NYTimes

This was a letter that the NYPTA president sent in to the NYTimes today... hope it gets picked up

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to Lou Uchitelle’s April 1 article, “The End of the Line as Detroit Workers Know It.” In the article Mr. Utchitelle recounts a circumstance in which Jeffrey Vitale, a skilled millwright at DailmerChrylser, finishes his coursework for his bachelor’s degree online and “expects to graduate in December, qualified to work as a physical therapist, a profession not likely to pay as much as he now earns, and certainly not with the same benefits.”

This statement is misleading to your readers.

The minimum educational requirement for becoming a physical therapist is a masters' degree with most educational programs now offering the doctor of physical therapy degree (DPT). Physical therapists complete rigorous academic preparation that includes many supervised hours in a clinical setting. Upon graduation, all physical therapists must take a national licensure examination before they are permitted to practice. Your readers may be interested to know that the median salary for a physical therapist is around $70,000 per year and that in 2006 the profession of physical therapy was named as one of the nation’s top career choices.

Physical therapist assistants (PTAs) provide physical therapy services under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist. PTAs must complete a 2-year associate's degree and are licensed, certified, or registered in most states. The physical therapist assistant graduates with a two-year associate's degree with a mean salary of approximately $40,000.

There are many exciting opportunities available for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. To learn more, or to find a physical therapist, I invite your readers to visit the American Physical Therapy Association’s Web site at www.apta.org/Consumer.

Sincerely,

James M. Dunleavy, PT, MS

President

New York Physical Therapy Association