Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Great Bend KS

How to Select a Physical Therapy Training Program near Great Bend 67530

Great Bend KS physical therapy school student with volunteer Receiving a physical therapy degree near Great Bend KS is an important first step to starting a fulfilling career in the healthcare industry. Physical therapists (PT) help people who have been incapacitated due to injury or illness gain back function and mobility. But before they can practice and work with the rehabilitation of patients, they must get the necessary education and training. A PT must additionally become licensed in every state, many mandating that the licensee receive a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So before selecting a physical therapy school, it’s necessary to evaluate those you are considering to make sure they will deliver a quality education and comply with your state’s licensing requirements. What you do not want to do is select a school just because it happens to be the closest to your home or it has the lowest tuition. There are other important qualifications that must be considered besides location and cost. But before we cover what those qualifications are and the questions you should be asking, we’ll cover what a physical therapist does and what the educational options are.

What Do Physical Therapists Do?

Great Bend KS physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists practice in varying settings, such as Great Bend KS hospitals, health clinics, assisted living facilities, rehab centers and sports facilities. What the facilities all have in common is that they have the equipment for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As previously stated, physical therapists help individuals that are struggling with a lack of mobility and in many cases pain caused by illness or injury. After patient diagnosis, they create a course of treatment to deal with the mobility problems and lessen or eradicate any pain. They also try to prevent any progression of the disability. While the causes of disability requiring physical therapy are numerous, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Motor vehicle accidents
Strokes.
Heart attacks.
Sports injuries.
Fire injuries.
Hip Replacement.
Sciatica.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists work in close affiliation with other Great Bend KS health specialists, including doctors, chiropractors, registered nurses and dentists. They can also oversee several physical therapy assistants who work under them assisting with the diagnosis and treatment of their patients. One thing to bear in mind for anyone thinking about getting into the physical therapy field, it is rather physically demanding. Physical therapists regularly lift heavy equipment as well as patients, and kneel, crouch and stand for prolonged periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapy Degrees

Great Bend KS physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapy degree options available for individuals to enroll in at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Of these alternatives, the only degree that is attainable to become a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees focus on either training students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or readying them to progress to the doctoral level. Below are brief summaries of degree levels that are available in the Great Bend KS area:

Associate Degrees train 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 qualify for enrollment. The programs are typically made available by community colleges, and require 2 years for completion. An internship or other form of clinical training is usually a portion of the course of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees are developed as pre-physical therapy education to ready students to move up to the doctoral level. While they are not a requirement to be qualified for the doctoral program, they are an essential initial step to practicing as a PT. Similar to most bachelor’s degrees, they normally require four years to finish and often include 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). After earning the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes 3 years to complete, making the total commitment seven years in most cases. Clinical or practical training is an essential component along with the considerable lab and classroom instruction. Therefor the completion of an internship is required, not only for graduation but in a number of 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 requirement for a doctorate was implemented.

Physical Therapist Programs Online

woman attending physical therapy school online in Great Bend KS Although not as common as the on-campus alternatives, there are many accredited online physical therapy programs available, even more at the graduate level. Because of 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 a sponsored internship. However, the online part of the program may be accessed within the comfort and convenience of the student’s Great Bend KS residence. Online programs are not only to some extent more accessible, but in many instances more affordable. Tuition might be significantly less than similar on-campus options, and expenditures for commuting are minimized. And a number of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, guaranteeing a quality education. These benefits may make the online option the right choice for those students that are dedicated enough to learn at home.

Questions to Ask Physical Therapist Colleges

At this point you probably have come to decision concerning a few of your preliminary questions, such as the type of physical therapist degree you would like to attain, 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 Great Bend KS area and throughout Kansas, you’ll have to explore additional qualifications as well so as to further narrow your list of college options. Moreover, you want to make certain that you enroll in the college that is right for you. That’s the reason we have collected a list of essential questions that you must ask the physical therapy programs you are considering. Ask all of the competing colleges these questions prior to making a final decision.

Is the Physical Therapy School Accredited? Ask if the schools you are reviewing have earned accreditation from a regional or a national organization. As previously mentioned, 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 may also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s essential that both the physical therapist program and school you select are accredited, not simply the school. Additionally, check that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization. Along with ensuring 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 Program’s Reputation? Along with accreditation, it’s imperative that the school and program you select have excellent reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are a number of ways you can investigate a PT school’s reputation, starting with requesting references from employers that they refer their students to. You can also search for online reviews and rating services and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Get in touch with a few Great Bend KS physical therapist centers or other healthcare facilities that you may have an interest in working for and ask if they can give you any recommendations about your college selections. It might also be a good idea to contact the Kansas Attorney General and school licensing authority to find out if any complaints have been filed against the schools.

What is the Program’s Job Placement Percentage? There are a two important statistics that you need to find out about each of the physical therapy programs you are looking at. One is their graduation rate. A low rate may suggest that students dropped out because of displeasure with the program, the teachers, or both. Once the students have graduated, how many of them are being hired with the help of the college’s job placement program, particularly in the Great Bend KS area? If a program has a higher job placement rate, it suggests that its reputation within the medical care community is good or perhaps outstanding. It also confirms that the school has a wide network of contacts to help students obtain internships or jobs upon graduation.

Does the Program Prepare You For Licensing Requirements? It’s essential that the program you choose provides both excellent training and a course of study that satisfies the licensing criteria for Kansas or the state where you will be practicing. In each state a passing score is required on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) along with a degree from an accredited physical therapist school. Although licensing requirements fluctuate state by state for PT and PTA graduates, a number of states require a minimum number of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on supplemental tests.

Are Internships Provided? Ask if the physical therapist colleges you are evaluating have relationships with Great Bend KS clinics or hospitals for internship programs. Not only are internships a great means to get hands on training in a clinical setting, they are also a requirement for the majority of PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they may help graduates and students develop professional relationships in the Great Bend health care community and help with obtaining employment after licensing.

What Size are the Classes ? Unless you are the sort of person that prefers to sit far in the rear of the classroom or hide in the crowd, you will undoubtedly prefer a small class size. Smaller classes permit more individual participation and one-on-one instruction. Ask the physical therapist colleges you are looking at what the average student to teacher ratio is for their classes. If practical you may prefer to sit in on one or more classes before making your final decision. This will also give you an opportunity to talk with several of the students and instructors to get their opinions regarding the pharmacist technician program also.

Where is the Program Located? For a number of students, the physical therapy school they decide on will need to be within travelling distance of their Great Bend KS home. Students who have chosen to attend online classes obviously will not have to trouble themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of area internships will be of importance. One thing to keep in mind is that if you decide to enroll in a program that is out of state or even out of your local area, you might need to pay a higher tuition. State colleges typically charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges normally charge a higher tuition for those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Assistance Provided? The majority of DPT colleges supply some form of financial assistance to their potential students. Find out if the colleges you are considering have a financial assistance department and find out what type of aid is obtainable. They at least should help in securing a student loan or any grants you may be eligible for. A number of physical therapy colleges offer scholarships, while others offer work programs. So before you eliminate a college because the tuition is beyond your budget, ask what financial aid may be available.

Can the College Accommodate your Schedule? And last you need to confirm that the physical therapist program you ultimately choose can furnish the class schedule you need. This is especially crucial if you decide to continue working while you attend classes. If you must schedule evening or weekend classes in the Great Bend KS area, confirm that they are offered. If you can only attend part-time, find out if that is an alternative and how many credit hours or courses you would have to carry. Also, learn what the procedure is for making up any classes that you may miss because of work, illness or family obligations.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Great Bend Kansas?

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

Great Bend, Kansas

Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States.[6] It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast.[7] As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 15,995.[8]

Prior to American settlement of the area, the site of Great Bend was located in the northern reaches of Kiowa territory.[9] Claimed first by France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it lay within the area organized by the U.S. as Kansas Territory in 1854.[10][11] Kansas became a state in 1861, and the state government delineated the surrounding area as Barton County in 1867.[11][12]

The first settlers of the area arrived in 1870. Living in sod houses and dugouts, they worked as buffalo hunters since trampling by bison herds precluded crop farming.[13] In 1871, the Great Bend Town Company, anticipating the westward construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, founded Great Bend at a site roughly three miles west of Fort Zarah on the Santa Fe Trail.[13][14] They named the settlement after its location at the "great bend" in the Arkansas River where the river’s course turns eastward.[7] The town began to grow as more settlers arrived over the following year and opened several businesses.

Enroll in the Best Physical Therapist Degree Program near Great Bend KS

Deciding on the ideal physical therapy program is an important first decision you need to make to launch a rewarding career in the medical field. As we have addressed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and college you enroll in should both have exceptional reputations and be accredited. However there are additional important questions that you need to ask regarding your college of choice as well. As you commence your search for a physical therapy program, bear in mind that many factors will guide you toward your ultimate decision. You may want to go to different colleges to view their facilities and speak to active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this important question: will this college help me achieve my goal of becoming a practicing licensed physical therapist? By adhering to our list of supplemental questions, you will be able to narrow down the field so you can make the ideal selection. And with the proper training and education, you can achieve your dream to become a practicing physical therapist in Great Bend KS.