A Day in the LIfe of a Physical Therapist

Physical therapists help patients suffering from various medical conditions or recovering from injury. Their goal is to help patients overcome these problems so they can continue to live fulfilling lives. Mary is a physical therapist who works with patients at several different facilities. On a routine day, she works with many different types of patients, but most of her work is with the elderly.

On a typical Monday morning, Mary’s schedule may look like this:

8:00 a.m. When she arrives at work, Mary meets with a 50-year-old male patient suffering back pain. She is given the patient’s medical history and notes from his primary care physician. She spends an hour meeting with the patient to get a better understanding of his condition and goes over some exercises that he can benefit from. Afterward, she documents the exercises that he completes, his pain level, and his treatment goals.

9:00 a.m. Mary has a half hour off before she needs to attend to her next patient. She then has three consecutive appointments, each lasting about an hour. Mary spends this time evaluating the patients’ conditions, going over some exercises with them and documenting their progress. She spends most of her time helping patients learn exercises that they will be able to do at home, because patients need to perform these exercises every day in order to benefit from them.

12:30 p.m. Mary begins attending to her administrative duties, such as filling out paperwork and speaking with other service providers. She has to work diligently, because she knows that she may be called to the hospital to perform inpatient evaluations at any time. She is able to get most of her work done before she gets a call about a patient who needed a knee replacement.

1:30 p.m. As soon as Mary takes the call, she heads over to the hospital to meet with the patient. This patient is a high school student who was involved in a car accident. He seems to be recovering from the surgery, but Mary needs to determine what he needs to work on before he can be discharged from the hospital. Since he has responded well to the surgery, the doctors are likely to discharge him if Mary feels it is appropriate to do so. She decides that he needs treatment to improve both his strength and balance. After working with the patient, she consults with his physician and recommends that he discharge the patient. She makes sure the patient is provided with the necessary instruments that he will need for mobility during recovery when he gets home.

3:00 p.m. Mary goes to the chiropractic clinic across the street to meet with one of the patients. On some days she has to see multiple patients at the clinic, who are all suffering from back or neck pain. By 4:30 p.m., Mary is finished with her day and ready to go home. On days when she has to work with more patients, Mary may be at work until 6:00 p.m. or later.

Mary typically works about 40 hours per week. These hours may vary depending on her case load at any of the sites she visits. While her schedule is fairly consistent, the challenges she faces every day may be unique. She is happy to help people who have been injured continue living steady and fulfilling lives.