Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Facts About Alaska Pediatric Therapy

By Arthur Martin


Pediatric therapy is one of the branches of medicine which deals with medically caring for children and young people. The name pediatric therapist is used to refer to practitioners who work in this field. These therapists offer children with special needs medical service in homes, in-patient units, outpatient clinics and other settings. They treat and manage disease-related conditions, injuries, and pre-existing medical conditions. In Alaska pediatric therapy is a huge profession that has several hundreds of practitioners under it.

Pediatric therapists have a specialty in providing care to patients from birth up to the age of 18 years. Patients may be toddlers, teenagers, young adults, or children. The conditions they treat are related to neurological, orthopedic, and genetic disorders. Some of the techniques employed as part of the treatment include functional training, exercise, medication, and diet changes. These methods are combined according to the needs to the patient in question.

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.

Ability to work under stress while maintaining emotional strength is a major requirement in the field. Patients who are frustrated by their medical conditions are often a source of emotional problems for practitioners. One must also be good in communication because they need to communicate to patients and parents about treatment options. Therapists can work in research facilities, private practice, hospitals, and private medical facilities.

Qualifying in pediatric therapy requires one to be a holder of a Doctor of physical therapy. This degree takes a period of three years. The doctor degree must be earned from an accredited academic institution. The accrediting body is the American Physical Therapy Association. There are regulatory bodies in each states in the United States that regulate the practice. There are also minor and specializations in this field of medicine.

During training, learners cover courses in anatomy, radiology, physiology, biology, pathology, behavioral science, exercise physiology, and pharmacology among many others. Completing internship, assistantship or some other supervised program is part of the qualification process. Different states have varying requirements for licensing. Generally, however, the National Physical Therapy Examination must be passed before licensure. Regular renewal of the license is also mandatory through fulfillment of continuing educational requirements.

Specialization is also possible in this field because there are various subspecialties. Examples of subspecialties are occupational and physical therapy. One may settle for one or multiple subspecialties. When compared to fresh graduates, the salary of highly educated and experienced therapists is higher. Regulation of salaries in the US is centrally done.

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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