Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Oglesby IL

How to Find the Right Physical Therapy School near Oglesby 61348

Oglesby IL physical therapy school student with volunteer Receiving a physical therapist degree near Oglesby IL is an important first step to beginning a fulfilling career in the healthcare industry. Physical therapists (PT) help patients who have been debilitated as a result of illness or injury gain back function and mobility. But before they can practice and provide treatment for the rehabilitation of patients, they must acquire the necessary education and training. A PT must additionally become licensed in every state, a large number requiring that the licensee earn a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So prior to choosing a physical therapy school, it’s essential to evaluate those you are looking at to make sure they will deliver a quality education and comply with your state’s licensing criteria. What you should not do is enroll in a college simply because it happens to be the nearest to your home or it has cheapest tuition. There are other important qualifications that must be evaluated along with cost and location. But before we discuss what those qualifications are and what questions you should ask, we’ll address what a physical therapist does and the options for education.

What is a Physical Therapist’s Job Description?

Oglesby IL physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists practice in diverse settings, such as Oglesby IL hospitals, health clinics, assisted living facilities, rehab centers and sports facilities. What the facilities all have in common is that they are equipped for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As earlier stated, physical therapists help people that are suffering from a lack of mobility and frequently pain caused by injury or illness. After patient diagnosis, they create a course of treatment to address the mobility problems and reduce or eradicate any pain. They also endeavor to stop any progression of the disability. Though the causes of disability necessitating physical therapy are abundant, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Car or motor cycle accidents
Strokes.
Cardiac arrest.
Sports injuries.
Burn injuries.
Knee Replacement.
Fibromyalgia.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists practice in close affiliation with other Oglesby IL health specialists, including doctors, chiropractors, dentists and nurses. They may also manage one or more physical therapy assistants who work for them in diagnosing and treating their patients. One thing to keep in mind for anyone thinking about getting into the physical therapy profession, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists often lift patients and heavy equipment, and stand, crouch and kneel for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapist Degree Options

Oglesby IL physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapist degree options available for individuals to enroll in at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of these choices, the single degree that is attainable to become a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees concentrate on either preparing students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or preparing them to advance to the doctoral level. Below are short explanations of degrees that are available in the Oglesby IL area:

Associate Degrees prepare students to be physical therapy assistants, or may be used as a stepping stone to a more advanced degree. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED to qualify for enrollment. The degrees are usually provided by junior or community colleges, and require two 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 designed as pre-physical therapy education to ready candidates to advance to the doctoral level. While they are not a requirement to be qualified for the doctoral program, they are an integral preliminary step to becoming a PT. As with most bachelor’s degrees, they normally require 4 years to finish and often 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 also must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). After earning the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes 3 years to finish, making the total investment of time seven years in most cases. Clinical training is an important component in addition to the considerable lab and classroom instruction. Consequently the fulfillment of an internship is mandated, not only for graduation but in several 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. A number of licensed physical therapists having a master’s or even a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in before the existing licensing mandate for a doctorate was implemented.

Physical Therapy Colleges Online

woman attending physical therapy school online in Oglesby IL While not as common as the more traditional alternatives, there are many accredited online physical therapist degrees offered, even more at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on structure of the training, internships and clinical lab work are integrated with the online classes. This necessitates that the student live close to the school campus or nearby a sponsored internship. However, the online portion of the curriculum may be accessed within the comfort and convenience of the student’s Oglesby IL home. Online programs are not only to some extent more accessible, but in a number of cases more economical. Tuition may be somewhat lower than comparable on campus alternatives, and expenditures for commuting are reduced. And a number of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, ensuring a quality education. These benefits can make the online alternative the best choice for those students that are dedicated enough to learn at home.

Topics to Ask Physical Therapy Programs

At this point you probably have come to decision concerning some of your preliminary queries, including the type of physical therapy degree you want to obtain, where you want to attend classes, and how much money you can afford to spend for your education. But considering there are numerous PT schools within the Oglesby IL area and across Illinois, you’ll need to explore other qualifications also so as to further reduce your list of school choices. Moreover, you need to make certain that you select the college that is right for you. That’s the reason we have collected a list of important questions that you must ask the physical therapy programs you are considering. Ask each of the competing colleges these questions prior to making an ultimate decision.

Is the Physical Therapy College Accredited? Ask if the schools you are looking at have earned accreditation from a national or a regional agency. As earlier 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 college, it may also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s essential that both the physical therapy school and program you enroll in are accredited, not just the school. Also, check that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. Besides guaranteeing that you obtain a quality education, accreditation might be mandated for state licensing as well as for getting student loans or financial aid.

What is the School’s Reputation? In addition to accreditation, it’s essential that the college and program you choose have outstanding reputations within the physical therapist community. There are several ways you can investigate a PT college’s reputation, beginning with asking for references from employers that they place their graduates with. You may also check online rating services and reviews and ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews also. Get in touch with some Oglesby IL physical therapist clinics or other medical care facilities that you might have an interest in working for and ask if they can give you any advice about your program selections. It may also be a good idea to contact the Illinois Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been filed against the schools.

What is the Program’s Job Placement Rate? There are a two significant statistics that you need to know about all of the physical therapist schools you are looking at. First is their graduation rate. A lower rate might suggest that students dropped out because of dissatisfaction with the program, the instructors, or both. Once the students have graduated, how many of them are being hired with the support of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Oglesby IL area? If a school has a higher job placement rate, it suggests that its reputation within the medical care field is good or even excellent. It also verifies that the program has a broad network of contacts to assist students obtain internships or jobs after graduation.

Does the College Support Licensing Requirements? It’s important that the program you select provides both exceptional training and a course of study that supports the licensing criteria for Illinois or the state where you will be working. In every state a passing score is required on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) as well as a degree from an accredited physical therapy college. Although licensing requirements fluctuate state by state for PTA and PT graduates, many states require a minimum number of clinical hours be completed as well as passing scores on supplemental exams.

Are Internship Programs Sponsored? Ask if the physical therapist colleges you are evaluating have associations with Oglesby IL clinics or hospitals for internship programs. Internships are not only a great means to receive practical experience in a clinical setting, they are also a requirement for the majority of PT programs and state licensing. As a supplemental benefit, they can assist graduates and students establish professional connections in the Oglesby healthcare community and help with obtaining employment once licensed.

How Large are the Classes ? Unless you are the sort of person that prefers to sit way in the back of the classroom or hide in the crowd, you will likely prefer a small class size. Smaller classes enable more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapist schools you are reviewing what the average 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 some of the instructors and students to get their opinions regarding the pharmacy tech program also.

Where is the Program Located? For a number of students, the physical therapy school they decide on will have to be within commuting distance of their Oglesby IL residence. Students who have chosen to attend classes online naturally will not have to trouble themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of local internships will be of concern. Something to keep in mind is that if you choose to enroll in a program that is out of state or perhaps out of your local area, you might need to pay a higher tuition. State colleges generally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges usually charge a higher tuition for those students that live outside of their districts.

Is Financial Help Provided? The majority of DPT schools supply some type of financial support to their prospective students. Ask if the colleges you are reviewing have a financial assistance department and see what kind of help is available. They at least should help in getting a student loan or any grants you might qualify for. A number of physical therapy colleges provide scholarships, while others offer work programs. So before you eliminate a school because the tuition is beyond your budget, find out what financial aid may be available.

Can the Program Accommodate your Schedule? And finally you must verify that the physical therapist school you finally pick can provide the class schedule you need. This is especially crucial if you decide to continue working while you attend school. If you need to schedule night or weekend classes in the Oglesby IL area, make sure that they are offered. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, verify if that is an alternative and how many credit hours or courses you would need to enroll in. Also, ask what the protocol is for making up any classes that you may miss due to illness, work or family emergencies.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Oglesby Illinois?

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

Oglesby, Illinois

Oglesby is located near the confluence of the Illinois River and the north-flowing Vermilion River. It was originally called Portland, due to the cement mined and manufactured in the area that was similar to Portland Cement from England. It was renamed in 1913 in honor of Richard Oglesby, a former U.S. Senator and three-time Governor of Illinois.[6]

The surface ground layers around Oglesby had excellent exposed limestone and coal; Oglesby also had adequate riverine transport. It soon became an important center for cement manufacture. Before open-pit mining there were several subsurface cement mines:[7]

Matthiessen State Park and Starved Rock State Park are located a few miles east on Illinois State Route 178.[8][9] With over two million visitors a year, Starved Rock is the most visited of any Illinois state park.

Select the Right Physical Therapist Degree Program near Oglesby IL

Choosing the ideal physical therapist school is a necessary initial decision you have to make to launch a rewarding career in the health care profession. As we have addressed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and college you decide on should both have outstanding reputations and be accredited. However there are additional critical questions that you should ask concerning your school of choice also. As you begin your search for a physical therapy program, keep in mind that numerous variables will lead you toward your ultimate decision. You may want to go to each of the campuses to see their facilities and talk to active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this critical question: will this college help me accomplish my goal of becoming a licensed practicing physical therapist? By following our list of additional questions, you will have the ability to narrow down the field so you can make the ideal choice. And with the necessary education and training, you can achieve your dream of becoming a licensed physical therapist in Oglesby IL.