Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Lehighton PA

How to Select a Physical Therapy Program near Lehighton 18235

Lehighton PA physical therapy school student with volunteer Obtaining a physical therapy degree near Lehighton PA is an important first step to launching a rewarding career in the medical care field. Physical therapists (PT) help patients who have been incapacitated as a result of illness or injury regain mobility and function. But before they can practice and provide treatment for the rehabilitation of patients, they need to acquire the necessary education and training. A PT must additionally 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 those you are looking at to make certain they will supply a quality education and comply with your state’s licensing requirements. What you do not want to do is enroll in a school simply because it happens to be the closest to your home or it has the lowest tuition. There are other important qualifications that need to be evaluated 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 the options for education.

What is a Physical Therapist’s Job Description?

Lehighton PA physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists practice in a variety of locations, including Lehighton PA private practices, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and sports facilities. What the facilities all share in common is that they are equipped for diagnosing and rehabilitating patients. As previously mentioned, physical therapists help people that are struggling with a lack of mobility and frequently pain caused by illness or injury. After patient diagnosis, they develop a course of treatment to address the mobility issues and reduce or eradicate any pain. They also try to prevent 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.
Sciatica.
Multiple Sclerosis.

Licensed physical therapists work in close association with other Lehighton PA health specialists, including chiropractors, physicians, registered nurses and dentists. They can also supervise several physical therapy assistants who work under them assisting with diagnosing and treating their patients. One thing to keep in mind for anyone thinking about going into the physical therapy field, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists often lift patients and heavy equipment, and stand, crouch and kneel for long periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapist Degree Options

Lehighton PA physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapist degree options available for students to pursue at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of these choices, the one degree that is available to practice as a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees focus on either training students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or prepping them to progress to the doctoral level. Following are brief explanations of degree levels that are available in the Lehighton PA area:

Associate Degrees train students to practice as physical therapy assistants, or can be used as a stepping stone to a more advanced degree. Candidates must have earned a high school diploma or equivalent to qualify for enrollment. The degrees are usually made available by junior or community colleges, and require 2 years for completion. Clinical training, which may be in the form of an internship is usually part of the curriculum.
Bachelor’s Degrees are created as pre-physical therapy training to prepare candidates to advance to the doctoral level. While they are not required to be qualified for the doctoral program, they are an integral first step to practicing as a PT. As with most bachelor’s degrees, they normally require four years to complete and usually include an internship program of a minimum of 500 hours.
Doctorate Degrees are required in order 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 three years to finish, making the total commitment seven years in the majority of cases. Clinical training is an intregal element along with the extensive lab and classroom instruction. Consequently the fulfillment of an internship is mandated, not only for graduation but in some 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 available in the USA. Some 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 Online Colleges

woman attending physical therapy school online in Lehighton PA While not as prevalent as the on-campus alternatives, there are some accredited online physical therapist degrees available, even more at the graduate level. Due to the hands-on structure of the training, clinical lab work and internships are combined with the online classes. This requires that the student live close to the college campus or nearby a sponsored internship. Fortunately, the online segment of the program can be accessed within the comfort and convenience of the student’s Lehighton PA residence. Online schools are not only partially more accessible, but in many cases more affordable. Tuition might be somewhat less than comparable on campus alternatives, and expenditures for commuting are minimized. And many of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, ensuring a quality education. These benefits may make the online alternative the best choice for those students that are motivated enough to attend classes at home.

Questions to Ask Physical Therapist Colleges

At this point you undoubtedly have made a decision regarding some of your preliminary questions, such as the kind of physical therapist degree you intend to earn, where you want to attend classes, and how much money you can afford to invest in your education. But because there are so many PT schools within the Lehighton PA area and across Pennsylvania, you’ll have to look into additional qualifications also in order to further reduce your list of school choices. Moreover, you need to be sure that you select the program that is right for you. That’s why we have collected a list of critical questions that you must ask the physical therapy colleges you are considering. Ask each of the competing schools these questions prior to making a final decision.

Is the Physical Therapist College Accredited? Ask if the programs you are reviewing have earned accreditation from a regional or a national organization. As earlier stated, 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 can also obtain accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s important that both the physical therapist program and school you choose are accredited, not simply the school. Also, check that the accreditation is from a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization. Along with guaranteeing that you receive an excellent education, accreditation may be mandated for state licensing and even for securing student loans or financial assistance.

What is the College’s Reputation? Along with accreditation, it’s important that the college and program you pick have excellent reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are several ways you can research a PT program’s reputation, starting with asking for references from employers that they refer their students to. You may also search for online rating services and reviews and ask the accrediting agencies for their reviews as well. Contact a few Lehighton PA physical therapist centers or other healthcare facilities that you may have an interest in working for and ask if they can give you any advice about your school selections. It might also be a good idea to contact the Pennsylvania Attorney General and school licensing authority to find out if any complaints have been filed against the schools.

What is the School’s Job Placement Rate? There are a couple of useful statistics that you need to find out about all of the physical therapy schools you are considering. One is their graduation rate. A low rate may suggest that students left due to dissatisfaction with the program, the teachers, or both. After the students have graduated, how many of them are being hired with the help of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Lehighton PA area? If a program has a higher job placement rate, it’s an indication that its reputation within the health care field is good or perhaps excellent. It also affirms that the school has a broad network of contacts to help students obtain internships or jobs upon graduation.

Does the School Support Licensing Requirements? It’s imperative that the program you enroll in furnishes both superior training and a course of study that satisfies the licensing requirements for Pennsylvania or the state where you will be practicing. In every state a passing score is needed on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) along with a degree from an accredited physical therapy program. While licensing requirements differ state by state for PTA and PT graduates, some states require a minimum amount of clinical hours be performed as well as passing scores on additional exams.

Are Internship Programs Offered? Inquire if the physical therapist colleges you are reviewing have associations with Lehighton PA hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Not only are internships a terrific way to receive practical experience in a clinical environment, they are also a requirement for most PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they can help graduates and students develop professional relationships in the Lehighton health care community and help with obtaining employment once licensed.

What are the Class Sizes ? Unless you are the kind of student that prefers to sit way in the back of class or hide in the crowd, you will likely want a smaller class size. Smaller classes allow for more individual participation and one-on-one instruction. Ask the physical therapy schools you are reviewing 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 ultimate decision. This will also give you a chance to speak with a few of the instructors and students to get their opinions regarding the pharmacy technician program as well.

Where is the Program Located? For a lot of students, the physical therapy school they decide on will need to be within travelling distance of their Lehighton PA home. Students who have chosen to attend classes online obviously 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 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 be required to pay a higher tuition. State colleges normally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges commonly charge a higher tuition to those students that don’t reside within their districts.

Is Financial Help Offered? The majority of DPT schools offer some form of financial aid to their prospective students. Find out if the colleges you are considering have a financial assistance department and find out what type of assistance is obtainable. They at least should help in obtaining a student loan or any scholarships you might qualify for. A number of physical therapist schools provide scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before eliminating a college because the tuition is too expensive, find out what financial aid might be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And finally you need to confirm that the physical therapist school you finally select can furnish the class schedule you need. This is especially essential if you choose to continue working while attending classes. If you need to schedule evening or weekend classes in the Lehighton PA area, make certain that they are offered. If you can only attend part-time, check if that is an option and how many courses or credit hours you would have to enroll in. Also, find out what the protocol is for making up any classes that you may miss because of illness, work or family emergencies.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Lehighton Pennsylvania?

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

Lehighton, Pennsylvania

Lehighton (/li'hɑitən/) is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States, 77 miles (124 km) north of Philadelphia, and 54 miles (87 km) south of Scranton. In the past, it developed early industries because of water power from the Lehigh River. With the location of a repair facility here and its regional operations, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became for years a major employer of thousands of people from the area. Post-World War II railroad and industry restructuring led to job and population losses.

At the time of the first European's encounters with historic American Indian tribes, this area was part of the shared hunting territory of the Iroquoian Susquehannock and the Algonquian Lenape (also called the Delaware, after their language and territory along the Delaware River) peoples, who were often at odds.[5] Relatives of the peoples of New England and along the St. Lawrence valley of Canada, the Delaware bands occupied much of the coastal mid-Atlantic area in Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania and lower eastern New York, including Long Island.[5] The Susquehannock confederacy's homelands were mainly along the Susquehanna River, from the Mohawk Valley in lower New York southerly to the Chesapeake and Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, but may have ranged into the 'empty lands'[6] of West Virginia, Eastern Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania.[5] The Dutch and Swedes first settled the Delaware Valley, and found the area north of the Lehigh Gap to be lightly occupied, probably by transients, but traveled regularly by the Susquehannock. This tribe traveled quite a bit according to the American Heritage Book of Indians,[5] including being described in lofty terms by John Smith when a band visited the new Jamestown, Virginia colony.[5] In the decades of the Beaver Wars in the mid-1600s, the Susquehannocks conquered and made the Lenape a tributary tribe — and also nearly inflicted an overwhelming defeat on the powerful Iroquois Confederacy,.[5] Shortly thereafter, the Susquehannocks suffered a reversal, falling first to epidemic disease that raged for three years which killed off potentially 90% of their population,[5] and a series of battles on most of their frontiers as various enemies took advantage.[5] This vacated the southeastern and central Pennsylvania regions for the Delaware peoples. However, all tribes were thereafter displaced westwards by continued colonial growth. Delaware dominance at the time of European colonization is why William Penn's settlers adopted Lenape Lenki (Delaware) names for landscape features, and less than a handful of Susquehannock names.

Lehighton was built on the site of the German Moravian Brethren's mission station "Gnadenhütten" (cabins of grace) founded in 1746. It was established as a mission to the Lenape by Moravians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, lower on the Lehigh River.[7] The German name was transcribed as "Canatanheat" by missionary John Brainerd.[8]

Select the Ideal Physical Therapist Training Program near Lehighton PA

Selecting the best physical therapy school is a necessary first decision you need to make to launch a rewarding career in the healthcare profession. As we have discussed in this article, the PT or DPT degree program and school you select should both have outstanding reputations and accreditation. However there are other relevant questions that you need to ask regarding your college of choice also. As you begin your search for a physical therapist college, keep in mind that a number of variables will lead you toward your final decision. You might decide to go to each of the campuses to view their facilities and talk to 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 adhering to our list of supplemental questions, you will have the ability to narrow down the field so you can make the appropriate choice. And with the proper training and education, you can accomplish your dream of becoming a practicing physical therapist in Lehighton PA.