WHAT IS PHYSICAL THERAPY?
Physical Therapists, or PT's, are health professionals who evaluate and treat people of all ages with movement dysfunction and other health problems resulting from injury or disease.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
PT's assess joint motion, muscle strength, and other body functions and structures. The treatment goals of Physical Therapists include making patients stronger, relieving their pain, helping them to regain and maintain maximum human performance, and educating patients on proper health maintenance. Treatment may include therapeutic exercise, cardiovascular endurance training, and training in activities of daily living. Physical Therapists are employed in hospitals, private physical therapy offices, community health centers, industrial health centers, sports facilities, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, home health agencies, schools, research institutions, or teach in colleges or universities. They work with other health care providers such as physicians, occupational therapists, nurses, mental health professionals, and speech pathologists and audiologists.

SPECIALTY AREAS
Some physical therapists treat a wide range of ailments; others specialize in areas such as pediatrics, geriatrics, orthopedics, sports medicine, neurology, and cardiopulmonary physical therapy.

DESIRED SKILLS
Physical therapists should have strong interpersonal skills to successfully educate patients about their physical therapy treatments. They should also be compassionate and possess a desire to help patients. Similar traits are also needed to interact with the patient's family.

EDUCATION & TRAINING
Pre-physical therapy students must complete specific undergraduate coursework (see Recommended courses for Pre-Physical Therapy Students). According to the American Physical Therapy Association, there were 189 accredited physical therapist programs. Of the accredited programs, 24 offered bachelor's degrees, 157 offered master's degrees, and 8 offered doctoral degrees. By 2002, all physical therapist programs seeking accreditation will be required to offer degrees at the master's degree level and above, in accordance with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. All States require physical therapists to pass a licensure exam after graduating from an accredited physical therapist educational program before they can practice. Physical therapists are expected to continue professional development by participating in continuing education courses and workshops. A number of States require continuing education to maintain licensure.

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK & SALARY
Employment of physical therapists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2008. More than 120,000 physical therapists practice in the U.S. today. As stated by the American Physical Therapy Association, average annual income is approximately $56,000, depending on geographic location and setting.

RELATED OCCUPATIONS
Physical Therapists rehabilitate persons with physical disabilities. Others who work in the rehabilitation field include occupational therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists, orthodontists, prosthetics, and respiratory therapists. 

Admissions committees are very selective and are looking for specific prerequisites courses, strong academic records, good scores on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), quality letters of recommendation, and work or volunteer experience in the field as indicators of potential to succeed.

APPLICATION TIMELINE AND ACCEPTANCE INFORMATION
Application deadlines vary from November of the year prior to matriculation to February. Most programs require a bachelors degree, however some universities, such as Loma Linda University and Cal State Northridge, encourage students to apply after completing two years of college level work. If admitted, students enter a three-year Masters program and are awarded a BS in life science in addition to the masters degree at the completion of the program.

MINIMUM GPA (RECOMMENDED)
Most programs require a student to have at least a 3.0 cumulative and prerequisite GPA, although competitive GPA's may be higher. Increasingly, programs are also requiring applicants to have paid or volunteer experience in one or more physical therapy settings and may ask that a student have adult CPR certification.

MAJOR & CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Students can major in almost any discipline provided the required courses are completed in order to be competitive when applying to physical therapy programs. Students are encouraged to participate in an internship, volunteer, or work experience in a physical therapy setting in order to become acquainted with the field prior to making formal application to selected professional programs.

Pre-Professional Physical Therapy and Required Courses

The following list of UCLA courses is recommended for pre-physical therapy students. This list is not a comprehensive list of prerequisites for all masters programs in physical therapy. Requirements can vary widely from program to program. Students maintain responsibility for verifying course selection with individual PT programs.

Biology
Life Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4. One year of coursework with lab.
Notes: If you took LS 2 and 3 before Fall 98, then take two additional life science lab courses (in departments such as OBEE, MCD Bio, neuroscience, psychobiology, or physiological science).

Human Anatomy
Phy Sci 13 or 107 (upper division PS courses are generally restricted to PS majors). Phy Sci 13 through UCLA Extension is another good option.

Students can obtain more information by visiting the web site address: http://www.apta.org or writing to: American Physical Therapy Association, 111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1488, (703) 684-2782

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION & RESOURCES
Obtain more information on a career as a physical therapist and list of accredited educational programs in physical therapy are available from American Physical Therapy Association, 111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1488, (703) 684-2782, http://www.apta.org