94,891.manipulative therapy specialists earn similar levels of education than directors of physical therapy in general. They're 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 9.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of physical therapy vs. In home therapist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from director of physical therapy resumes include skills like "rehabilitation," "physical therapy," "physical therapy clinic," and "treatment programs," whereas an in home therapist is more likely to list skills in "social work," "community resources," "community agencies," and "substance abuse. "
In home therapists make a very good living in the government industry with an average annual salary of $52,546. On the other hand, directors of physical therapy are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $94,891.Most in home therapists achieve a higher degree level compared to directors of physical therapy. For example, they're 26.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 9.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of physical therapy vs. Child life therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
