Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Rock Hill SC

How to Enroll In a Physical Therapy School near Rock Hill 29730

Rock Hill SC physical therapy school student with volunteer Obtaining a physical therapist degree near Rock Hill SC is an important first step to launching a rewarding career in the medical care field. Physical therapists (PT) help people who have been disabled due to injury or illness regain function and mobility. But before they may legally practice and provide treatment for the rehabilitation of patients, they need to obtain the appropriate training and education. A PT must additionally become licensed in every state, a large number mandating that the licensee hold a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So prior to selecting a physical therapy school, it’s essential to investigate the ones you are thinking about to ensure they will deliver a quality education and meet your state’s licensing requirements. What you do not want to do is choose a school simply because it happens to be the closest to your residence or it has the lowest tuition. There are other relevant qualifications that must be evaluated besides cost and location. But before we cover what those qualifications are and the questions you should be asking, we’ll address what a physical therapist does and what the educational options are.

What Does a Physical Therapist Do?

Rock Hill SC physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists work in diverse settings, including Rock Hill SC private practices, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and health clubs. What the facilities all share in common is that they are equipped for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As previously touched on, physical therapists help people that are experiencing a lack of mobility and frequently pain due to illness or injury. After diagnosing a patient, they design a program of treatment to resolve the mobility problems and reduce or eliminate any pain. They also try to stop any advancement of the disability. While the causes of disability requiring physical therapy are numerous, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Motor vehicle accidents
Strokes.
Cardiac arrest.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Fire injuries.
Knee Replacement.
Sciatica.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists practice in close affiliation with other Rock Hill SC health specialists, including doctors, chiropractors, registered nurses and dentists. They can also oversee one or more physical therapy assistants who work for them in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients. One thing to keep in mind for anyone thinking about entering the physical therapy profession, it is rather physically demanding. Physical therapists routinely lift heavy equipment as well as patients, and kneel, crouch and stand for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapy Degree Options

Rock Hill SC physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are 3 physical therapist degrees available for individuals to pursue at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of these choices, the single degree that is available to become a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees emphasize either preparing students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or preparing them to advance to the doctoral level. Following are short explanations of degrees that are available in the Rock Hill SC area:

Associate Degrees train students to practice as physical therapy assistants, or can be the first step toward earning a more advanced degree. Applicants must have obtained a high school diploma or GED to be accepted for enrollment. The programs are most often made available by community colleges, and require two years to complete. An internship or other form of clinical training is typically a component of the course of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees are created as pre-physical therapist training to prep students to move up to the doctoral level. While they are not a requirement to be eligible for the doctoral program, they are an essential preliminary step to practicing as a PT. Similar to most bachelor’s degrees, they generally take four years to complete and commonly include an internship program of a minimum of 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are a requirement if you want to become a licensed practicing physical therapist. The degree program must also be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). After earning the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes three years to complete, making the total investment of time 7 years in the majority of cases. Clinical training is an important component 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 also.

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 offered in the United States. Some licensed physical therapists having a master’s or even a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in before the current licensing mandate for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapist Programs Online

woman attending physical therapy school online in Rock Hill SC While not as prevalent as the more traditional alternatives, there are many accredited online physical therapist degrees available, even more at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on nature of the training, internships and clinical lab work are integrated with the online classes. This necessitates that the student live near the college campus or nearby an available internship. Fortunately, the online portion of the curriculum may be accessed within the convenience and comfort of the student’s Rock Hill SC residence. Online schools are not only partially more accessible, but in many instances more affordable. Tuition might be significantly less than similar on-campus options, and expenses for commuting are minimized. And a number of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, ensuring a quality education. These benefits may make the online alternative the right choice for those students that are disciplined enough to learn at home.

Questions to Ask Physical Therapist Colleges

At this point you probably have made a decision concerning several of your preliminary questions, like the kind of physical therapy degree you intend to attain, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much you can afford to invest in your education. But considering there are so many PT colleges within the Rock Hill SC area and across South Carolina, you’ll have to research other qualifications also so as to further reduce your list of school options. Also, you need to make sure that you pick the program that is right for you. That’s why we have put together a list of important questions that you need to ask the physical therapist colleges you are considering. Ask each of the competing colleges these questions prior to making a final selection.

Is the Physical Therapy College Accredited? Ask if the programs you are considering have received accreditation from a regional or a national agency. As earlier stated, if you are pursuing a doctorate the program must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). If you enroll in an online program, it can also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s essential that both the physical therapy program and school you select are accredited, not just the school. Also, verify that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. Besides guaranteeing that you obtain a quality education, accreditation may be mandated for state licensing and even for securing student loans or financial aid.

What is the Program’s Reputation? Along with accreditation, it’s essential that the school and program you pick have outstanding reputations within the physical therapy community. There are several ways you can research a PT school’s reputation, beginning with requesting references from employers that they refer their students to. You can also check online rating services and reviews and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Contact some Rock Hill SC physical therapist clinics or other medical care facilities that you might be interested in working for and ask if they can offer any insight about your college options. It may also be a good idea to contact the South Carolina Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been filed against the colleges.

What is the College’s Job Placement Percentage? There are a couple of significant statistics that you should find out about all of the physical therapist schools you are considering. First is their graduation rate. A low rate may suggest that students left due to dissatisfaction with the program, the teachers, or both. Once the students have graduated, how many of them are being hired with the help of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Rock Hill SC area? If a program has a high job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the medical care field is good or perhaps excellent. It also confirms that the school has a broad network of contacts to assist students gain internships or jobs upon graduation.

Does the School Support Licensing Requirements? It’s imperative that the school you choose provides both superior training and a curriculum that satisfies the licensing requirements for South Carolina or the state where you will be practicing. In every state a passing score is needed on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) in addition to a degree from an accredited physical therapist school. While licensing requirements differ state by state for PTA and PT graduates, many states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be completed as well as passing scores on supplemental exams.

Are Internships Offered? Ask if the physical therapy colleges you are interested in have partnerships with Rock Hill SC hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Not only are internships a terrific way to get practical experience in a clinical setting, they are additionally a requirement for the majority of PT programs and state licensing. As a secondary benefit, they can assist students and graduates develop professional connections in the Rock Hill health care community and assist with job placement after licensing.

How Large are the Classes ? Unless you are the sort of person that likes to sit way in the back of the classroom or get lost in the crowd, you will probably prefer a smaller class size. Small classes enable more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapy schools you are looking at what the typical student to teacher ratio is for their classes. If practical you may want to sit in on one or more classes before making your ultimate decision. This will also give you an opportunity to speak with a few of the students and instructors to get their perspectives regarding the pharmacist tech program as well.

Where is the School Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapy school they choose will need to be within commuting distance of their Rock Hill SC home. Individuals who have opted to attend classes online obviously will not have to worry themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of local internships will be of concern. One thing to bear 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 might be required to pay a higher tuition. State colleges often charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges frequently charge a higher tuition for those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Support Provided? Most DPT schools offer some form of financial assistance to their potential students. Inquire if the schools you are examining have a financial aid department and find out what kind of aid is obtainable. At a minimum they should help in obtaining a student loan or any grants you might qualify for. Some physical therapist colleges provide scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before you eliminate a college because the tuition is too expensive, find out what financial assistance might be available.

Can the Program Accommodate your Schedule? And last you need to verify that the physical therapy program you finally pick can furnish the class schedule you need. This is particularly essential if you choose to continue working while you attend school. If you need to schedule evening or weekend classes in the Rock Hill SC area, check that they are available. If you can only attend part-time, find out if that is an option and how many credit hours or courses you would need to carry. Also, find out what the protocol is for making up any classes that you may miss due to work, illness or family obligations.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Rock Hill South Carolina?

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

Rock Hill, South Carolina

Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina, United States and the fifth-largest city in the state.[4] It is also the fourth-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia (all located in North Carolina, unlike Rock Hill). As of the 2010 Census, the population was 66,154. In 2016, the population had increased to 72,937.[5]

Rock Hill offers scenic riverfront views along the Catawba River and is home to numerous nature trails, restaurants, and thirty-one parks which are used for both national and local events. Its historic downtown consist of twelve contiguous buildings built as early as 1840 offering dining and retail options. The city is also home to three colleges, including Winthrop University, a public liberal arts university founded in 1886 which enrolls nearly 6,000 students annually.

Procceding cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the Piedmont for thousands of years. The historic Catawba Indian Nation, a traditionally Siouan-speaking tribe, was here at the time of European encounter. Currently the only tribe in South Carolina that is federally recognized, its members live near Rock Hill.

Pick the Right Physical Therapist Training Program near Rock Hill SC

Choosing the right physical therapist college is a necessary initial decision you need to make to launch a gratifying career in the medical profession. As we have addressed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and college you select should both have outstanding reputations and be accredited. But there are other relevant questions that you need to ask concerning your college of choice as well. As you begin your search for a physical therapy school, keep in mind that numerous factors will guide you to your final decision. You might decide to go to each of the campuses to see their facilities and speak to active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this critical question: will this college help me achieve my goal of becoming a practicing licensed physical therapist? By adhering to our list of additional questions, you will be able to narrow down the options so you can make the right selection. And with the proper education and training, you can fulfill your dream of becoming a practicing physical therapist in Rock Hill SC.