Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Hicksville NY

How to Pick a Physical Therapist Training Program near Hicksville 11801

Hicksville NY physical therapy school student with volunteer Obtaining a physical therapist degree near Hicksville NY is an essential first step to starting a fulfilling career in the medical care field. Physical therapists (PT) help patients who have been debilitated as a result of injury or illness regain mobility and function. But before they can practice and work with the rehabilitation of patients, they need to acquire the appropriate education and training. A PT must additionally be licensed in all states, many mandating that the licensee hold a physical therapy degree from an accredited college. So prior to choosing a physical therapy school, it’s essential to evaluate the ones you are considering to ensure they will furnish a quality education and meet your state’s licensing standards. What you do not want to do is enroll in a college simply because it happens to be the nearest to your residence or it has cheapest tuition. There are other relevant qualifications that must be considered besides location and cost. But before we cover 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?

Hicksville NY physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists practice in diverse settings, including Hicksville NY hospitals, health clinics, assisted living facilities, rehab centers and sports facilities. What the facilities all share in common is that they are equipped for the diagnosis and rehabilitation treatment of patients. As earlier stated, physical therapists help individuals that are struggling with a lack of mobility and frequently pain due to injury or illness. After patient diagnosis, they design a course of treatment to resolve the mobility issues and lessen or eliminate any pain. They also try to stop any progression of the disability. Although the causes of disability requiring physical therapy are numerous, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Car or motor cycle accidents
Strokes.
Heart attacks.
Sports injuries.
Fire injuries.
Hip Replacement.
Fibromyalgia.
Cerebral Palsy.

Licensed physical therapists practice in close affiliation with other Hicksville NY medical professionals, including doctors, chiropractors, registered nurses and dentists. They may also manage several physical therapy assistants who work under them assisting with diagnosing and treating their patients. One thing to bear in mind for anyone considering getting into the physical therapy profession, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists routinely lift heavy equipment as well as patients, and stand, crouch and kneel for long periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapy Degrees Available

Hicksville NY physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are 3 physical therapist degrees available for individuals to pursue at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Of these alternatives, the only degree that is available 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 brief explanations of degree levels that are available in the Hicksville NY area:

Associate Degrees educate students to become 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 be accepted for enrollment. The degrees are most often offered by community colleges, and require 2 years for completion. Clinical training, which may be in the form of an internship is typically part of the course of study.
Bachelor’s Degrees are designed as pre-physical therapist training to prepare students to progress to the doctoral level. While they are not required to be a candidate for the doctoral program, they are an important preliminary step to becoming a PT. As with the majority of bachelor’s degrees, they normally take four 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 overall investment of time 7 years in the majority of cases. Clinical training is an intregal component along with the substantial lab and classroom instruction. Therefor the completion of an internship is mandated, not only for graduation but in some states for licensing as well.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) has replaced the Master’s of Physical Therapy (MPT), which has been eliminated and is no longer attainable in the United States. A number of practicing physical therapists holding a master’s or in some cases a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in prior to the current licensing mandate for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapist Colleges Online

woman attending physical therapy school online in Hicksville NY While not as common as the on campus alternatives, there are some accredited online physical therapy programs available, more so at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on structure of the training, clinical lab work and internships are integrated with the online classes. This requires that the student live close to the college campus or in proximity of a sponsored internship. Fortunately, the online portion of the course of study may be accessed within the convenience and comfort of the student’s Hicksville NY home. Online programs are not only partially more accessible, but in a number of instances more economical. Tuition might be somewhat less than comparable on-campus options, and expenditures for commuting are minimized. And many of the online programs are accredited by the CAPTE, assuring a quality education. These benefits can make the online alternative the ideal choice for those students that are dedicated enough to learn at home.

Subjects to Ask Physical Therapy Schools

By now you probably have made a decision concerning some of your preliminary queries, such as the type of physical therapy degree you want to obtain, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much money you can afford to spend for your education. But since there are so many PT schools within the Hicksville NY area and throughout New York, you’ll need to explore additional qualifications as well in order to further narrow your list of college options. Furthermore, you need to make sure that you choose the school that is right for you. That’s the reason we have collected a list of important questions that you must ask the physical therapist colleges you are thinking about. Ask each of the competing colleges these questions before making a final decision.

Is the Physical Therapy School Accredited? Find out if the schools you are reviewing have received accreditation from a regional or a national agency. 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 select an online program, it may also receive accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s essential that both the physical therapist school and program you choose are accredited, not just the school. Also, make sure that the accreditation is from a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting organization. In addition to ensuring that you receive an excellent education, accreditation might be mandated for state licensing and even for getting student loans or financial aid.

What is the Program’s Ranking? In addition to accreditation, it’s important that the school and program you pick have exceptional reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are multiple ways you can research a PT program’s reputation, starting with requesting references from employers that they refer their students to. You may also check online reviews and rating services and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews also. Get in touch with some Hicksville NY physical therapist clinics or other healthcare facilities that you may be interested in working for and ask if they can offer any advice about your school options. It may also be prudent to contact the New York Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been filed against the schools.

What is the School’s Job Placement Rate? There are a two important statistics that you should know about each of the physical therapist programs you are looking at. First is their graduation rate. A low rate may suggest that students left due to dissatisfaction with the program, the instructors, or both. Once the students have graduated, what percentage of them are being placed in jobs with the help of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Hicksville NY area? If a school has a high job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the healthcare community is good or perhaps excellent. It also affirms that the program has a wide network of contacts to assist students obtain internships or jobs after graduation.

Does the Program Prepare You For Licensing Requirements? It’s essential that the college you enroll in provides both excellent training and a course of study that satisfies the licensing requirements for New York or the state where you will be working. In each 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 differ state by state for PTA and PT graduates, many states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed and passing scores on additional exams.

Are Internship Programs Provided? Find out if the physical therapy schools you are interested in have partnerships with Hicksville NY clinics or hospitals for internship programs. Internships are not only an excellent means to obtain practical training in a clinical setting, they are also a requirement for the majority of PT programs and state licensing. As a secondary benefit, they can help graduates and students develop professional relationships in the Hicksville medical community and help with job placement once licensed.

What are the Class Sizes ? Unless you are the sort of person that prefers to sit way in the back of class or hide in the crowd, you will likely prefer a smaller class size. Smaller classes enable more individual participation and personalized instruction. Ask the physical therapist colleges you are researching what the average teacher to student ratio is for their classes. If practical you may want to monitor one or more classes before making your final determination. This will also give you an opportunity to speak with several of the instructors and students to get their perspectives regarding the pharmacy tech program also.

Where is the College Located? For a number of students, the physical therapy college they decide on will have to be within travelling distance of their Hicksville NY home. Individuals who have opted to attend classes online naturally will not have to concern 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 have 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 colleges offer some form of financial support to their potential students. Ask if the colleges 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 be eligible for. Some physical therapist schools offer scholarships, while others offer work programs. So before you eliminate a school because the tuition is too expensive, learn what financial aid may be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And last you must confirm that the physical therapy college you ultimately pick can provide the class schedule you need. This is especially crucial if you decide to continue working while attending school. If you need to schedule evening or weekend classes in the Hicksville NY area, verify that they are available. If you can only attend part-time, find out if that is an alternative 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 due to illness, work or family emergencies.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Hicksville New York?

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

Hicksville, New York

Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census.

Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist and Quaker preacher Elias Hicks, and eventual president of the Long Island Rail Road, bought land in the village in 1834 and turned it into a station stop on the LIRR in 1837. The station became a depot for produce, particularly cucumbers for a Heinz Company plant. After a blight destroyed the cucumber crops, the farmers grew potatoes. It turned into a bustling New York City suburb in the building boom following World War II.[1][2]

The Rubber Company of America (RUCO) built a manufacturing site in 1945. RUCO Polymer Corp. (Hooker Chemical Company) manufactured plastics, latex, and esters. Occidental Chemical Corporation (OCC) owned and operated this site from 1966 to 1982. The site was purchased by Sybron Corporation, then in 2000, the Bayer Corporation (Bayer MaterialScience) purchased the Hooker Ruco facility and in 2002 decided to close the facility.[4] The site was used for the production of polyester from 1982 until 2002.[5]

Enroll in the Best Physical Therapist School near Hicksville NY

Selecting the best physical therapist program is an important initial decision you have to make to start a rewarding career in the health care profession. As we have covered in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and school you choose should both have outstanding reputations and be accredited. However there are other critical questions that you need to ask pertaining to your school of choice also. As you start your search for a physical therapy school, bear in mind that numerous factors will lead you toward your final decision. You may decide to visit different colleges to view their facilities and speak with active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this critical question: will this school 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 best choice. And with the proper education and training, you can fulfill your dream of becoming a practicing physical therapist in Hicksville NY.