MBTI® Test ISFP Physical Therapy Aides

Strong Interest Inventory® General Occupational Theme Code: Social, Realistic (SR) (GOT)

Physical therapy aides are inherently caring individuals who wish to use their work to improve the quality of life for others.

Image courtesy of Flare at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Flare at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A specific Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI test) personality type often acts as a formidable fit for this occupation. Introverted-Sensing-Feeling-Perceiving (Myers-Briggs test ISFP) types will often find themselves fitting into a career as a physical therapy aide quite nicely as their caring and sympathetic aspects of their Feeling Preference allows them to deal with patients quite well.

Physical therapy aides work as the right-hand men and women of physical therapists, assisting them with prepping patients and administering treatment, all under specialized direction. For example, physical therapy aides could prepare equipment for use by sterilizing and calibrating it; move patients from various areas to different specialized rooms; transcribe medical histories and the physical therapist’s notes; perform therapeutic exercises and routines, including massage, hydrotherapy, and electrotherapy; and watch over patients during recovery to note their therapeutic progress. Occasionally, physical therapy aides must also perform more regular tasks, including changing the bed sheets and cleaning up areas.

For a job that requires a plethora of different duties, specific inherent (and learned) skills make it much easier to succeed as a physical therapy aide—for example, having ample people and customer service skills, in order to make their patients feel as comfortable as possible and get to the crux of what is wrong. Developing different counseling, psychological, and communicative methods is also helpful to this end. Having a detailed understanding of the human form and other medical concepts is extremely important for this occupation, as is the ability to train others how to do something (namely, exercises that will help with their current condition). Physical skills are also important, such as nimbleness and steadiness, for performing medical procedures. Usually, because of the breadth of medical knowledge needed for this position, some college is required, but no degree is expected of those looking to become physical therapy aides.

In addition, physical therapy aids need to be able to use basic medical equipment, including blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, needles, and so on, as well as equipment needed to care for their patients, including wheelchairs, canes, and hydraulic lifts. If they have a particular specialization, like foot care, they may also need to be familiar with more specific materials. So far as software is concerned, often comfort with scheduling and patient record software as well as Microsoft Office Suite and its Google equivalents is more than sufficient. That said, because they often do not hold college degrees, aides need to be willing and able to learn on the job as well.

Below are some employment trends for Physical Therapy Aides:

  • Median wage: $14.05 hourly, $29,230 annually
  • Employment: 7,900 employees
  • Projected growth (2018-2028): Much faster than average (11% or higher)
  • Projected job openings (2018-2028): 1,100

Visit Our MBTI® About Page and Our ISFP Personality Type Page For Detailed Information on The ISFP Personality Type

Visit Our Strong Interest Inventory® Resource Page To Learn About The (SR) GOT

ISFP Careers

Click on one of these corresponding popular ISFP Careers for detailed information including Career Stats, Income Stats, Daily Tasks and Required Education: Bill and Account Collector, Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, Cashier,Medical Transcriptionist, Nursing Assistant, Packaging & Filling Machine Operators, Pharmacy Technician, Physical Therapy Aide, Procurement Clerk, and Team Assembler.

Explore Our ISFP Blog Pages

Explore additional information that delves deeper into the ISFP Personality Type by examining various personality and career based subjects:

Click on a link below to read more about different MBTI Personality Types

ISTJ ISFJ INFJ INTJ ESTP ESFP ENFP ENTP
ISTP ISFP INFP INTP ESTJ ESFJ ENFJ ENTJ

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and 2012-2022 employment projections Onetonline.org

MBTI® Type Tables for Occupations, 2nd Edition. Schaubhut, N. & Thompson, R. (CPP, 2008)