How to hire a per diem physical therapist

How to hire a per diem physical therapist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step per diem physical therapist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a per diem physical therapist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new per diem physical therapist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a per diem physical therapist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The per diem physical therapist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect per diem physical therapist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents per diem physical therapist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Per Diem Physical Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Per Diem Physical Therapist	Physical therapists, sometimes called PTs, help injured or ill people improve their movement and manage their pain. These therapists are often an important part of the rehabilitation, treatment, and prevention of patients with chronic conditions, illnesses, or injuries.	$24-51
   Athletic Trainer	An athletic trainer is a healthcare professional who works with physicians to improve a patient's quality of life. Their profession encompasses the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chronic medical conditions involving disabilities, functional limitations, and impairments... Show more	$16-29
   Rehabilitation Technician	A rehabilitation technician is responsible for assisting therapists and other medical personnel on supporting the patients in their daily activities and physical therapy sessions. Rehabilitation technicians provide high-quality care services for the patients by administering medications, accompanying them on medical appointments, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of all equipment and facilities to prevent hazards within the premises... Show more	$11-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Rehabilitation
   • Per Diem
   • Home Health
   • Treatment Programs
   • Physical Therapy Assistants
   • Nursing Home
   • Physical Therapy
   • Discharge Planning
   • Compassion
   • Social Work
   • Direct Patient Care
   • SNF
   • Therapeutic Exercises

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
   • Help patients adapt to the use of braces, canes, crutches and prosthetic/orthotic devices as needed.
   • Assist patients to adapt to the use of wheelchairs, braces, canes, crutches and prosthetic/orthotic devises.
   • Provide patient care in a SNF setting with the primary emphasis on transitioning patients from hospital to home.
   • Provide assessments and documentation for adaptive equipment.
   • Supervise PTAs and physical therapy aides in direct patient-relate activities.

   More per diem physical therapist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the per diem physical therapist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A per diem physical therapist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a per diem physical therapist in Arkansas may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level per diem physical therapist. Additionally, a per diem physical therapist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average per diem physical therapist salary

   $74,590yearly

   $35.86 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level per diem physical therapist salary

   $51,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average per diem physical therapist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$109,297	$53
   2	Massachusetts	$96,530	$46
   3	Connecticut	$85,067	$41
   4	Arizona	$84,810	$41
   5	New Jersey	$82,752	$40
   6	Rhode Island	$79,035	$38
   7	Minnesota	$77,892	$37
   8	Texas	$75,852	$36
   9	Maryland	$72,789	$35
   10	Pennsylvania	$70,352	$34
   11	Wisconsin	$70,119	$34
   12	Ohio	$68,763	$33
   13	New York	$67,695	$33
   14	Missouri	$67,631	$33
   15	Florida	$66,068	$32

   Average per diem physical therapist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Alameda Health System	$117,747	$56.61	17
   2	Sharp HealthCare	$93,920	$45.15	3
   3	Highland General Hospital	$93,051	$44.74
   4	Tenet Healthcare	$91,640	$44.06	202
   5	Sutter Health	$90,563	$43.54	109
   6	Chapters Health System	$90,027	$43.28	4
   7	Kaiser Permanente	$87,861	$42.24	182
   8	John Muir Health	$87,220	$41.93	2
   9	Hebrew SeniorLife	$87,190	$41.92	3
   10	University of California	$86,867	$41.76	34
   11	Children's Hospital Los Angeles	$86,543	$41.61	2
   12	Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital	$86,222	$41.45
   13	Cedars-Sinai	$85,706	$41.20	18
   14	Kindred at Home	$85,650	$41.18	11
   15	NCH Healthcare System	$85,482	$41.10	9
   16	Aurora Behavioral Health System	$85,255	$40.99	2
   17	Interstate Rehab	$84,650	$40.70
   18	Prime Healthcare	$84,536	$40.64	354
   19	Baystate Health	$83,754	$40.27	23
   20	UCI Health	$83,612	$40.20	3

4. Writing a per diem physical therapist job description

   A job description for a per diem physical therapist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a per diem physical therapist job description:

   Per diem physical therapist job description example

   Are you passionate about helping people with disabilities? Do you believe your purpose is to improve the lives of others? The clinical team at Bancroft NeuroRehab includes the most skilled therapists, clinicians, and brain injury specialists, working closely together to create individualized plans for people with acquired brain injuries and neurological conditions. Together, we empower each person we serve to realize their best life.
   Help Others Rebound, Recover and Reconnect
   
   Bancroft NeuroRehab fosters a stable environment for individuals with brain injuries and neurological conditions to rebound, recover and reconnect. Direct Support Professionals support those in our care to regain independence through rehabilitation, supervision, behavioral programming, social, and recreational activites.
   
   Bancroft is currently seeking a Per Diem Physical Therapist to join our NeuroRehab team located in Toms River, NJ
   
   Responsibilities:
   Provides direct, consultative, and supportive diagnostic and therapeutic physical therapy services to persons served and staff members to enhance the individual potential for learning and to meet the specific rehabilitation needs of persons served.
   Conducts diagnostic assessments of need for physical therapy services and develops treatment plans.
   Provides direct and consultative treatment services in physical therapy.
   Facilitates a team approach to program development, implementation, and monitoring by effectively collaborating with all specialty/clinical disciplines, parents/guardians, and residential and day program staff to identify and best meet the individual rehabilitation needs of each person served.
   Actively participates in monthly team/departmental meetings, etc., and serves as a member of the Trans-Disciplinary Team (TDT) process in conjunction with the Individual Program Plan (IPP).
   May work with physical therapy students throughout course of assignment in the assessment and treatment of persons served. Provides daily advice and guidance to students and strives to increase students' knowledge of discipline-specific methods and techniques.
   Qualifications:
   
   Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy and a current N.J. State Physical Therapist license required. Minimum of one year of work experience in physical therapy preferred, working with neurologically-impaired individuals.
   
   EEO Statement:
   
   Bancroft is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and supports diversity, equity and inclusion in its hiring and employment practices, so that every team member can feel a true sense of belonging, and maximize their unique potential. To this end, all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   #CLIN

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find per diem physical therapists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any per diem physical therapists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level per diem physical therapists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your per diem physical therapist job on Zippia to find and recruit per diem physical therapist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with per diem physical therapist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new per diem physical therapist

   Once you've selected the best per diem physical therapist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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