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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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 list "patients," "physical therapy," and "rehabilitation" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important outpatient physical therapist responsibilities here:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for an outpatient physical therapist to have happens to be detail oriented. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "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, other resumes have pointed out that outpatient physical therapists can use detail oriented to "completed detailed comprehensive psychosocial assessments. "
  • Another trait important for fulfilling outpatient physical therapist duties is dexterity. According to a outpatient physical therapist resume, "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." Here's an example of how outpatient physical therapists are able to utilize dexterity: "work hands on with community resources, dfcs, foster care placement agencies. "
  • Another skill that is quite popular among outpatient physical therapists is physical stamina. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a outpatient physical therapist resume: "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving as they demonstrate proper techniques and 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. "
  • A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "time-management skills" is important to completing outpatient physical therapist responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way outpatient physical therapists use this skill: "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. "
  • As part of the outpatient physical therapist description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "compassion." A outpatient physical therapist resume included this snippet: "physical therapists are often drawn to the profession in part by a desire to help people" This skill could be useful in this scenario: "earned repeated commendations from supervisor and patients for providing high-quality, compassionate care. "
  • Lastly, this career requires you to be skillful in "resourcefulness." According to outpatient physical therapist resumes, "physical therapists customize treatment plans for patients." This resume example highlights how outpatient physical therapist responsibilities rely on this skill: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
  • See the full list of outpatient physical therapist skills.

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    What Clinicians Do

    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.

    We looked at the average outpatient physical therapist annual salary and compared it with the average of a clinician. Generally speaking, clinicians receive $6,209 lower pay than outpatient physical therapists per year.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both outpatient physical therapists and clinicians positions are skilled in patients, rehabilitation, and patient care.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. An outpatient physical therapist responsibility is more likely to require skills like "physical therapy," "therapy services," "outpatient therapy," and "substance abuse." Whereas a clinician requires skills like "individual therapy," "treatment services," "substance abuse issues," and "clinical assessments." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    The education levels that clinicians earn is a bit different than that of 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Now we're going to look at the behavioral health technician profession. On average, behavioral health technicians earn a $31,748 lower salary than outpatient physical therapists a year.

    A similarity between the two careers of outpatient physical therapists and behavioral health technicians are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," and "social work. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are 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 might be skilled 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. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. 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 paychecks in the non profits industry where they earn an average of $69,187.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Behavior Technician Compares

    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.

    The third profession we take a look at is behavior technician. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than outpatient physical therapists. In fact, they make a $28,333 lower salary per year.

    By looking over several outpatient physical therapists and behavior technicians resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "patients," "social work," and "home health." But beyond that the careers look very different.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from outpatient physical therapist resumes include skills like "physical therapy," "rehabilitation," "patient care," and "therapy services," whereas a behavior technician might be skilled in "behavior analysis," "bcba," "developmental disabilities," and "rbt. "

    Interestingly enough, behavior technicians earn the most pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $40,316. As mentioned previously, outpatient physical therapists highest annual salary comes from the non profits industry with an average salary of $69,187.

    When it comes to education, behavior technicians tend to earn lower education levels than 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.

    Description Of a 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.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than outpatient physical therapists. On average, psychiatric technicians earn a difference of $26,697 lower per year.

    According to resumes from both outpatient physical therapists and psychiatric technicians, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "rehabilitation," and "social work. "

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, 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 psychiatric technicians might include skills like "vital signs," "patient behavior," "therapeutic milieu," and "restraints" on their resume.

    Now, let's take a closer look at the financials in each career. The government industry tends to pay more for psychiatric technicians with an average of $33,642. While the highest outpatient physical therapist annual salary comes from the non profits industry.

    Psychiatric technicians reach lower levels of education when compared to outpatient physical therapists. The difference is that they're 41.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.