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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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" aren't the only skills we found physical therapy interns list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of physical therapy internship responsibilities that we found, including:

  • The most important skills for a physical therapy internship to have in this position are dexterity. In this excerpt that we gathered from a physical therapy internship resume, you'll understand why: "physical therapists must use their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises" According to resumes we found, dexterity can be used by a physical therapy internship in order to "instructed patients and staff on bed mobility training, ambulation techniques with various assistive devices, and safe lifting techniques. "
  • Another trait important for fulfilling physical therapy internship duties is physical stamina. According to a physical therapy internship resume, "physical therapists spend much of their time on their feet, moving as they demonstrate proper techniques and help patients perform exercises." Here's an example of how physical therapy interns are able to utilize physical stamina: "prepared patients for physical therapy treatment by welcoming comforting, providing any assistance needed. "
  • Another skill that is quite popular among physical therapy interns is compassion. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a physical therapy internship resume: "physical therapists are often drawn to the profession in part by a desire to help people" This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide compassionate, diligent care to patients. "
  • A physical therapy internship responsibilities sometimes require "detail oriented." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "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 how this skill is used by physical therapy interns: "directed patient care by physical therapy assistants (pta) with detailed instruction and demonstration. "
  • Another common skill for a physical therapy internship to be able to utilize is "interpersonal skills." Because physical therapists spend a lot of time interacting with patients, they should enjoy working with people a physical therapy internship demonstrated the need for this skill by putting this on their resume: "practiced several rehabilitation exercises on clients with a variety of injuries and enhanced interpersonal and professional communication skills"
  • See the full list of physical therapy internship skills.

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    What In Home Therapists Do

    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.

    We looked at the average physical therapy internship annual salary and compared it with the average of an in home therapist. Generally speaking, in home therapists receive $19,918 lower pay than physical therapy interns per year.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A physical therapy internship responsibility is more likely to require skills like "physical therapy assistants," "rehabilitation," "ultrasound," and "patient care." Whereas a in home therapist requires skills like "social work," "community resources," "community agencies," and "substance abuse." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    In home therapists really shine in the government industry with an average salary of $52,546. Whereas 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Now we're going to look at the therapist profession. On average, therapists earn a $15,681 lower salary than physical therapy interns a year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Physical therapy interns and therapists both include similar skills like "patients," "rehabilitation," and "patient care" on their resumes.

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are 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 might be skilled 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.

    It's been discovered that therapists earn lower salaries compared to physical therapy interns, but we wanted to find out where therapists earned the most pay. The answer? The government industry. The average salary in the industry is $55,972. Additionally, physical therapy interns earn the highest paychecks in the health care with an average salary of $75,207.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Manipulative Therapy Specialist Compares

    Let's now take a look at the manipulative therapy specialist profession. On average, these workers make lower salaries than physical therapy interns with a $22,374 difference per year.

    Using physical therapy interns and manipulative therapy specialists resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "patients," "rehabilitation," and "patient care," but the other skills required are very different.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from physical therapy internship resumes include skills like "physical therapy assistants," "ultrasound," "occupational therapy," and "gait training," whereas a manipulative therapy specialist might be skilled in "gmp," "t-cell," "cell processing," and "clinical trials. "

    Additionally, manipulative therapy specialists earn a higher salary in the education industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $51,149. Additionally, physical therapy interns earn an average salary of $75,207 in the health care industry.

    Manipulative therapy specialists are known to earn higher educational levels when compared to physical therapy interns. Additionally, they're 7.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of an Out-Patient Therapist

    Out-patient therapists tend to earn a lower pay than physical therapy interns by about $15,347 per year.

    According to resumes from both physical therapy interns and out-patient therapists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "patients," "patient care," and "discharge planning. "

    Even though a few skill sets overlap, 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 out-patient therapists might include skills like "social work," "crisis intervention," "group therapy," and "mental health" on their resume.

    The average resume of out-patient therapists showed that they earn higher levels of education to physical therapy interns. So much so that the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree is 42.8% more. Additionally, they're less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.7%.