Physical Therapy vs. Nursing: Which Career Should You Pursue?
Pursuing a career in healthcare can be an extremely satisfying choice if you are passionate about helping others and are interested in fields such as science and particularly medicine. The healthcare domain is a broad and in-demand one, incorporating a plethora of different professions, each one focusing on a particular aspect of providing care to patients.
Before you decide on a career, go through your options and see which one would better fit you. We will be zoning in on two popular choices from the many opportunities you can have in healthcare — nurse and physical therapist. These two roles are among the top ten best healthcare jobs, providing sufficient job growth, annual earnings, and other opportunities. So, read on and see how we compare nursing vs. physical therapy on numerous factors to help you determine which one would better suit you.
What Is Physical Therapy?
The first step toward comparing physical therapy vs. nursing is to define each field to ensure you understand the role such professionals play in healthcare facilities. We'll begin with physical therapy, which can be defined as the scope of services a professional physical therapist provides to individuals to help develop, uphold, or even restore movement and functionality in their bodies. Generally, physical therapy is required when the movement or function of a particular body part is threatened, either by an injury, pain, disease, old age, disorder, or some other factor.
Depending on what the patient is being treated for, there are various types of physical therapy, with some of the most popular types being the following:
Neurological physical therapy
Geriatric physical therapy
Rehabilitative physical therapy
Occupational physical therapy
Pediatric physical therapy
What Is Nursing?
On the other hand, nursing is defined as clinical assessment and care provided to help patients improve, maintain, or regain their health. This field aims to help people cope with health problems, including disease or disabilities, as well as promote health and healing. Professionals in this field are focused on minimizing their patient's distress and suffering, helping them understand their condition, and offering treatment under doctors' supervision and guidance.
As the nursing field continues to grow and evolve, the need for different types of nurses arises. Some of the fastest-growing nursing specialties include:
Certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA),
Cardiac nurse,
ER nurse,
Clinical nurse specialist (CNS).
The Main Differences of Physical Therapy vs. Nursing
Although both nursing and physical therapy fall within the scope of healthcare, there are vast differences between these two fields. Below, we will be comparing nursing and physical therapy in various features, from education and licensing requirements to salary expectations, responsibilities, work setting, and much more.
Education requirements
Physical therapy is typically regarded as the more challenging option for the education level required to begin a career in these two fields. Generally, to become a physical therapist, you must complete various degrees, including a doctoral one. So, the average time physical therapy students spend in university to obtain the necessary skills, knowledge, and academic degrees is around seven years.
On the other hand, the nursing field has options for even lower levels of education. With an associate's degree, which takes approximately two years to complete, you can begin practicing as a nurse.
In contrast, some of the other nursing specializations also require higher levels of education, such as doctoral degrees.
Licensing
Another typical requirement for both nursing and physical therapy is licensing. Although, once again, the requirements set for the physical therapy field are regarded as more complicated since, in most states, physical therapists must pass the National PT exam. In some cases, aspiring physical therapists must pass a jurisprudence exam.
The nursing field also does not go easy on its students, as most nurses need an RN license to begin practicing their profession. To be eligible for licensure, students much complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program or an Associate Degree in nursing. Typically, RNs obtain their licensure by passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX), which tests their competency.
Work setting
As with most healthcare workers, it is not uncommon to encounter nurses and physical therapists working in the same setting. Generally, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, clinics, government organizations, and other similar facilities employ nurses and physical therapists to care for their patients.
The difference mainly lies in the schedules that the two professionals have to work in such settings. Typically, nurses can work up to 15-hour shifts when needed, with some being night shifts. At the same time, the schedules of physical therapists in those same settings are more relaxed, as their work hours range from 8 AM to 5 PM.
Job duties and responsibilities
Yet another clear distinction between nurses and physical therapists can be drawn when considering their job duties and responsibilities. At their core, both professions aim to help patients. However, the specifics of how they provide such care set the two apart.
Physical therapists are responsible for the following duties:
Consulting patients to determine their condition and symptoms,
Diagnosing movement dysfunction,
Developing a treatment plan with therapeutic exercise techniques,
Providing massages to facilitate healing,
Maintaining records for each patient,
Track the objectives and progress for each case,
Providing in-home treatment options and exercises for patients after leaving the facility.
Whereas nurses engage in the following daily activities:
Keeping track of patients' medical history,
Administering medications,
Providing treatment under the doctor's supervision,
Working closely with other nurses and physicians,
Conducting diagnostic tests,
Performing physical examinations,
Closely monitoring patients' health,
Providing advice and support to both the patients and their family members.
Salary and job outlook
Lastly, after going through the requirements for being eligible to perform these professions and the daily duties after beginning your career, let's see how promising and lucrative each option is.
According to recent data, the average salary for physical therapists in the United States is around $76,707 per year, whereas nurses can expect to earn approximately $71,464 per year. Of course, the exact salary depends on many factors, including your specialization, years of experience, and where you practice your profession — state and facility-wise. It is common for professionals from both fields to earn six-figure salaries once they have gathered some experience and been promoted to higher positions.
Much of this wouldn't matter if the profession did not offer sufficient space for you to earn your place in the field. But, it's a good thing that both domains have good job outlooks. To be more precise, the employment of physical therapists is projected to grow 21% from 2020 to 2030, whereas for nurses, during that time, the projected growth is around 9%.
Physical Therapy vs. Nursing: Which Career Should I Go Into?
Now, back to the question that most likely pushed you toward clicking on this article: which career should you go into? From all that has been said so far, we can safely say that both professions are excellent career choices. They demand a lot from you, but also offer outstanding salaries and job outlook, among other things.
The answer to which would suit you, in particular, can only be answered by you, of course, after considering all that the professions can offer and what they will require from you. So, we have done our part — defining both fields and presenting you with a comparison of the two. Take your time and go through each element before determining which career you want to go into.
The Bottom Line
If what pushed you toward a career in healthcare is the passion for helping others, have no worries, as you cannot go wrong with any of the two options. Whether you become a nurse or a physical therapist, your patients will be most grateful for your care and services.