Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Nutley NJ

How to Pick a Physical Therapist College near Nutley 07110

Nutley NJ physical therapy school student with volunteer Getting a physical therapy degree near Nutley NJ is an important first step to launching a rewarding career in the health care industry. Physical therapists (PT) help patients who have been incapacitated as a result of illness or injury regain function and mobility. But before they may legally practice and provide treatment for the rehabilitation of patients, they need to get the appropriate education and training. A PT must also be licensed in every state, a large number requiring that the licensee earn a physical therapy degree from an accredited college. So before enrolling in a physical therapy school, it’s essential to investigate the ones you are considering to make certain they will supply a quality education and comply with your state’s licensing requirements. What you should not do is select a school simply because it happens to be the closest to your residence or it has the lowest tuition. There are other significant qualifications that need to be considered along with cost and location. But before we discuss what those qualifications are and what questions you should ask, we’ll cover what a physical therapist does and what the educational options are.

What Does a Physical Therapist Do?

Nutley NJ physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists work in varying locations, including Nutley NJ hospitals, health clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and sports facilities. What the facilities all have in common is that they have the equipment for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As previously touched on, physical therapists help people that are struggling with a lack of mobility and often pain due to illness or injury. After diagnosing a patient, they develop a program of treatment to deal with the mobility problems and lessen or eliminate any pain. They also try to stop any advancement of the disability. While 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.
Sciatica.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists work in close affiliation with other Nutley NJ health professionals, including chiropractors, physicians, dentists and nurses. They may also manage several physical therapy assistants who work for them assisting with the diagnosis and treatment of their patients. Something to bear in mind for anyone considering going into the physical therapy field, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists often 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

Nutley NJ physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are 3 physical therapy degrees offered for students to enroll in at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of these alternatives, the only degree that is attainable to become a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees focus on either preparing students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or preparing them to advance to the doctoral level. Following are brief summaries of degrees that are available in the Nutley NJ area:

Associate Degrees train students to be physical therapy assistants, or may be the first step toward earning a more advanced degree. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent to qualify for enrollment. The programs are most often made available by community colleges, and take about two years for completion. Clinical training, which may be in the form of an internship is typically a portion of the course of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees are designed as pre-physical therapy education to prepare candidates to progress to the doctoral level. While they are not required to be qualified for the doctoral program, they are an important first step to becoming a PT. As with the majority of bachelor’s degrees, they normally require 4 years to finish and commonly include an internship program of at least 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are a requirement in order to become a practicing licensed 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 commitment 7 years in most cases. Clinical or practical training is an important component in addition to the substantial classroom and lab instruction. Therefor the fulfillment of an internship is required, not just 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 phased out and is no longer attainable in the United States. Some licensed physical therapists having a master’s or in some cases a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in prior to the current licensing mandate for a doctorate was implemented.

Physical Therapist Online Colleges

woman attending physical therapy school online in Nutley NJ Although not as prevalent as the on campus alternatives, there are some accredited online physical therapist degrees available, more so at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on nature of the training, clinical lab work and internships 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 can be accessed within the comfort and convenience of the student’s Nutley NJ home. Online programs are not only to some extent more accessible, but in a number of instances more affordable. Tuition can be somewhat less than similar on campus alternatives, and expenditures for commuting are reduced. And a number of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, guaranteeing a quality education. These benefits can make the online option the best choice for those students that are disciplined enough to learn at home.

What to Ask Physical Therapy Schools

At this point you probably have made a decision regarding some of your initial questions, such as the type of physical therapist degree you intend to earn, where you want to attend classes, and how much money you can afford to spend for your education. But considering there are numerous PT colleges within the Nutley NJ area and across New Jersey, you’ll have to explore additional qualifications as well so as to further reduce your list of school choices. Moreover, you need to make sure that you enroll in the college that is best for you. That’s the reason we have compiled a list of important questions that you need to ask the physical therapy programs you are considering. Ask each of the competing schools these questions prior to making an ultimate selection.

Is the Physical Therapy School Accredited? Ask if the schools you are looking at have received accreditation from a regional or a national organization. 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 can also earn accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s imperative that both the physical therapy school and program you choose are accredited, not just the school. Additionally, check that the accreditation is through a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting agency. Besides ensuring that you receive a quality education, accreditation may be mandated for state licensing and even for getting student loans or financial aid.

What is the College’s Reputation? Along with accreditation, it’s important that the school and program you pick have exceptional reputations within the physical therapist profession. There are a number of ways you can research a PT college’s reputation, beginning with requesting references from employers that they refer their students to. You may also search for online reviews and rating services and ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews also. Call some Nutley NJ physical therapy clinics or other healthcare facilities that you might be interested in working for and ask if they can provide any recommendations about your school selections. It might also be a good idea to check with the New Jersey Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been submitted against the colleges.

What is the School’s Job Placement Rate? There are a two relevant statistics that you should know about all of the physical therapist schools you are considering. First is their graduation rate. A low rate may mean that students dropped out due to displeasure with the program, the instructors, 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 Nutley NJ area? If a program has a higher job placement rate, it suggests that its reputation within the healthcare field is good or even outstanding. It also verifies that the program has a broad network of contacts to assist students gain internships or employment after graduation.

Does the School Prepare You For Licensing Requirements? It’s important that the school you select provides both excellent training and a curriculum that satisfies the licensing requirements for New Jersey or the state where you will be practicing. In each state a passing score is needed on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) as well as a degree from an accredited physical therapy school. While licensing requirements differ state by state for PTA and PT graduates, some states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on additional tests.

Are Internship Programs Sponsored? Ask if the physical therapy programs you are evaluating have relationships with Nutley NJ hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Not only are internships a great way to obtain practical experience in a clinical environment, they are also a requirement for the majority of PT programs and state licensing. As a secondary benefit, they may help graduates and students develop professional relationships in the Nutley health care community and help with obtaining employment after licensing.

How Large are the Classes ? Unless you are the kind of student that prefers to sit way in the rear of class or get lost in the crowd, you will undoubtedly prefer a smaller class size. Smaller classes permit more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapy schools you are reviewing 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 ultimate decision. This will also give you a chance to converse with a few of the instructors and students to get their perspectives regarding the pharmacy tech program as well.

Where is the College Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapist school they choose will need to be within travelling distance of their Nutley NJ residence. Those who have opted 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 concern. One thing to bear 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 be required to pay a higher tuition. State colleges often charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges generally charge a higher tuition for those students that live outside of their districts.

Is Financial Support Offered? Most DPT schools supply some type of financial support to their potential students. Ask if the colleges you are considering have a financial assistance office and see what kind of aid is offered. They at least should help in acquiring a student loan or any grants you may qualify for. Some physical therapist schools offer scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before you eliminate a program because the tuition is too expensive, ask what financial assistance might be available.

Can the Program Accommodate your Schedule? And finally you must confirm that the physical therapist college you ultimately choose can offer the class schedule you need. This is especially crucial if you choose to continue working while you attend school. If you need to schedule evening or weekend classes in the Nutley NJ area, make sure that they are offered. If you can only attend part-time, verify if that is an option 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 because of work, illness or family emergencies.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Nutley New Jersey?

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

Nutley, New Jersey

Nutley is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 28,370,[10][11][12] reflecting an increase of 1,008 (+3.7%) from the 27,362 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 263 (+1.0%) from the 27,099 counted in the 1990 Census.[22]

What is now Nutley was originally incorporated as Franklin Township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 18, 1874, from portions of Belleville Township. Nutley was incorporated as a Town on March 5, 1902, replacing Franklin Township.[23][24] In 1981, the town was one of seven Essex County municipalities to pass a referendum to become a township, joining four municipalities that had already made the change, of what would ultimately be more than a dozen Essex County municipalities to reclassify themselves as townships in order take advantage of federal revenue sharing policies that allocated townships a greater share of government aid to municipalities on a per capita basis.[25][26][27][28]

Nutley grew slowly as Newark developed. The first European settler in the area, recorded in the minutes of a Newark town meeting in 1693, was a Dutch painter named Bastian Van Giesen.[29] His house, known as Vreeland Homestead, still stands today on Chestnut Street and is the location of the Nutley Women's Club. John Treat and Thomas Stagg purchased lots adjacent to Van Geisen's in 1695 and 1698 respectively. The Van Riper House is another building from the era.

Pick the Best Physical Therapy School near Nutley NJ

Choosing the ideal physical therapy college is an important first decision you need to make to start a rewarding career in the healthcare profession. As we have covered in this article, the DPT or PT degree program and school you select should both have outstanding reputations and be accredited. However there are additional important questions that you need to ask regarding your college of choice also. As you start your search for a physical therapy program, keep in mind that many factors will guide you toward your final decision. You might want to go to each of the campuses to see their facilities and speak with current DPT students. While there, ask yourself this important question: will this college help me reach my goal of becoming a practicing licensed physical therapist? By following our list of additional questions, you will be able to narrow down the options so you can make the right selection. And with the necessary education and training, you can achieve your dream to become a licensed physical therapist in Nutley NJ.