What is a typical day look like for a physical therapist?

A day as a physical therapist varies greatly depending on what setting you work in. Physical therapists work in hospitals, schools, outpatient clinics, and some even go to people's homes to treat them. Their work hours are typically anywhere from 5 am to 8pm. Regardless of the setting, a typical day will start out with a review of your patients' medical record to see what they are being referred to PT for and what medical issues they have that will impact your treatment with them. All physical therapists evaluate new patients and develop a plan of care to improve their patient's mobility, pain, and quality of life. A PT will typically see anywhere between 5 and 20 patients per day, again this depends on the setting. The best way to get a feel for a day as a physical therapist is to shadow one for a day! :)
Hope this helps.

Hi Kyle! The answer to your question really depends on every PT you will ask because physical therapists do work in different settings just like nurses and doctors. But for me, I typically start by reviewing the patient charts and checking for any red flags or concerns that may affect my PT plan of care including whether the patient requires PT or not. So, PT's do evaluation prior to proceeding with any treatments. With PT's evaluation, you have to create a program/goals for each patient you see. After checking patient's status through chart review, I will usually gather all equipments/tools that I need in order to provide PT service safely and effectively.Once Im done with my treatment, I usually gather all my tools/equipment, clean/disinfect the tools if necessary..Usually, PT do work for 8 hours a day and we usually work during the day time with no night shifts unlike the nurses who work in the hospital. However, PT's do work also on the weekends depending on their preferences.I hope this answer your question.