Per diem physical therapist vs assistant

The differences between per diem physical therapists and assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a per diem physical therapist has an average salary of $74,590, which is higher than the $37,363 average annual salary of an assistant.

The top three skills for a per diem physical therapist include patients, rehabilitation and per diem. The most important skills for an assistant are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Per diem physical therapist vs assistant overview

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Assistant
Yearly salary	$74,590	$37,363
Hourly rate	$35.86	$17.96
Growth rate	17%	-8%
Number of jobs	87,365	557,900
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	41	50
Years of experience	-	2

What does a per diem physical therapist do?

A per diem physical therapist is responsible for performing therapy treatments for patients when the institution is short-staffed for therapists. These therapists design recovery plans to help ease patients with their movements and daily activities after suffering from injury, illness, and other medical conditions. They diagnose patients to evaluate treatment methods, observe their progress every session, and modify plans until the final recovery. A per diem physical therapist operate various tools and equipment, schedule treatment appointments, and monitor the patients' medications.

What does an assistant do?

An assistant intern is responsible for facilitating administrative and clerical tasks as assigned by the management. Assistant interns' duties include keeping records of meetings, receiving calls and handling customer inquiries, assisting on writing reports and data entry processing, cooperating and providing support for business events, and adhering to company policies and regulatory procedures. Successful assistant interns must have excellent time-management, multi-tasking, and communication skills. They must be a team player and fast-learner to handle various tasks in the corporate industry.

Per diem physical therapist vs assistant salary

Per diem physical therapists and assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Assistant
Average salary	$74,590	$37,363
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $108,000	Between $16,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Alameda Health System	Latham & Watkins
Best paying industry	Professional	Education

Differences between per diem physical therapist and assistant education

There are a few differences between a per diem physical therapist and an assistant in terms of educational background:

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Physical Therapy	Business
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Western Carolina University

Per diem physical therapist vs assistant demographics

Here are the differences between per diem physical therapists' and assistants' demographics:

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Assistant
Average age	41	50
Gender ratio	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%	Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	6%

Differences between per diem physical therapist and assistant duties and responsibilities

Per diem physical therapist example 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.

Assistant example responsibilities.

Manage circulations, including educational textbooks and DVDS, video technology and supplies.
Manage branches providing information technology support, logistics, training and operational support.
Manage company's twitter account and communicate with multiple physical therapy providers around the country
Optimize productivity in prioritizing and managing special projects, PowerPoint presentations for classes, and proctore exams for undergraduate classes.
Assist in jewelry design and assembly, manage company Facebook page, participate in wholesale buying, and manage retail inventory
Manage and update company Facebook page with daily updates, finding/sharing relevant and interesting information, and encouraging fan engagement.

Per diem physical therapist vs assistant skills

Common per diem physical therapist skills

Patients, 26%
Rehabilitation, 16%
Per Diem, 14%
Home Health, 10%
Treatment Programs, 6%
Physical Therapy Assistants, 3%

Common assistant skills

Patients, 27%
Customer Service, 13%
Patient Care, 8%
CPR, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%
Scheduling Appointments, 3%

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Per Diem Physical Therapist
Per Diem Physical Therapist vs Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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