Per diem physical therapist vs exercise physiologist

The differences between per diem physical therapists and exercise physiologists 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 $49,399 average annual salary of an exercise physiologist.

The top three skills for a per diem physical therapist include patients, rehabilitation and per diem. The most important skills for an exercise physiologist are patients, rehabilitation, and cardiac rehabilitation.

Per diem physical therapist vs exercise physiologist overview

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Exercise Physiologist
Yearly salary	$74,590	$49,399
Hourly rate	$35.86	$23.75
Growth rate	17%	9%
Number of jobs	87,365	38,633
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	41	38
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 exercise physiologist do?

An exercise physiologist is a health professional who analyzes the fitness of patients to help them improve their health or maintain good health. Exercise physiologists are required to help patients with heart diseases and other chronic conditions such as diabetes or pulmonary disease to regain their health. Certified exercise physiologists must administer exercise stress tests in health and unhealthy populations. They also assist both amateur and professional athletes in helping them boost their performance in sports.

Per diem physical therapist vs exercise physiologist salary

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

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Exercise Physiologist
Average salary	$74,590	$49,399
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $108,000	Between $29,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	California	Alaska
Best paying company	Alameda Health System	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Best paying industry	Professional	Health Care

Differences between per diem physical therapist and exercise physiologist education

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

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Exercise Physiologist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 44%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Physical Therapy	Kinesiology
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Per diem physical therapist vs exercise physiologist demographics

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

	Per Diem Physical Therapist	Exercise Physiologist
Average age	41	38
Gender ratio	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%	Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5%
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, 11.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	12%	13%

Differences between per diem physical therapist and exercise physiologist 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.

Exercise physiologist example responsibilities.

Manage overall time off processing and reporting as it relates to FMLA and disability programs.
Evaluate acutely-ill cardiac patients after cardiovascular events/procedures for their physician-ordered cardiac rehabilitation.
Keep current certifications in BLS and ACLS as well as attending advance ECG courses.
Deliver key contributions to development of written materials bolstering diabetes prevention program for patients and other MTF s/practitioners.
Instruct adult and infant CPR classes.
Perform risk assessments on individuals with coronary artery disease and COPD patients.

Per diem physical therapist vs exercise physiologist 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 exercise physiologist skills

Patients, 22%
Rehabilitation, 13%
Cardiac Rehabilitation, 6%
Acls, 6%
Patient Care, 6%
EKG, 5%

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Per Diem Physical Therapist
Per Diem Physical Therapist vs Exercise Physiologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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