What does a physical therapy internship do?
Physical therapist interns work with patients to determine and improve their function and movement. The interns assist in the rehabilitation process through body system development and storage. They promote the wellbeing and health of the patients through internship programs. Through the physical therapy internship, interns learn about nutrition, treatment, and the general rehabilitation procedure of patients. It also provides support not just for the patients but also with the staff.
Physical therapy internship responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real physical therapy internship resumes:
- Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
- Monitor vital signs of all patients and devise physical therapy sessions commensurate with patient stability.
- Evaluate and treat CVA and TBI patients in the inpatient setting.
- Observe and assist in measuring patients for range of motion limitations following a CVA.
- Perform evaluations and co-treatments with OT's and delegate treatment plans to PTA's.
- Assist in putting patients on and off of 2 war traction machines and the decompression machine.
- Create rehabilitation programs for cervical, lumbar, pelvic, shoulder, and hip injuries for clinic use.
- Treat adult and geriatric patients with spinal cord injury, cervical pain, fractures, scoliosis and total knee replacement.
- Operate ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and mechanical retraction.
- Utilize physical agents focusing on ultrasound and electrical stimulation.
- Handle outpatient department -Assessment, provisional diagnosis, implementing physiotherapy techniques, documenting and monitoring prognosis.
- Provide skilled acute physical therapy for diagnoses including oncology, cardiopulmonary, orthopedic, neurological, and ICU
- Observe outpatient cardiopulmonary rehabilitation physical therapy.
- Adhere to procedural safeguards and HIPPA regulations.
- Observe and comply with HIPPA policies and procedures.
Physical therapy internship skills and personality traits
We calculated that 40% of Physical Therapy Interns are proficient in Patients, Physical Therapy Assistants, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Physical Therapy Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 40%
Provide individualized care and rehab to patients with neurological, orthopedic, and generalized diagnosis.
- Physical Therapy Assistants, 12%
Determined necessity of physical therapy services and delegated patient care to physical therapy assistants when appropriate.
- Rehabilitation, 7%
Observed and participated in the rehabilitation of 6-8 patients daily in this skilled nursing facility with supervision of a licensed physical therapist
- Ultrasound, 4%
Operated ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and mechanical retraction.
- Patient Care, 3%
Accommodate therapist with patient intake* Directed patient care and therapy instructions* Learned proper therapy techniques and guidelines for administration
- Occupational Therapy, 2%
Observed musical and occupational therapy sessions and wheelchair fitting sessions for children with complex orthopedic and neurological conditions.
"patients," "physical therapy assistants," and "rehabilitation" are among the most common skills that physical therapy interns use at work. You can find even more physical therapy internship responsibilities below, including:
Dexterity. The most essential soft skill for a physical therapy internship to carry out their responsibilities is dexterity. This skill is important for the role because "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises." Additionally, a physical therapy internship resume shows how their duties depend on dexterity: "instructed patients and staff on bed mobility training, ambulation techniques with various assistive devices, and safe lifting techniques. "
Physical stamina. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling physical therapy internship duties is physical stamina. The role rewards competence in this skill because "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving to demonstrate proper techniques and to help patients perform exercises." According to a physical therapy internship resume, here's how physical therapy interns can utilize physical stamina in their job responsibilities: "prepared patients for physical therapy treatment by welcoming comforting, providing any assistance needed. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of physical therapy interns is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday physical therapy internship duties, as "physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, so they should have a desire to help people." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide compassionate, diligent care to patients. "
Detail oriented. physical therapy internship responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "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." This resume example shows what physical therapy interns do with detail oriented on a typical day: "directed patient care by physical therapy assistants (pta) with detailed instruction and demonstration. "
The three companies that hire the most physical therapy internships are:
- EXOS3 physical therapy interns jobs
- Select Medical2 physical therapy interns jobs
- AdventHealth2 physical therapy interns jobs
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Compare different physical therapy interns
Physical therapy internship vs. In home therapist
An in-home therapist provides case management, counseling, resource system development, support system development, and crisis intervention services for family members and children. They provide goal-oriented and structured therapy on referral issues for families that help recover from neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse. Also, they provide time-limited, goal-oriented, and structured therapy in the families' natural environment for families that need help to recover from neglect, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a physical therapy internship are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy assistants," "rehabilitation," "ultrasound," and "patient care." On the other hand, a job as an in home therapist requires skills like "social work," "community resources," "community agencies," and "substance abuse." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
In home therapists really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $52,546. Comparatively, physical therapy interns tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $75,207.in home therapists tend to reach higher levels of education than physical therapy interns. In fact, in home therapists are 37.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.9% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Physical therapy internship vs. Therapist
A therapist is responsible for improving the patients' health conditions by evaluating their needs and providing physical and mental support. Therapists are licensed, medical professionals who specialize in different areas to perform treatments and bring relief to patients. Some of their duties include diagnosing patient's problems, performing counseling services, monitoring medication progress, customizing therapy activities for pain management, and consulting other health professionals as needed. Therapists must have extensive knowledge with the medical industry to detect patients' conditions easily and provide effective medications.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, physical therapy internship responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "physical therapy assistants," "ultrasound," "occupational therapy," and "acute care." Meanwhile, a therapist has duties that require skills in areas such as "social work," "group therapy sessions," "crisis intervention," and "mental health." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Therapists earn a lower average salary than physical therapy interns. But therapists earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $55,972. Additionally, physical therapy interns earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $75,207 annually.therapists earn higher levels of education than physical therapy interns in general. They're 37.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for physical therapy internships in the next 3-5 years?
Yuri Feito Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Exercise Science, Kennesaw State University
Physical therapy internship 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 physical therapy internship resumes include skills like "physical therapy assistants," "ultrasound," "occupational therapy," and "gait training," whereas a manipulative therapy specialist is more likely to list skills in "gmp," "t-cell," "cell processing," and "clinical trials. "
Manipulative therapy specialists earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $51,149. Comparatively, physical therapy interns have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $75,207.manipulative therapy specialists typically earn higher educational levels compared to physical therapy interns. Specifically, they're 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Physical therapy internship vs. Out-patient therapist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between physical therapy interns and out-patient therapists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a physical therapy internship might have more use for skills like "physical therapy assistants," "rehabilitation," "ultrasound," and "occupational therapy." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of out-patient therapists require skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "group therapy," and "mental health. "
The average resume of out-patient therapists showed that they earn higher levels of education compared to physical therapy interns. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 42.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.7%.Types of physical therapy internship
Updated January 8, 2025
