Physical Therapy Education In United States

In the United States, curricula for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). While currently 226 of the 227 programs offer the Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, there are still many physical therapists currently practicing in the US who were trained with a Bachelor of Science (BSPT) or Master of Physical Therapy degree. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, the number of DPT programs offered in the US rose from 19 out of 212 accredited programs (along with 184 MSPT and 9 BSPT programs) in 2000, to 222 out of 227 programs in 2011.

Physical Therapist Assistants typically graduate with an Associate of Applied Science degree. As of August 2011, there were 276 accredited two-year (Associate degree) programs for Physical Therapist Assistants In the United States.

After graduating an accredited program, PTs and PTAs are required to pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) before they can obtain a license to practice. Each state regulates physical therapy licenses independently, so precise requirements for licensure and renewal vary from state to state.

Physical Therapist education includes clinical internships that normally occur toward the end of the professional degree. During this time, the doctoral intern will rotate between different settings for a given time period of a month or more. For example, a doctoral intern may have a rotation in orthopeadics during one month and then in wound care the next month. This would continue in different settings for a predetermined amount of time, which is usually around a year. After graduating from an accredited program and becoming licensed, a Doctor of Physical Therapy may continue his or her education by entering a residency and then fellowship. Residencies and Fellowships are not required at this time, but are becoming more common in physical therapy education. Currently there are 162 residencies and fellowships in the United States.