Physical Therapist Schools | Get Your Physical Therapy Degree - Whitewater WI

How to Enroll In a Physical Therapy College near Whitewater 53190

Whitewater WI physical therapy school student with volunteer Getting a physical therapist degree near Whitewater WI is an important first step to starting a rewarding career in the medical care field. Physical therapists (PT) help individuals who have been debilitated due to injury or illness regain mobility and function. But before they can practice and provide treatment for the rehabilitation of patients, they must acquire the appropriate education and training. A PT must also become licensed in all states, many mandating that the licensee earn a physical therapy degree from an accredited school. So before selecting a physical therapy school, it’s necessary to evaluate those you are looking at 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 enroll in 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 evaluated in addition to cost and location. But before we cover what those qualifications are and the questions you should be asking, we’ll address what a physical therapist does and what the educational options are.

What Do Physical Therapists Do?

Whitewater WI physical therapist helping patient walk Physical therapists work in diverse locations, such as Whitewater WI hospitals, health clinics, assisted living facilities, rehab centers and health clubs. What the facilities all have in common is that they have the equipment for the diagnosis and rehabilitation treatment of patients. As earlier touched on, physical therapists help patients that are struggling with a lack of mobility and frequently pain caused by injury or illness. After patient diagnosis, they develop a course of treatment to deal with the mobility issues and lessen or eradicate any pain. They also try to prevent any advancement of the disability. Though the causes of disability requiring physical therapy are abundant, they include:

Arthritis or Osteoporosis
Motor vehicle accidents
Head injuries.
Cardiac arrest.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Fire injuries.
Knee Replacement.
Sciatica.
Cerebral Palsy.

Licensed physical therapists work in close association with other Whitewater WI medical professionals, including doctors, chiropractors, registered nurses and dentists. They can also oversee several physical therapy assistants who work under them in diagnosing and treating their patients. One thing to keep in mind for anyone thinking about entering the physical therapy profession, it is quite physically demanding. Physical therapists often lift heavy equipment as well as patients, and stand, crouch and kneel for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

Physical Therapist Degrees

Whitewater WI physical therapist applying acupuncture to patient There are three physical therapy degrees offered for individuals to pursue at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Of these choices, the single degree that is offered to practice as a physical therapist is the doctorate. Undergraduate degrees target either training students to become a physical therapy assistant (PTA) or readying them to progress to the doctoral level. Following are short descriptions of degrees that are available in the Whitewater WI area:

Associate Degrees educate students to be physical therapy assistants, or can be the first step toward earning a more advanced degree. Applicants must have obtained a high school diploma or GED to qualify for enrollment. The programs 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 usually a component of the program.
Bachelor’s Degrees are designed as pre-physical therapist education to ready candidates to advance to the doctoral level. While they are not required to be eligible for the doctoral program, they are an important initial step to becoming a PT. Similar to most bachelor’s degrees, they generally require four years to finish and commonly include an internship program of at least 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 three years to finish, making the total investment of time seven years in the majority of cases. Practical or clinical training is an intregal component in addition to the extensive classroom and lab instruction. Therefor the fulfillment 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 replaced the Master’s of Physical Therapy (MPT), which has been eliminated and is no longer attainable in the United States. Some licensed physical therapists holding a master’s or in some cases a bachelor’s degree were “grandfathered” in before the present licensing requirement for a doctorate was instituted.

Physical Therapy Online Colleges

woman attending physical therapy school online in Whitewater WI Although not as common as the on-campus alternatives, there are many accredited online physical therapist programs 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 necessitates that the student live close to the school campus or in proximity of a sponsored internship. However, the online part of the program may be accessed within the comfort and convenience of the student’s Whitewater WI home. Online schools are not only to some extent more accessible, but in a number of cases more economical. Tuition may be somewhat less than comparable on campus alternatives, and expenses for commuting are reduced. And a number of the online schools are accredited by the CAPTE, ensuring a quality education. These advantages can make the online alternative the ideal choice for those students that are dedicated enough to learn at home.

What to Ask Physical Therapy Schools

At this point you probably have come to decision regarding some of your preliminary queries, including the kind of physical therapist degree you intend to earn, where you prefer to attend classes, and how much you can afford to invest in your education. But since there are so many PT colleges within the Whitewater WI area and throughout Wisconsin, you’ll have to explore other qualifications also in order to further reduce your list of school options. Furthermore, you need to make certain that you pick the college 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 all of the potential colleges these questions prior to making an ultimate selection.

Is the Physical Therapist Program Accredited? Find out if the colleges you are reviewing have earned accreditation from a national or a regional organization. As previously mentioned, 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 school, it may also receive accreditation from the Distance Education and Training Council. It’s imperative that both the physical therapist program and school you choose are accredited, not just the school. Also, verify that the accreditation is from a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization. Along with guaranteeing that you obtain a quality education, accreditation may be mandated for state licensing as well as for securing student loans or financial aid.

What is the College’s Ranking? In addition to accreditation, it’s important that the college and program you select have excellent reputations within the physical therapy profession. There are multiple ways you can investigate a PT school’s reputation, beginning with asking for references from employers that they place their graduates with. You can also check online rating services and reviews and ask the accrediting organizations for their reviews also. Contact several Whitewater WI physical therapist centers or other medical care facilities that you may have an interest in working for and ask if they can give you any insight about your program selections. It may also be prudent to check with the Wisconsin Attorney General and school licensing authority to see if any complaints have been submitted against the schools.

What is the College’s Job Placement Percentage? There are a two significant statistics that you need to find out about all of the physical therapist schools you are looking at. One is their graduation rate. A lower 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 hired with the support of the school’s job placement program, particularly in the Whitewater WI area? If a program has a high job placement rate, it suggests that its reputation within the healthcare community is good or perhaps exceptional. It also verifies that the college has a large network of contacts to assist students gain internships or jobs after graduation.

Does the Program Support Licensing Requirements? It’s important that the program you choose provides both excellent training and a course of study that supports the licensing criteria for Wisconsin or the state where you will be working. In each state a passing score is required on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) in addition to a degree from an accredited physical therapy program. While licensing requirements fluctuate state by state for PTA and PT graduates, a number of states require a minimum number of clinical hours be completed and passing scores on additional tests.

Are Internship Programs Offered? Ask if the physical therapy colleges you are reviewing have relationships with Whitewater WI hospitals or clinics for internship programs. Not only are internships a terrific manner to obtain hands on training in a clinical environment, they are also a requirement for most PT programs and state licensing. As an ancillary benefit, they may assist graduates and students develop professional relationships in the Whitewater health care community and assist with job placement after licensing.

How Big are the Classes ? Unless you are the type of student that likes to sit far in the rear of class or hide in the crowd, you will probably prefer a small class size. Smaller classes permit more individual participation and one-on-one instruction. Ask the physical therapy colleges you are reviewing what the average teacher to student ratio is for their classes. If practical you may want to sit in on 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 pharmacist technician program also.

Where is the College Located? For a number of students, the physical therapy college they select will need to be within commuting distance of their Whitewater WI home. Students who have opted to attend online classes obviously will not have to trouble themselves with the location of the campus. However, the availability of local internships will be of importance. One thing to consider is that if you choose to enroll in a college that is out of state or even out of your local area, you might have to pay a higher tuition. State colleges normally charge higher tuitions for out of state residents. And community colleges frequently charge a higher tuition to those students that live outside of their districts.

Is Financial Aid Provided? Most DPT colleges provide some type of financial support to their potential students. Find out if the schools you are examining have a financial assistance office and see what type of assistance is obtainable. At a minimum they should help in acquiring a student loan or any scholarships you may qualify for. Some physical therapist schools offer scholarships, while others provide work programs. So before eliminating a program because the tuition is too expensive, ask what financial aid may be available.

Can the School Accommodate your Schedule? And finally you need to confirm that the physical therapist college you ultimately pick can provide the class schedule you need. This is particularly essential if you choose to continue working while you attend school. If you need to schedule night or weekend classes in the Whitewater WI area, verify that they are offered. If you can only enroll on a part-time basis, check if that is an option and how many courses or credit hours you would have to enroll in. Also, ask what the procedure is for making up any classes that you may miss due to illness, work or family obligations.

Earning Your Physical Therapy Degree near Whitewater Wisconsin?

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

Whitewater, Wisconsin

Whitewater is a city in Walworth (mostly) and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 14,390.[6] Of this, 11,150 were in Walworth County, and 3,240 were in Jefferson County.

Whitewater was founded at the confluence of Whitewater Creek and Spring Brook, and named for the white sand in their beds.[7] A gristmill was built on Whitewater creek, the resulting pond now called Lake Cravath. The town grew quickly when the first railroad line in Wisconsin passed through in 1853, but struggled when the two largest employers left town.[7]

Whitewater was a New England settlement. The original founders of Whitewater consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These people were "Yankees", that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s. Most of them arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal. When they arrived in what is now Whitewater, then nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie, the New Englanders laid out farms, constructed roads, erected government buildings and established post routes. They brought with them many of their Yankee New England values, such as staunch support for abolitionism and a passion for education, establishing many schools as well. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church though some were Episcopalian. Due to the second Great Awakening some of them had converted to Methodism before moving to what is now Whitewater. Whitewater, like much of Wisconsin, would be culturally very continuous with early New England culture for most of its early history.[8][9]

Select the Ideal Physical Therapy College near Whitewater WI

Deciding on the ideal physical therapy program is an important first decision you need to make to start a gratifying career in the medical profession. As we have covered in this article, the DPT or PT degree program and college you decide on should both have excellent reputations and accreditation. But there are additional relevant questions that you should ask regarding your college of choice as well. As you commence your search for a physical therapy program, keep in mind that many factors will lead you to your final decision. You may want to go to each of the schools to see their facilities and speak to active DPT students. While there, ask yourself this important question: will this college help me accomplish my goal of becoming a licensed practicing physical therapist? By adhering to our list of supplemental questions, you will be able to narrow down the field so you can make the right choice. And with the necessary training and education, you can achieve your dream of becoming a licensed physical therapist in Whitewater WI.