What does an outpatient physical therapist do?
An outpatient physical therapist specializes in diagnosing and treating a patient's movement dysfunction often caused by an illness or injury. Their responsibilities revolve around studying a patient's medical history, performing initial assessments, crafting a specific care and treatment plan, and discussing the extent of treatments with patients and their families. An outpatient physical therapist may also provide advice to families or guardians on how to assist and care for patients at home, prescribe medication, and perform follow-up consultations.
Outpatient physical therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real outpatient physical therapist resumes:
- Facilitate development of coping techniques to manage psychiatric symptoms effectively; educate patients on importance of medication management and compliance.
- Demonstrate working knowledge of community mental health services identify in the Medicaid guidelines and attain contractual outcomes within designate time frames.
- Perform assessments with clients to determine diagnosis and need of services.
- Complete intake assessment and formulate diagnosis.
- Assist veterans with transportation to interviews.
- Provide active case management service for veterans in residential treatment.
- Provide behavioral assessments/evaluations and therapy for children, adolescents and their families primarily in their educational settings.
- Facilitate services to mentally-ill adults, children and adolescents to maintain stability and improve social and emotional behavior
- Staff physical therapist for sports injury clinic, spine surgery rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation, orthopedics cases and pain management.
- Treat acute care patients with neurological, orthopedic and general medical diagnosis to evaluate mobility and safety for return to home.
- Provide individual and family therapy to children with autism and other diagnosis.
- Participate in team meetings with a BCBA, parents and other professionals.
- Fabricate static and dynamic splints.
- Fabricate custom splints and train patient in use.
- Run substance abuse, addictions and mental health groups for DUI offenders, and intensive outpatient clients.
Outpatient physical therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Outpatient Physical Therapists are proficient in Patients, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Dexterity, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Outpatient Physical Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 23%
Treated acute care patients with neurological, orthopedic and general medical diagnosis to evaluate mobility and safety for return to home.
- Physical Therapy, 17%
Designed and performed Physical Therapy intervention for individuals with a variety of orthopedic and neurological deficits while supervising multiple PTA's.
- Rehabilitation, 11%
Completed diagnostic intake assessments and individualized treatment plans in accordance with Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) standards
- Patient Care, 10%
Performed and documented thorough initial evaluations, treatment programs, and discharge planning for individualized patient care.
- Therapy Services, 5%
Facilitated individual, couples, family, and school-based therapy services utilizing primarily CBT, solution-focused, and existential therapy approaches.
- Social Work, 5%
Collaborated with interdisciplinary treatment staff, including psychiatrists, psychologists, caseworkers, and psychiatric social workers.
Most outpatient physical therapists use their skills in "patients," "physical therapy," and "rehabilitation" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential outpatient physical therapist responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for an outpatient physical therapist to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what outpatient physical therapists do because "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." Additionally, an outpatient physical therapist resume shows how outpatient physical therapists use detail oriented: "completed detailed comprehensive psychosocial assessments. "
Dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling outpatient physical therapist duties is dexterity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." According to an outpatient physical therapist resume, here's how outpatient physical therapists can utilize dexterity in their job responsibilities: "work hands on with community resources, dfcs, foster care placement agencies. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of outpatient physical therapists is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday outpatient physical therapist duties, as "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving to demonstrate proper techniques and to help patients perform exercises." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "served as agency trainer for the proper use of physical support techniques and crisis intervention. "
Time-management skills. A big part of what outpatient physical therapists do relies on "time-management skills." You can see how essential it is to outpatient physical therapist responsibilities because "physical therapists typically treat several patients each day." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical outpatient physical therapist tasks: "provide clinical mental health assessments and treatment planning, monitor treatment progress, and follow up at disposition times. "
Compassion. A commonly-found skill in outpatient physical therapist job descriptions, "compassion" is essential to what outpatient physical therapists do. Outpatient physical therapist responsibilities rely on this skill because "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." You can also see how outpatient physical therapist duties rely on compassion in this resume example: "earned repeated commendations from supervisor and patients for providing high-quality, compassionate care. "
Resourcefulness. Lastly, "resourcefulness" is an important element of what an outpatient physical therapist does. Outpatient physical therapist responsibilities require this skill because "physical therapists customize treatment plans for patients." This resume example highlights how outpatient physical therapist duties rely on this skill: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
The three companies that hire the most outpatient physical therapists are:
- American Mobile Healthcare350 outpatient physical therapists jobs
- Club Staffing287 outpatient physical therapists jobs
- ATI Physical Therapy240 outpatient physical therapists jobs
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Compare different outpatient physical therapists
Outpatient physical therapist vs. Clinician
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an outpatient physical therapist are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy," "therapy services," "outpatient therapy," and "substance abuse." On the other hand, a job as a clinician requires skills like "individual therapy," "treatment services," "substance abuse issues," and "clinical assessments." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that clinicians earn slightly differ from outpatient physical therapists. In particular, clinicians are 8.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an outpatient physical therapist. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Outpatient physical therapist vs. Behavioral health technician
A behavioral health technician participates in treating patients with behavioral problems caused by mental health issues. They are primarily responsible for monitoring the behavior of the patient, following the guidelines of treatment from a mental health professional, and regularly reporting any progress or problems. Moreover, a behavioral health technician must also carry out administrative tasks, which include producing reports and assessments, answering inquiries and correspondence, maintaining schedules, and keeping records. Furthermore, it is essential to give emotional support to a patient, providing them with a safe and healthy environment at all times.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, outpatient physical therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy," "patient care," "therapy services," and "home health." Meanwhile, a behavioral health technician has duties that require skills in areas such as "behavioral health," "cpr," "vital signs," and "bht." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, behavioral health technicians earn a lower salary than outpatient physical therapists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, behavioral health technicians earn the most pay in the non profits industry with an average salary of $36,944. Whereas outpatient physical therapists have higher pay in the non profits industry, with an average salary of $69,187.behavioral health technicians earn lower levels of education than outpatient physical therapists in general. They're 40.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for outpatient physical therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Cheryl Stenmark Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director, Industrial/Organizational Psychology Masters Program, Angelo State University
Outpatient physical therapist vs. Behavior technician
The job of a behavioral technician is to offer mental health services to patients who struggle with behavior-related problems. Behavior technicians uphold the highest standard of quality of care. They are the ones who enforce learning programs like self-help, communication, and play skills. It is their duty to incorporate medical care training for parents, so caregivers or family members can support and teach skills during family activities. One must be good in written and verbal communication, can work with team members, and develop good interpersonal relationship skills to be a good technician.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from outpatient physical therapist resumes include skills like "physical therapy," "rehabilitation," "patient care," and "therapy services," whereas a behavior technician is more likely to list skills in "behavior analysis," "bcba," "developmental disabilities," and "rbt. "
Behavior technicians earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $40,316. Outpatient physical therapists earn the highest pay from the non profits industry, with an average salary of $69,187.When it comes to education, behavior technicians tend to earn lower degree levels compared to outpatient physical therapists. In fact, they're 37.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Outpatient physical therapist vs. Psychiatric technician
A psychiatric technician is responsible for supporting patients with mental issues and disabilities by administering treatment plans and quality therapeutic care. Psychiatric technicians assist the patients through counseling, observing their mental and social behaviors, and suggesting recreational activities to help them interact with others. They also work with other medical professionals to seek advice, especially when performing medical procedures and suggesting medications. A psychiatric technician must have excellent communication and time-management skills, especially when responding to the patients' concerns and looking after them during daily activities.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between outpatient physical therapists and psychiatric technicians, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an outpatient physical therapist might have more use for skills like "physical therapy," "patient care," "therapy services," and "home health." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of psychiatric technicians require skills like "vital signs," "patient behavior," "therapeutic milieu," and "restraints. "
The government industry tends to pay the highest salaries for psychiatric technicians, with average annual pay of $33,642. Comparatively, the highest outpatient physical therapist annual salary comes from the non profits industry.psychiatric technicians reach lower levels of education compared to outpatient physical therapists, in general. The difference is that they're 41.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of outpatient physical therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
