Inpatient Physical Therapist Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Inpatient Physical Therapist resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Inpatient physical therapy is a unique field that requires great interpersonal skills, compassion, and a willingness to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals. If you have a passion for helping others recover from injury or illness, and you want to work in a fast-paced environment where you can see immediate results from your efforts, inpatient physical therapy could be the perfect career for you.
Before you can land your dream job as an inpatient physical therapist, you’ll need a stellar resume to help you stand out from the crowd of other applicants. Here are some tips and an example resume to help you write yours.
How to Write an Inpatient Physical Therapist Resume
Here’s how to write an resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume because they’re the first thing recruiters will see. And since they’re so important, it’s crucial that you use them to your advantage by including specific details about your experience and accomplishments.
For example, rather than saying you “provided physical therapy services to patients,” you could say you “provided physical therapy services to patients with chronic pain resulting from hip fractures, resulting in a 10% decrease in time spent in pain during the first week after surgery.”
The second bullet point is much more specific and provides more detail about what you did and the results of your work.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
In order for your resume to make it through the applicant tracking system (ATS) and into the hands of a recruiter, it’s important to include certain keywords. Most ATS programs scan resumes for specific terms related to the job opening, like “patient care” or “physical therapy.” If your resume doesn’t have enough of these keywords, the ATS might automatically reject your application.
The best way to make sure your resume includes enough keywords is to read through the job posting and take note of the terms that are used most frequently. Then, go back through your resume and add those same terms into the relevant sections. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some common inpatient physical therapist keywords:
- Physical Therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Injury Prevention
- Manual Therapy
- Sports Medicine
- Sports Injuries
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Exercise Prescription
- Healthcare
- Home Care
- Outpatient Care
- Strength Training
- Fitness
- Injury Rehabilitation
- Wellness
- Acute Care
- Pain Management
- Pediatrics
- Orthopedic Rehabilitation
- Pediatric Physical Therapy
- Clinical Research
- Patient Education
- Clinical Practice
- Hospitals
- Working with Special Populations
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Hand Therapy
- Health Education
- Movement Therapy
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As an inpatient physical therapist, you will need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. This might include experience with electronic health records (EHR) systems, patient scheduling software, and billing and coding systems. Additionally, inpatient physical therapists need to be comfortable using a variety of medical equipment, such as X-ray machines and MRI machines.
Listing your technical skills prominently on your resume will show that you are a valuable candidate who is familiar with the essential tools and systems used in your field.