Building a Career as a Physical Therapist: 4 Tips from an Experienced Clinician

Becoming a physical therapist is long and challenging, and it doesn’t stop once you earn your degree. After graduation, you’ll face major decisions: Choosing the right setting, passing your board exams, and finding a job that fits your goals, all while hoping you’re making the best moves for your future. I’ve been working as a physical therapist for 10 years, and I’ve learned some tough lessons along the way. But through it all, I’ve built a fulfilling, successful career that I’m proud of. In this blog, I’m sharing four key tips that helped me find my footing and thrive as a physical therapist at Athletico.

Tip #1: Choose a workplace that prioritizes mentorship.

There are many things school simply can’t prepare you for. Structured mentorship is critical to a new graduate physical therapist’s success. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the incredible mentors who helped guide my development. I had regular meetings to discuss patient cases, practice manual skills, dive into advanced clinical reasoning, review outcomes, and plan my continuing education, including certifications, residencies, and fellowships. Unfortunately, burnout is common in the PT field, and strong mentorship can be a powerful tool to prevent it. Athletico, for example, has done an excellent job creating a clinical mentorship program that supports new graduates through their first year of professional work, setting them up for long-term success.

Tip #2: Master your communication skills.

Building a strong therapeutic alliance with your patients is essential for achieving the best outcomes. Every patient is different. You’ll work with people from various cultures, socioeconomic backgrounds, education levels, and different degrees of disability. You’ll need emotional intelligence to connect with patients, clearly educate them about how physical therapy can help, and establish strong buy-in for their plan of care.

Communication isn’t just about talking; strong listening skills are just as important. Being an active listener makes patients feel heard and ensures you gather the critical information needed to create an effective treatment plan. Unlike many areas of healthcare, physical therapy offers the rare opportunity to sit down, take time, and truly listen to our patients. This is an opportunity we must value and use wisely.

Tip #3: Set specific, measurable goals.

Just as PTs establish short- and long-term patient goals, you must also set clear goals for yourself. Professional growth doesn’t happen overnight. Creating a five-year plan is a powerful tool to help define the physical therapist you aspire to become. Strategic planning lets you map out the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need. It also gives you a framework for making decisions about certifications, specialties, and continuing education. Keep in mind: flexibility is key. Your goals and priorities may evolve as you grow, and that’s okay.

Tip #4: Never stop learning.

Evidence-based practice constantly evolves, and staying current with new research is vital.  I strongly encourage new graduates to review reliable, peer-reviewed resources regularly. Learning to critically read and interpret research will help you stay ahead of the curve, guide best practices, and deliver the best possible patient outcomes. Lifelong learning isn’t optional it separates good therapists from truly great ones. Athletico University provides more than 1,500 CEU hours per year, with paid education time, resources, and support to enhance new graduates’ preparedness for the licensure exam, so the learning never stops! Learn more about our continuing education benefits here.

Starting your career as a physical therapist can feel overwhelming, but with the right mindset, mentorship, and commitment to growth, you can build a career that is not only successful but deeply fulfilling. Athletico prides itself on helping young physical therapists develop personally and professionally. Athletico offers a top-notch clinical mentoring program emphasizing short- and long-term success. We also have a long list of specialty programs to improve your clinical excellence and host various internal and external continuing education opportunities. If you’re interested in joining the Athletico team, click the button below!

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The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.