What education, training, and experience must one have to function as a Physical Therapist?
Today, Physical Therapists must graduate from an accredited postbaccalaureate professional physical therapist program to be eligible to sit for the national licensure examination. Currently, the vast majority of physical therapist professional degree programs award the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree and the remainder award the master’s degree in physical therapy; and within the next few years, all will award the DPT degree. The DPT program requires three years of classroom, laboratory, and clinical practice components with a required minimum of 30 weeks of full-time clinical education. Curricular content includes foundational, behavioral, and clinical sciences; patient/client management, including medical screening and diagnosis; evidence-based practice; professionalism and ethics; radiology/imaging; pharmacology; physical therapy interventions; business and practice management; lifespan-based issues; communication and interpersonal skills; and supervised and mentored clinical
