Wednesday 20 April 2016

Information On Alaska Pediatric Therapy

By Arthur Martin


Pediatric therapy is an area of medicine that is involved with caring for children. Pediatric therapists provide medical services to special needs children in a variety of settings such as homes, in-patient clinics, and outpatient clinics. They help to treat problems such as pre-existing medical conditions, injuries, and other problems caused by diseases or illnesses. In Alaska pediatric therapy is a very developed field of medicine and there are many people specializing in it.

Pediatric therapists specialize in providing medical care to patients up to 18 years of age from birth. Young adults, children, teenagers, and toddlers are typical patients. Causes for the conditions the practitioners handle are many and varied. They include genetic, neurological, and orthopedic disorders. Functional training, diet changes, exercise, and medication are among treatment techniques used. Combination of various techniques may be applied as dictated by the situation of the patient.

Immobility is often associated with medical conditions that cause pain. These practitioners have training and experience in equipment that help to alleviate the pain. Per week, they work for up to 40 hours. Weekends and holidays may also be interrupted by emergency situations while evenings may be extended too due to work.

Being emotionally strong and possessing the ability to handle stress well is an important part of this job. Stress and emotions emanate from frustrations that patients face due to the conditions they suffer from. Good communication skills are also mandatory since one has to communicate to family members concerning treatment options available for the patient. One can be employed in hospitals, research facilities, private medical facilities, and private practice.

Holding a doctorate degree in physical therapy is one of the requirements for qualifying in this field. Earning a doctorate degree in this field takes up to three years of training. The educational institution where the degree is earned must be accredited. The American Physical Therapy Association is the body responsible for accrediting academic institutions in this field. Other regulatory bodies exist in individual states. The field also has minor and specializations for interested applicants.

During training, some of the courses covered by learners include physiology, biology, pathology, anatomy, behavioral science, exercise physiology, pharmacology, and radiology. Completing assistantship, internship or related supervised programs forms part of the process for qualifying. Licensing requirements differ from state to state in the US. One common factor among all states is the National Physical Therapy Examination, which all applicants must take and pass. Fulfillment of continuing educational requirements is necessary for maintaining licensure status.

This field also has several specialties in which practitioners can specialize. Physical therapy and occupational therapy are some of those subspecialties. Practitioners can choose one or multiple subspecialties to specialize in. Compared to fresh graduates, experienced and more learned practitioners earn higher salaries. In the United States, salaries are regulated centrally.

There is an observed upward trend in employment opportunities of therapists in this field. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics approximates that a growth of between 29 and 36 percent will be experienced up to 2022. Occupational and physical therapists earned a median salary of 75, 400 and 79, 860 dollars in that order.




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