Credential Creep

[cookderosa]

I feel like there is going to be a shortage of psychical therapists. I know many young people who wanted to psychical therapists but then changed their minds during undergrad once they realized the work involved. Plus, as the baby boomers age people are using physical therapists more than ever before. But unlike nurses, you can't just churn out new ones in a couple years. A close family friend was looking into it, but just to get into the doctorate programs for PT you have to have high grades and lots of difficult lab sciences. It's not like anyone with any undergrad degree can just go straight into a PT doctorate.

What will happen, I guess, is that there will be one physical therapist in each office overseeing a herd of PT assistants. The assistants will be doing the work of a PT, but not getting the money.

Already happening.
I had shoulder surgery a couple years back. My first apt saw my PT but every apt after was the PTA until my last - the PT signed me off. I went weekly for several months and learned the staff by name. There was always one PT there (mine or the other one) but a good number of PTAs did all the therapy.