Rehabilitation physician vs physical therapist

The differences between rehabilitation physicians and physical therapists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a rehabilitation physician has an average salary of $215,956, which is higher than the $73,070 average annual salary of a physical therapist.

The top three skills for a rehabilitation physician include family practice, pediatrics and . The most important skills for a physical therapist are patients, rehabilitation, and home health.

Rehabilitation physician vs physical therapist overview

	Rehabilitation Physician	Physical Therapist
Yearly salary	$215,956	$73,070
Hourly rate	$103.83	$35.13
Growth rate	7%	17%
Number of jobs	39,966	86,697
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	48	41
Years of experience	4	-

Rehabilitation physician vs physical therapist salary

Rehabilitation physicians and physical therapists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Rehabilitation Physician	Physical Therapist
Average salary	$215,956	$73,070
Salary range	Between $103,000 And $451,000	Between $56,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Parkway
Best paying industry	-	Professional

Differences between rehabilitation physician and physical therapist education

There are a few differences between a rehabilitation physician and a physical therapist in terms of educational background:

	Rehabilitation Physician	Physical Therapist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Nursing	Physical Therapy
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Duke University

Rehabilitation physician vs physical therapist demographics

Here are the differences between rehabilitation physicians' and physical therapists' demographics:

	Rehabilitation Physician	Physical Therapist
Average age	48	41
Gender ratio	Male, 63.6% Female, 36.4%	Male, 36.3% Female, 63.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.4% Asian, 19.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	13%	12%

Differences between rehabilitation physician and physical therapist duties and responsibilities

Rehabilitation physician example responsibilities.

Initiate new treatment protocols for managing complex patients with co-morbid psychiatric and medical illnesses.
Provide overall quality prenatal health care, gynecological services, patient triage, refer patients with complications, provide patient education service
Assist with managing chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, and CHF.

Physical therapist example responsibilities.

Conduct in-services and train colleagues in effective techniques for safely managing the CVA patient.
Achieve high level of patients satisfaction due to sound clinical management, quality of care and compassion.
Perform physical therapy evaluation and treatment of orthopedic patients and supervise PTAs.
Progress patients' functional mobility during treatment sessions by modifying task, intensity, and adaptive equipment utilize.
Motivate patients to participate in treatment sessions by educating them on the benefits of early mobility following cardiac and thoracic surgery.
Experience include IFSP and IEP writing and implementation

Rehabilitation physician vs physical therapist skills

Common rehabilitation physician skills

Family Practice, 53%
Pediatrics, 47%

Common physical therapist skills

Patients, 30%
Rehabilitation, 15%
Home Health, 13%
Quality Care, 5%
Physical Therapy, 3%
Treatment Programs, 3%

Rehabilitation Physician vs. similar jobs

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Healthcare Practitioner and Technical Industry
Rehabilitation Physician
Rehabilitation Physician vs Physical Therapist

Updated January 8, 2025

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