Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Glenelg MD

How to Choose a Physical Therapy Degree Program near Glenelg 21737

Glenelg MD physical therapy school student with volunteer Earning a physical therapy degree near Glenelg MD is an important first step to beginning a rewarding career in the healthcare field. Physical therapists (PT) help patients who have been debilitated as a result of injury or illness gain back mobility and function. But before they can practice and work with the rehabilitation of patients, they need to receive the proper education and training. A PT must also be licensed in all states, a large number requiring that the licensee hold a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So before enrolling in a physical therapy school, it’s important to research the ones you are considering to make certain they will furnish a superior education and comply with your state’s licensing standards. What you do not want to do is choose a school just because it happens to be the closest to your home or it has the most affordable tuition. There are other important qualifications that need to be considered besides location and cost. But before we talk about what those qualifications are and what questions you should ask, we’ll cover what a physical therapist does and the options for education.

What Does a Physical Therapist Do?

Glenelg MD physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists work in a variety of settings, such as Glenelg MD hospitals, health clinics, assisted living facilities, rehab centers and sports facilities. 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 people that are experiencing a lack of mobility and in many cases pain caused by injury or illness. After patient diagnosis, they create a course of treatment to address the mobility issues and reduce or eliminate any pain. They also strive to prevent any progression of the disability. Although the causes of disability necessitating physical therapy are numerous, they include:

Osteoporosis and Arthritis
Motor vehicle accidents
Head injuries.
Heart attacks.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Burn injuries.
Hip Replacement.
Sciatica.
Cerebral Palsy.

Licensed physical therapists work in close affiliation with other Glenelg MD health specialists, including chiropractors, physicians, dentists and nurses. They may also manage several physical therapy assistants who work for them in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients. Something to bear in mind for anyone thinking about getting into the physical therapy field, it is rather physically demanding. Physical therapists often lift heavy equipment as well as patients, and stand, crouch and kneel for long periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapist Degree Options

Glenelg MD physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapist degree options offered for individuals to pursue at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Of these options, the single degree that is offered to become a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees emphasize either training students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or prepping them to progress to the doctoral level. Following are brief descriptions of degree levels that are offered in the Glenelg MD area:

Associate Degrees prepare students to become physical therapy assistants, or can be the first step toward earning a more advanced degree. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent to qualify for enrollment. The degrees are typically made available by community colleges, and require 2 years to complete. An internship or other form of clinical training is typically a component of the curriculum.
Bachelor’s Degrees are created as pre-physical therapy training to ready candidates to progress to the doctoral level. While they are not required to be a candidate for the doctoral program, they are an integral preliminary step to practicing as a PT. Similar to most bachelor’s degrees, they generally take four years to finish and commonly incorporate an internship program of a minimum of 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are a requirement if you want to become a practicing licensed physical therapist. The degree program also must be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). In addition to the bachelor’s degree, the doctoral takes 3 years to finish, making the total investment of time seven years in most cases. Practical or clinical training is an essential component in addition to the extensive lab and classroom instruction. Therefor the fulfillment of an internship is mandated, not just 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 offered in the United States. A number of licensed physical therapists holding a master’s or in some cases a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in prior to the present licensing requirement for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapist Degrees Online

woman attending physical therapy school online in Glenelg MD Although not as common as the on-campus options, there are a number of accredited online physical therapist programs available, 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 near the school campus or in proximity of an available internship. Fortunately, the online part of the course of study may be accessed within the convenience and comfort of the student’s Glenelg MD home. Online programs are not only partially more accessible, but in many cases more economical. Tuition may be somewhat lower than comparable on-campus options, and expenses for commuting are reduced. And a number of the online programs are accredited by the CAPTE, assuring a quality education. These benefits may make the online alternative the right choice for those students that are disciplined enough to learn at home.

Topics to Ask Physical Therapist Schools

At this point you undoubtedly have made a decision concerning several of your initial queries, including the kind of physical therapist degree you intend to attain, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much you can afford to spend for your education. But considering there are so many PT schools within the Glenelg MD area and across Maryland, you’ll need to research additional qualifications also so as to further narrow your list of college choices. Moreover, you need to make certain that you pick the school that is best for you. That’s why we have collected a list of critical questions that you need to ask the physical therapist programs you are thinking about. Ask each of the competing colleges these questions prior to making an ultimate decision.

Is the Physical Therapist Program Accredited? Ask if the schools you are reviewing 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 program, it may also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s important that both the physical therapist program and school you enroll in are accredited, not simply the school. Also, check that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization. Besides guaranteeing that you obtain a quality education, accreditation may be required for state licensing and even for getting student loans or financial aid.

What is the College’s Standing? In addition to accreditation, it’s important that the school and program you choose have excellent reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are multiple ways you can research a PT school’s reputation, starting with asking for references from employers that they refer their students to. You may also search for online reviews and rating services and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews as well. Get in touch with a few Glenelg MD physical therapist centers or other medical care facilities that you may 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 check with the Maryland 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 two relevant statistics that you need to know about all of the physical therapy programs you are looking at. One is their graduation rate. A lower rate might indicate that students left because of displeasure with the program, the teachers, or both. Once the students have graduated, what percentage of them are being hired with the help of the college’s job placement program, particularly in the Glenelg MD area? If a school has a high job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the medical care community is good or even excellent. It also confirms that the program has a wide network of contacts to assist students obtain internships or jobs after graduation.

Does the School Prepare You For Licensing Requirements? It’s important that the school you select provides both exceptional training and a curriculum that supports the licensing requirements for Maryland 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 therapist school. Although licensing requirements fluctuate state by state for PTA and PT graduates, a number of states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on supplemental tests.

Are Internship Programs Offered? Inquire if the physical therapist schools you are evaluating have partnerships with Glenelg MD hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Internships are not only a great means to obtain practical training in a clinical setting, they are also a requirement for most PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they may assist students and graduates establish professional relationships in the Glenelg health care community and help with obtaining employment after licensing.

What Size are the Classes ? Unless you are the sort of person that likes to sit far in the rear of class or get lost in the crowd, you will undoubtedly prefer a small class size. Small classes permit more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapy colleges you are looking at what the typical student to teacher ratio is for their classes. If practical you may prefer to monitor one or more classes before making your final determination. This will also give you an opportunity to converse with several of the students and instructors to get their perspectives regarding the pharmacy technician program also.

Where is the Program Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapist school they decide on will have to be within travelling distance of their Glenelg MD residence. Students who have chosen to attend online classes naturally will not have to worry themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of area internships will be of importance. One thing to consider 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 generally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges normally charge a higher tuition to those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Aid Provided? Most DPT schools provide some type of financial assistance to their potential students. Ask if the colleges you are looking at have a financial aid office and find out what kind of assistance is available. They at least should help in getting a student loan or any grants you might be eligible for. Some physical therapist schools offer scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before eliminating a school because the tuition is too expensive, ask what financial aid might be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And last you need to confirm that the physical therapist program you ultimately select can offer the class schedule you need. This is particularly important if you choose to continue working while you attend classes. If you must schedule evening or weekend classes in the Glenelg MD area, verify that they are offered. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, find out if that is an option and how many courses or credit hours you would have to carry. Also, learn what the procedure is for making up any classes that you might miss as a result of work, illness or family obligations.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Glenelg Maryland?

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

Maryland Route 32

Maryland Route 32 (MD 32) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The road runs 51.79 miles (83.35 km) from Interstate 97 (I-97) and MD 3 in Millersville west and north to Washington Road in Westminster. The east–west portion of MD 32 is the Patuxent Freeway, a four- to six-lane freeway between I-97 and MD 108 in Clarksville. The freeway passes through Odenton and Fort Meade, the site of Fort George G. Meade and the National Security Agency (NSA), in western Anne Arundel County and along the southern part of Columbia in Howard County. Via I-97, MD 32 connects those communities with U.S. Route 50 and US 301 in Annapolis. The state highway also intersects the four primary highways connecting Baltimore and Washington: the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, US 1, I-95, and US 29. MD 32's north–south section, Sykesville Road, connects Clarksville and Westminster by way of Sykesville and Eldersburg in southern Carroll County.

MD 32 was constructed as the original state road from West Friendship north to Westminster and from Westminster west to Taneytown in the early 1910s. The state highway was extended northwest to the Pennsylvania state line near Emmitsburg in the late 1910s. The portion of MD 32 from Glenelg to US 1 in Savage was built as MD 106 in the 1920s and early 1930s. MD 32 was extended south from West Friendship and assumed all of MD 106 in the mid-1940s. In the mid-1950s, the section of MD 32 from Westminster west to Emmitsburg was renumbered as an extension of MD 97. MD 32 would later be restored to its old route through Westminster and west toward Taneytown when MD 97, which is now MD 140 west of Westminster, was relocated in the early 1960s. MD 32 was truncated to Westminster in the late 1970s and rolled back to its present northern terminus in 2001.

Along its present course, MD 32 bypassed Sykesville and was relocated from Clarksville to Glenelg in the early 1960s. The state highway was also extended east from Savage to Fort Meade in the late 1960s. A disjoint segment of MD 32 was constructed on a new alignment from MD 175 in Odenton to MD 178 in Crownsville in the early 1970s. The Patuxent Freeway was built from Fort Meade to Columbia in the mid-1980s and from Fort Meade to Millersville in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The freeway was completed from Columbia to Clarksville in the mid-1990s and through Fort George G. Meade in 2005. Future plans call for MD 32 to be upgraded to a freeway from Clarksville to West Friendship.

Enroll in the Best Physical Therapy Training Program near Glenelg MD

Selecting the best physical therapist college is a necessary first decision you need to make to launch a fulfilling career in the health care profession. As we have discussed in this article, the DPT or PT degree program and school you choose should both have exceptional reputations and be accredited. But there are other relevant questions that you should ask pertaining to your school of choice as well. As you start your search for a physical therapist college, bear in mind that many factors will guide you toward your final decision. You might decide to visit different colleges to see their facilities and talk with active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this critical question: will this college help me achieve 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 appropriate selection. And with the proper education and training, you can accomplish your dream to become a practicing physical therapist in Glenelg MD.