As a physical therapist with VA, you’ll provide profoundly important care to Veterans who have sacrificed themselves physically while serving the country with honor.
Our physical therapists help Veterans understand their injuries so they can get back to their everyday lives. Whether that means recovering from surgery, providing an alternative to surgery, preventing further injury, increasing mobility or reducing pain, the work you do ultimately translates to restoring hard-earned independence.
Building a career
The opportunities for you to work across the spectrum of care are nearly unlimited at VA. Whether in an urban hospital or a rural community, you can work anywhere from the intensive care unit to an outpatient clinic.
With that choice of locations also comes a choice of career paths. As a physical therapist at VA, you’ll have the chance to explore a multitude of ways to serve Veterans.
You may choose to work clinically, maintaining relationships with Veterans on a day-to-day basis. You could also specialize, focusing on geriatrics or neurology. If you want to put your skills to use designing programs for other PTs to follow instead, VA has the leadership opportunities that can make that happen.
“I come to work and evaluate people’s pain, their injuries,” explained Meghan Block, a VA physical therapist. “Every day brings something new, and something that you really have to try to get down to the bottom of, which makes the job really fun.”
And with your license supported by VA’s national network, you can explore opportunities anywhere in the country. When it’s time to transfer, your VA career can move right along with you.
Patient-first care
No matter what career path you choose to follow, one of the key aspects of being a physical therapist on our team is putting our Veterans first.
At VA, that means more one-on-one time spent with your patients. With better patient-therapist ratios and greater access to assistive tools, you will spend more time meeting the needs of our nation’s finest and providing an excellent patient experience.
When you take up our mission, you’ll be working with a completely different type of clientele. While there are men and women coming in postoperatively or with “normal” aches and pain, the vast majority of our Veterans seeking treatment have other challenges from their time in the service.
Remember, your job in VA is to serve those who served our country. Thanks to their sacrifice, we have been given the opportunity to pursue careers in medicine, and now we can give back through our care.
“You get to treat the people who have put their life on the line for you,” Block added. “What better way to say thank you than to work at VA with all the Veterans?”
Work at VA
Become an integral part of our patient care team as a physical therapist, and apply the latest advances in rehabilitative treatment to create the best treatment plans for Veterans.
- READ more about physical therapy careers at VA (PDF).
- LEARN about VA’s rehabilitation
- EXPLORE the benefits of a VA career.
- START your VA journey by visiting va.gov.
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