Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Bath MI

How to Find the Right Physical Therapist Program near Bath 48808

Bath MI physical therapy school student with volunteer Obtaining a physical therapy degree near Bath MI is a critical first step to launching a rewarding career in the health care field. Physical therapists (PT) help individuals who have been incapacitated as a result of illness or injury gain back mobility and function. But before they can practice and work with the rehabilitation of patients, they need to acquire the necessary education and training. A PT must also be licensed in every state, many requiring that the licensee hold a physical therapy degree from an accredited college. So before choosing a physical therapy school, it’s important to evaluate the ones you are thinking about to ensure they will provide a quality education and satisfy your state’s licensing standards. What you do not want to do is enroll in a college just because it happens to be the closest to your residence or it has the lowest tuition. There are other important qualifications that must be considered besides cost and location. But before we discuss what those qualifications are and the questions you should be asking, we’ll cover what a physical therapist does and the options for education.

What is a Physical Therapist?

Bath MI physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists work in varying settings, including Bath MI hospitals, health clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and health clubs. What the facilities all share in common is that they have the equipment for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As earlier touched on, physical therapists help patients that are suffering from a lack of mobility and frequently pain due to injury or illness. After diagnosing a patient, they develop a course of treatment to resolve the mobility problems and reduce or eradicate any pain. They also try to prevent any progression of the disability. While the causes of disability necessitating physical therapy are abundant, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Motor vehicle accidents
Strokes.
Heart attacks.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Burn injuries.
Knee Replacement.
Sciatica.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists practice in close partnerships with other Bath MI medical specialists, including chiropractors, physicians, registered nurses and dentists. They may also supervise several physical therapy assistants who work for them assisting with the diagnosis and treatment of their patients. Something to take note of for anyone considering going into the physical therapy profession, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists regularly lift patients and heavy equipment, and kneel, crouch and stand for long periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapist Degrees Offered

Bath MI physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are 3 physical therapy degree options offered for students to enroll in at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Of these choices, the one degree that is attainable to practice as a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees focus on either preparing students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or preparing them to progress to the doctoral level. Below are short descriptions of degrees that are offered in the Bath MI area:

Associate Degrees prepare students to practice as physical therapy assistants, or may be the first step toward earning a more advanced degree. Candidates must have a high school diploma or GED to be accepted for enrollment. The programs are usually made available by junior or community colleges, and require 2 years for completion. Clinical training, which may be in the form of an internship is usually a component of the course of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees are created as pre-physical therapist education to ready students to move up to the doctoral level. Although they are not a requirement to be qualified for the doctoral program, they are an essential preliminary step to becoming a PT. As with the majority of bachelor’s degrees, they generally take four years to complete and often incorporate an internship program of a minimum of 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are mandated if you want to become a practicing licensed physical therapist. The degree program must also be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). In addition to the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes three years to complete, making the total commitment seven years in the majority of cases. Practical or clinical training is an important element along with the extensive lab and classroom instruction. Therefor the completion of an internship is required, not solely for graduation but in some states for licensing as well.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) has taken the place of the Master’s of Physical Therapy (MPT), which has been eliminated and is no longer attainable in the United States. Some licensed physical therapists holding a master’s or even a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in prior to the existing licensing requirement for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapist Online Schools

woman attending physical therapy school online in Bath MI Although not as prevalent as the more traditional options, there are a number of accredited online physical therapist degrees offered, more so at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on structure of the training, internships and clinical lab work are incorporated with the online classes. This necessitates that the student live close to the college campus or nearby an available internship. However, the online portion of the curriculum may be accessed within the convenience and comfort of the student’s Bath MI home. Online schools are not only to some extent more accessible, but in a number of cases more affordable. Tuition can be somewhat lower than similar on-campus options, and expenditures for commuting are minimized. And many of the online programs are accredited by the CAPTE, assuring a quality education. These benefits may make the online option the right choice for those students that are motivated enough to attend classes at home.

Topics to Ask Physical Therapy Programs

At this point you undoubtedly have come to decision regarding some of your preliminary questions, like the type of physical therapist degree you want to obtain, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much you can afford to spend for your education. But because there are so many PT schools within the Bath MI area and across Michigan, you’ll need to explore other qualifications as well in order to further narrow your list of college choices. Furthermore, you need to make sure that you choose the school that is right for you. That’s why we have collected a list of important questions that you need to ask the physical therapist colleges you are considering. Ask all of the competing schools these questions before making a final decision.

Is the Physical Therapy School Accredited? Find out if the colleges you are considering have received accreditation from a national or a regional agency. As previously stated, if you are pursuing a doctoral degree the program must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). If you choose an online school, it may also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s important that both the physical therapist school and program you select are accredited, not just the school. Also, verify that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization. Along with guaranteeing that you receive an excellent education, accreditation may be required for state licensing and even for securing student loans or financial assistance.

What is the School’s Reputation? Along with accreditation, it’s essential that the college and program you pick have outstanding reputations within the physical therapist profession. There are multiple ways you can look into a PT college’s reputation, starting with requesting references from employers that they refer their students to. You may also check online rating services and reviews and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Get in touch with a few Bath MI physical therapist clinics or other health care facilities that you might be interested in working for and ask if they can offer any advice about your school selections. It might also be prudent to check with the Michigan Attorney General and school licensing authority to find out if any complaints have been filed against the colleges.

What is the College’s Job Placement Rate? There are a two useful statistics that you need to find out about all of the physical therapy programs you are looking at. One is their graduation rate. A low rate may indicate that students left because of displeasure with the program, the teachers, or both. After the students have graduated, how many of them are being hired with the help of the college’s job placement program, particularly in the Bath MI area? If a school has a high job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the medical care field is good or even excellent. It also verifies that the school has a large network of contacts to assist students get internships or employment upon graduation.

Does the College Prepare You For Licensing Requirements? It’s important that the college you choose furnishes both superior training and a course of study that satisfies the licensing criteria for Michigan or the state where you will be practicing. In every state a passing score is needed on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) along with a degree from an accredited physical therapist school. Although licensing requirements vary state by state for PT and PTA graduates, many states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on supplemental exams.

Are Internships Offered? Find out if the physical therapist programs you are evaluating have associations with Bath MI hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Internships are not only a great means to get hands on experience in a clinical setting, they are additionally a requirement for most PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they may assist graduates and students form professional relationships in the Bath health care community and assist with obtaining employment once licensed.

How Big are the Classes ? Unless you are the sort of person that prefers to sit way in the back of class or hide in the crowd, you will likely want a small class size. Smaller classes enable more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapist schools you are considering what the typical student to teacher ratio is for their classrooms. If practical you may prefer to monitor one or more classes before making your ultimate determination. This will also give you an opportunity to converse with some of the instructors and students to get their opinions regarding the pharmacist technician program as well.

Where is the College Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapist school they choose will have to be within commuting distance of their Bath MI residence. Students who have chosen to attend online classes obviously will not have to worry themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of local internships will be of importance. One thing to keep in mind is that if you choose to enroll in a program that is out of state or even out of your local area, you may be required to pay a higher tuition. State colleges normally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges generally charge a higher tuition to those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Assistance Provided? Most DPT colleges provide some form of financial assistance to their prospective students. Inquire if the schools you are reviewing have a financial aid department and see what type of help is available. They at least should help in securing a student loan or any grants you may qualify for. A number of physical therapy colleges provide scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before you eliminate a college because the tuition is too expensive, find out what financial aid may be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And last you must confirm that the physical therapy program you ultimately pick can furnish the class schedule you need. This is especially important if you decide to continue working while you attend classes. If you must schedule night or weekend classes in the Bath MI area, confirm that they are available. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, verify if that is an alternative and how many courses or credit hours you would have to carry. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up any classes that you may miss due to illness, work or family obligations.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Bath Michigan?

If you are planning on attending a Physical Therapy School in the Bath MI area, the following information may prove to be both interesting and educational regarding the location of your future Alma Mater.

Bath, Michigan

The Bath CDP is situated just north of exit 92 off Interstate 69, about 5 miles (8 km) north of East Lansing. The community has no elected officials nor any separate governmental functions from the township and serves to generally describe the central business district of Bath Township, centered at Webster and Clark roads. The CDP has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15.4 km2), of which 5.8 square miles (14.9 km2) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km2), or 3.35%, is water.[3]

On May 18, 1927, in what became known as the Bath School disaster, Andrew Kehoe, a farmer and local school board member angry over losing an election for town clerk and under notice for foreclosure, killed his wife, detonated bombs in his house and farm buildings, and at the same time set off a bomb in the consolidated school. He drove to the school in a truck rigged with more explosives, which he detonated next to the school superintendent. In all, Kehoe killed 44 people, 38 of them children, and himself, in the worst school mass murder in U.S. history. Only half of the 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of explosives set under the school went off, probably greatly lowering the death toll. Thirty-eight of the 314 students, three teachers, the superintendent, the postmaster, and a local farmer assisting at the scene were killed. Most of the dead were students from second to sixth grade. Fifty-eight others were injured.

Select the Right Physical Therapy School near Bath MI

Choosing the best physical therapist school is an important initial decision you have to make to start a rewarding career in the medical field. As we have discussed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and college you choose should both have outstanding reputations and be accredited. However there are other important questions that you should ask pertaining to your school of choice as well. As you begin your search for a physical therapy school, keep in mind that numerous factors will guide you toward your ultimate decision. You might decide to visit different colleges to view their facilities and talk to active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this important question: will this school help me accomplish my goal of becoming a licensed practicing physical therapist? By adhering to our list of additional questions, you will be able to narrow down the field so you can make the right choice. And with the proper training and education, you can accomplish your dream to become a licensed physical therapist in Bath MI.