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.
Per diem physical therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real per diem physical therapist resumes:
- 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.
- Assess adaptive equipment needs and perform wheelchair fitting evaluations on all appropriate inpatient residents.
- Evaluate and treat patients with neurological, orthopedics, systemic and other conditions warranting physical therapy in a skil nursing setting
- Focuse on the care delivery model within a SNF environment.
- Work one on one with stroke patients to develop dexterity and strength.
- Supervise PTAs in the delivery of therapy services in accordance with care plans.
- Utilize manual therapy techniques, specifically joint mobilizations, deep tissue mobilization, and traction.
- Perform home assessment for a THA patient to ensure safe and functional transition to home environment.
- Administer massages and traction to relieve pain, improve comfort levels and decrease or prevent deformity or crippling.
- Fit patients with mobility devices from canes, to walkers to wheelchairs depending of level of disability and need.
Per diem physical therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Per Diem Physical Therapists are proficient in Patients, Rehabilitation, and Per Diem. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Dexterity, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Per Diem Physical Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 26%
Established empathetic and supportive relationships with patients, clearly communicating information on treatment and responding effectively to their concerns and questions.
- Rehabilitation, 16%
Collaborated with veterinarians and provided rehabilitation for pets, predominately canines
- Per Diem, 14%
Position: Physical Therapist, Per Diem Responsibilities: Developing PT programs, D/C planning and referrals to agencies/outpatient clinics.
- Home Health, 10%
Home health care - orthopedic, neurological and medical disabilities
- Treatment Programs, 6%
Worked with a variety of orthopedic diagnoses, conducting initial evaluations and developing and implementing treatment programs
- Physical Therapy Assistants, 3%
Supervised physical therapy assistants and aides, performed scheduling.
"patients," "rehabilitation," and "per diem" are among the most common skills that per diem physical therapists use at work. You can find even more per diem physical therapist responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a per diem physical therapist to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what per diem 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, a per diem physical therapist resume shows how per diem physical therapists use detail oriented: "worked with physical therapy assistants and physical therapy technicians to provide personalized, patient-oriented care. "
Dexterity. Another essential skill to perform per diem physical therapist duties is dexterity. Per diem physical therapists responsibilities require that "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." Per diem physical therapists also use dexterity in their role according to a real resume snippet: "instructed patients in exercise program, proper body mechanics, lifting techniques and postural awareness. "
Physical stamina. This is an important skill for per diem physical therapists to perform their duties. For an example of how per diem physical therapist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving to demonstrate proper techniques and to help patients perform exercises." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a per diem physical therapist: "conducted initial examinations, re-examinations and supervised physical therapy assistants. ".
Resourcefulness. per diem physical therapist responsibilities often require "resourcefulness." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "physical therapists customize treatment plans for patients." This resume example shows what per diem physical therapists do with resourcefulness on a typical day: "provided client and family support, clinical assessment and psychoeducation to promote mental health wellness and resourcefulness. "
Time-management skills. Another crucial skill for a per diem physical therapist to carry out their responsibilities is "time-management skills." A big part of what per diem physical therapists relies on this skill, since "physical therapists typically treat several patients each day." How this skill relates to per diem physical therapist duties can be seen in an example from a per diem physical therapist resume snippet: "assist licensed physical therapists with various strategic techniques which reduce sports medicine rehabilitation time period. "
Compassion. While "compassion" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to per diem physical therapist responsibilities. Much of what a per diem physical therapist does relies on this skill, seeing as "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of per diem physical therapists: "earned repeated commendations from supervisor and patients for providing high-quality of care and compassion"
The three companies that hire the most per diem physical therapists are:
- Mercy Corps129 per diem physical therapists jobs
- BAYADA Home Health Care41 per diem physical therapists jobs
- Hackensack Meridian Health41 per diem physical therapists jobs
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Compare different per diem physical therapists
Per diem physical therapist vs. 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. As an athletic trainer, you will typically do various tasks, including recognizing and evaluating injuries, providing emergency care or first aid, and developing and implementing rehabilitation programs. You are also responsible for planning and implementing programs to help prevent sports injuries among athletes.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between per diem physical therapists and athletic trainer. For instance, per diem physical therapist responsibilities require skills such as "per diem," "home health," "treatment programs," and "physical therapy assistants." Whereas a athletic trainer is skilled in "cpr," "patient care," "student athletes," and "athletic injuries." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, athletic trainers reach lower levels of education than per diem physical therapists. Athletic trainers are 10.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 20.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Per diem physical therapist vs. 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. They may also perform administrative and clerical duties such as updating patients' information on the database, writing reports, processing payments for medical procedures, and maintaining medical charts for reference.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, per diem physical therapist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "per diem," "home health," "treatment programs," and "physical therapy assistants." Meanwhile, a rehabilitation technician has duties that require skills in areas such as "cpr," "customer service," "rehabilitation services," and "direct supervision." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Rehabilitation technicians earn a lower average salary than per diem physical therapists. But rehabilitation technicians earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $30,968. Additionally, per diem physical therapists earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $76,281 annually.In general, rehabilitation technicians achieve lower levels of education than per diem physical therapists. They're 21.3% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 20.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for per diem physical therapists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Todd Roach D.C.
Assistant Professor of Biology, Aurora University
Per diem physical therapist vs. Manipulative therapy specialist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from per diem physical therapist resumes include skills like "per diem," "home health," "treatment programs," and "physical therapy assistants," whereas a manipulative therapy specialist is more likely to list skills in "gmp," "patient care," "t-cell," and "cell processing. "
Manipulative therapy specialists make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $51,149. On the other hand, per diem physical therapists are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $76,281.Most manipulative therapy specialists achieve a lower degree level compared to per diem physical therapists. For example, they're 15.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 18.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Per diem physical therapist vs. Child life therapist
Types of per diem physical therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
