5 Essential Skills Needed for Success in the Physical Therapy Field
Physical therapy teams play an essential role in rehabilitation and healing for a wide range of ailments, from stroke, surgery, accident recovery to limited mobility or strength. Entering the field requires a complex skillset that is a combination of the physical and intellectual. Have you been looking at online physical therapy programs and trying to determine if this is the right fit for you? Here are 5 skills that are a must:
- Medicine and Anatomy
Physical therapists and their assistants need to have a strong foundation in medical terminology and anatomy to do their jobs well. This knowledge is critical when it comes to comprehending or formulating a diagnosis and determining a course of action for a patient. Any physical therapy training will include the basics of pathology, vital signs, posture, movement and treatment.
- Physical Skills
While the job of a physical therapy professional is helping others regain their physical mobility, the profession itself calls for a fairly rigorous amount of stamina and dexterity. Physical therapists and their aides spend most of the workday on their feet and may be required to push, pull, lift and guide patients. Coordination and balance will be especially important in helping patients who are challenged in those areas.
- Interpersonal
A strong desire to work with and help patients is an absolute must for a professional in the physical therapy field. Physical therapists and their aides must communicate at a high level but also have above average listening skills. Patients can sometimes be vague when discussing ailments or unsure about exercises; interpersonal skills will be used daily to convey information and understand challenges.
- Observational
Much of the job of helping patients improve their mobility is the observation and understanding when movement is not as it should be. What is a normal gait? Where is flexibility lacking? Strong observational skills are needed to understand what part of the body is not working correctly and how to make it better.
- Ethical
Anyone entering the medical field should have not only a firm grounding in ethics law but an understanding of how ethics applies to the treatment of patients. Physical therapy professionals receive an abundance of information on a patient’s medical background, health challenges and diagnoses. Ethics play an important role in the protection from legal liability and in protecting patients. Interested in physical therapy aide certification? Explore the Physical Therapy Aide program at www.meditec.com. Sources: /physical-therapy-aide/ https://work.chron.com/skills-needed-physical-therapist-11034.html
