Rehabilitation Sciences
What is it?
Rehabilitation Science is an
interdisciplinary field that focuses on human
function and disability. Two disciplines
often found within Rehabilitation Science are Physical
Therapy
(PT) and Occupational Therapy (OT).
Physical therapy is a
health care
profession primarily concerned with the
remediation of impairments and disabilities and
the promotion of mobility, functional ability,
quality of life and movement potential through
examination, evaluation, diagnosis and physical
intervention to improve physical
mobility and health. Physical Therapist help people with joint and muscle
injury and help them recover faster and regain their mobility. The
injuries can range from sports injuries, falls or accidents.
For a fuller discussion look here:
Occupational Outlook Hand Book.
Occupational therapy is a holistic health
care profession that aims to promote health by
enabling individuals to perform meaningful and
purposeful activities across the lifespan.
Occupational therapists use treatments to
develop, recover, or maintain the daily living
and work skills of their patients with a
physical, mental or developmental condition. OT's
usually work closely with people with physical disabilities and educate
them to improve activities of daily living. For example, people who have
had serious injuries and may have compromised mobility may consult with
an OT to see how they can regain abilities with their activities of
daily living (taking a shower, dressing, eating etc). For a
fuller discussion look here:
Occupational Outlook Hand Book
Where do PT's and OT's Work?
PT's and OT's can work both in the hospital or community clinics. They
can also go into private practice (in the case of PTs) and private
consultants (in the case of OTs).
Job Prospects
PT's and OT's continue to be in high demand.
Academic Programs
Physical
therapists
typically need a
doctoral degree
in physical
therapy. All
states require
physical
therapists to be
licensed.
Occupational
therapists need
a master’s
degree in
occupational
therapy.
Additionally,
all states
require
occupational
therapists to be
licensed.
The competition for acceptance into these programs is very keen.
Typically the
GRE is required
and a cumulative
GPA of at least
a 3.0 is needed
in your junior
and senior level
courses. You
will also need a
3.0 GPA or
higher in all of
the prerequisite
coursework as
well. Determine
if volunteer (or
paid) physical
therapy
experience is
required by the
PT programs) to
which you are
applying.
Sample of Graduate Programs
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