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Career as Physiotherapist

Physiotherapy is a professional healthcare degree to revive the function, mobility, and physical fitness of a person. It helps to address movement impairments and to revitalise the quality of life of patients through physical intervention to enhance mobility and work. In simpler words, it is the science of movement. A physiotherapist treats the patient suffering from pain or disability by exercise, movement, physical therapy, and guidance. Physiotherapy can prove beneficial to anyone, with no barriers to age. You can reach out to a physiotherapist to recover for your back pain or an unexpected injury, to prepare for your pregnancy, or a long-term medical condition like arthritis or asthma.

About Physiotherapist :
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Employment Opportunities |
How do I get there?

Job Profile

Physiotherapy helps to relieve all types of pain and suffering to ensure optimal health and proper functioning of the human body. Due to growth in the older population and other factors, demand for physiotherapy and other health-care services has increased in recent years.

Physiotherapists enjoy a broad array of job opportunities. We can, for example, work in health and social care facilities, such as hospitals, care homes, private surgeries and practices, treatment and recovery centres or provide home care services to patients. A physiotherapist's function is physically very challenging, involving patients being raised, moved and manipulated and therefore needing physical strength and stamina. A typical day for a physiotherapist may be meeting a patient and reviewing their complete medical history, listening, asking the right questions and then analysing to suggest a proper treatment plan. They may also need to conduct some tests and look and the results before recommending any treatment plan.

In India, an entry-level physiotherapist with a BPT degree can earn an average salary of 2-2.5 lakh per annum. In contrast, someone with 1-3 years of experience can earn in the range of 2.5-3 lakh per annum. With 5-9 years of experience, the average income can be in the range of 3.5-4 lakh per annum. In India, a physiotherapist’s earnings also depend on the location. Likewise, a physiotherapist in Delhi or Hyderabad tends to earn more with someone with similar experience based in Pune or Ahmedabad. Top salaries for Physiotherapists in India are reported at Apollo Hospitals. Experienced Physiotherapists prefer to open their clinics where the earnings may get comparatively better.

Employment Opportunities

Physiotherapists work in hospitals, orthopedic departments, rehabilitation centres for the handicapped, schools for the mentally retarded and physically disabled children. Opportunities for work in developed countries has been known to be improving.

Recruiting Sectors

Medical Colleges
Orthopedic Treatment Centres
Multi-speciality Clinics
Old age facilities
Armed Forces
Cancer Hospitals

Future Growth Prospects and How to get there faster

In India, the salary for physiotherapists is not so high as compared to other countries like USA & Canada. Experience, good skills, and execution of knowledge can help them to grow quickly. A master’s degree can further put them in better pay scales. Nowadays there are more options for masters like osteopathy, craniosacral therapy apart from musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, community and sports. The potential of physiotherapy in the coming years is immense and enormous as people are becoming aware of what physiotherapy is and its benefits. The good part being it has no side effects such as drugs and pain can be easily cured without any side effects.

Pros and Cons of being a Physiotherapist

Pros

This profession offers multiple options to start a career. They can join Govt or Private hospitals, or health care facilities, work as Consultants, in Sports Academics, or Army, schools, fitness centres, etc.
They can start their practice.
The knowledge of health can be beneficial to them for their well-being as well as their family.
This is a very demanding profession in countries like USA, Canada, Australia.

Cons

Salary in India is not as great as other countries.
The job will demand extended work hours to meet urgent medical cases.
The cost of education can be higher in the case of private colleges.

How do I get there?

To pursue Bachelors in Physiotherapy, the candidate should pass 10 + 2, or similar exam with physics, chemistry, biology, and English. In each of these subjects, at least 50 per cent of marks should be obtained. The minimum age is expected to be 17 years. Few Indian universities administer an entrance test to admit students for the BPT course. Some of them are CET, JIPMER all India entrance test, Guru Gobind Indraprastha University Physiotherapy entrance examination, etc. BPT course in India is a four 1⁄2-year undergraduate course, including a 6-month internship, where the candidate will have to go through intensive physiotherapy and exercise therapy preparation.

Two-year diploma courses are also available in physiotherapy (DPT) that can be pursued after 10 + 2 with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate with Science subjects. BPT graduates who wish to pursue higher education can choose from MPT (Masters in Physiotherapy), MSc in Anatomy, MSc in Physiology, Master of Sports Physiotherapy, etc.

Name of Degree	Duration	Eligible to Apply after
Diploma in Physiotherapy	1/2 years	10/12th
Bachelor in Physiotherapy (BPT)	4.5 years	12th
Masters in Physiotherapy (MPT)	2 years	Graduation
M.Sc. in Physiotherapy	2 years	Graduation
Ph.D.	2 years or more	Post-Graduation

How much does it cost?

The average cost of a BPT degree is around INR 4-5 lakh, including the hostel facilities in case of private colleges whereas in government colleges it will be comparatively cheaper.

What are the Top Colleges where one should be studying to become a Physiotherapist?

There are quite a few colleges in India that offer the best amenities and quality infrastructure for the students. Below are few of them in India:

Ranking	Name of College, City	Programme Fees (in Rs)
Rank 3/30 - NIRF	Christian Medical College, Vellore	BPT - Rs 22,105 for 1st Year
Rank 16/30- NIRF	Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore	BPT - Rs 2,30,000 for 1st year
Rank 11/50 - Indiatoday	Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai	BPT- Rs 29700 for 1st year
Rank 11/30 - NIRF	Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai	BPT - Rs 1,25,000 for 1st year
Rank 9/37- The Week	Madras Medical College, Chennai	-
-	Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad	BPT - Rs 1,49,000- Total Fees
-	Chandigarh University, Chandigarh	BPT- Rs 1,06,000 for 1st year

Books and other Study Material

Some of the books that can help enhance one’s knowledge in the field are listed below.

Gray’s Anatomy
Anatomy & Physiology by Smout and McDowell
Handbook of General Anatomy by B.D Chaurasia Edition no. 5th Revised edition
Textbook of Pharmacology for Physiotherapy by Udaykumar Edition no. 1 - Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Private Limited
Adams Outline of Orthopaedics – 8th edition
Handbook of Electronics by Gupta and Kumar (Pragati Prakashan)

What if this career does not work out for me? What are the other options for a person with these credentials?

There are several options for Physiotherapists to look out for as a career. If they do wish to continue practising, they can be lectures or Researchers or Research Assistants. Nowadays with the rapid increase in the demand for therapists, there is always something else, to begin with, if their chosen field does not happen to work for them. A physiotherapist can also go for a certification in sub-specialities like cardiovascular, geriatric, orthopaedic, paediatric, etc.

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Content on this page is by Career Expert
Mrs. Kum Kum Tandon
MA (Psychology), M.Ed, Diploma in Educational Psychology, Vocational Guidance & Counseling (NCERT, Delhi) | View Complete Profile

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