Information About Online Physical Therapy Programs

While online education can be helpful to some in helping them to obtain their degree, there are several majors - physical therapy being one of them - in which hands-on education is critical to the student.

Because of this, there are no fully online physical therapy programs, although it may be possible for students to take some of their education online, especially prerequisite classes.

Educational Requirements for Physical Therapists

For an individual to gain their Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, they must fulfill several educational requirements. An undergraduate 4 year Bachelor's degree is the first of these necessities.

It can usually be taken from any school. However, top schools do recommend concentrating on a study course that includes any prerequisite classes to gain easier acceptance into a PT program.

These are usually English courses, maths, sciences, sociology, and social science classes. The different physical therapy programs generally offer a list of prerequisite courses. Getting those classes taken care of earlier in a student's educational career can be extremely helpful, leaving them more time for their technical courses and clinical experiences.

After completing their Bachelor's degree, students who are accepted to a physical therapy program - and presumably completed the necessary prerequisites and general education classes - move on to the technical portion of their education.

This will involve lab classes where techniques are practiced on each other, more technical and difficult science and medical classes, and most importantly, numerous segments of clinical experience education. After completing all these specialized requirements, students graduate with their Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Online Education is going Forward.

Since the second portion of their training is so technical and intensive, most schools do not offer online programs. Most of the experience students will gain is based on hands-on learning and practice, which cannot be duplicated in an online environment.

Since these are usually very general classes and are not necessarily technical courses for the physical therapy major, many schools offer them online. So, while it is not the same thing as taking an online physical therapy program, it can at least offer the flexibility of distance learning through the first four years.

A Note About Accreditation

Anyone studying to become a physical therapist should note that accreditation is essential when applying to programs. For students to gain their DPT and be eligible to take their licensing examination, they must have graduated from a physical therapy program accredited by the  Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

Failure to do so means that graduating students will likely end up in a position where they still need to fulfill certain educational requirements at an accredited institution, which will only slow down their process of becoming a licensed DPT.

Educational requirements are intense, so students who cannot devote time to the learning process may not do as well in these programs. Not just that, but once they have their degree, the job is just as intense, being very busy professionals in an ever-increasing portion of the medical industry.

On the other hand, those students who manage to put aside the time to get their degree even though they cannot enroll in online physical therapy programs usually end up in a highly rewarding, pleasurable "dream job" of sorts. This career has been estimated to be one of the best by peers and professionals doing the job.

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