Having a knowledgeable and experienced physical therapy director will undoubtedly allow your practice or medical business to operate more efficiently. Before you can do that, however, you first have to hire your physical therapy director. While you might already have a job description in mind, taking a look at a physical therapy director job description sample is sure to make the process easier for everyone involved. Something else to think about is the fact that a job description sample can keep you from wasting time looking at the resumes and cover letters of woefully underqualified applicants and those who are likely not very good fits for your work environment or business philosophy.
Physical Therapy Director Job Summary
The physical therapy director is tasked with overseeing our physical therapy department by offering services, creating strategic goals and acting as a liaison between other medical departments. The job also entails overseeing day-to-day operations and seeing as well as evaluating patients as necessary. You can also expect to implement sound and effective financial strategies, anticipate financial requirements and analyze monthly financial reports.
Physical Therapy Director Job Responsibilities and Duties
- Ensure values are enforced and properly communicated to everyone in the physical therapy department.
- Offer analysis, information and suggestions with the end goal of developing physical therapy operational policies; determine productivity, production, quality and patient-services procedures.
- Oversee the hiring, training and development of physical therapy staff members.
- Study trends and variances in the physical therapy industry and ensure our financial resources are properly aligned.
- Offer technical direction with evaluation and proper treatment of patients.
- Manage department budget and use operational resources.
- Study patient care policies and measure final outcomes to determine areas of improvement.
- Ensure accreditation, legal and medical compliance and remain updated on regulations at the local, state and federal levels.
- Engage in continuing education and training opportunities whenever they become available.
Physical Therapy Director Qualifications and Skills
- 10 to 20 years of experience as a physical therapy director
- At least five years of experience as a physical therapist
- Proven financial planning and financial management skills
- Knowledge of legal, medical and accreditation compliance
- Current physical therapist license
Company Profile
Golden Gate Retirement Community first opened its doors in 1996 and since then has become one of the most trusted names in retirement and elderly care. We strive to ensure each of our residents is properly taken care of mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our staff provides residents with healthy meals, a variety of physical activities, medical services, educational courses, religious counsel and mental health services as well. Our aim is to make our residents look and feel their absolute best during their golden years and reinvigorate them with the breath of life.
Dos and Don’ts for Composing a Physical Therapy Director Job Description
Even though the above physical therapy director job description sample can go a long way in helping you draft yours, there’s still a chance you either won’t have an outline to follow or will simply have one that doesn’t apply to your unique needs. If you find yourself in either category, know there are a few best practices to use to help ensure you have a job description of which you can be proud. Remember:
DO implement bullet lists and bullet points with your job responsibilities and skills and qualifications sections of your description as you see above. Bullet points make your description much easier to read and much likely to be read. Blocks of texts can be intimidating to candidates and make it difficult for them to determine the most essential facts of the job.
DON’T mention anything about compensation or a benefits package before you’ve done your research to determine whether you’re allowed to do so.
DO add a call to action as well as contact information at the bottom of your job description. Interested individuals want to know what they should do to be considered for the position. They also want to know who to call or email if they have any questions about the job.
DON’T forget to mention the type of work environment and company culture directors can expect should they decide to accept a job offer. While an individual might be well qualified for the job, he or she may not have a personality or career goals that match those of your business.
Physical Therapy Director Job Responsibilities
When writing a physical therapy director job description, it’s important to accurately and clearly communicate the daily responsibilities that the candidate will need to perform. The job responsibilities section is the most in-depth part of the job listing, and it should focus on the aspects of the position that define success in the role. There can be no room for misunderstanding if you want to prevent unfit candidates from applying.
When it comes to this section, don’t make the mistake of including so much information that candidates lose interest. A bullet-point format is easy to skim and can help you narrow down the list to the most important tasks. Start each phrase with a strong verb, and don’t use less than four or more than eight bullet points. Lastly, this section of your physical therapy director job description should be thorough but not exhaustive. Refrain from including peripheral responsibilities that won’t factor much into the position.
Take a look at these physical therapy director job responsibilities:
- Direct, assess and supervise support personnel
- Instruct patients and demonstrate procedures for at-home treatments
- Administer massage, manual exercises or traction to help restore functionality, relieve pain or increase strength to damaged tissue
- Refer clients to community services or resources
Physical Therapy Director Job Specifications
At first glance, writing the job qualifications and skills section of your physical therapy director job description probably looks like a piece of cake. After all, it’s the shortest section of all of them and is a simple list of minimum requirements for the position, such as hard or soft skills and education.
With that in mind, this portion is paramount to the success of the job description. A poorly written job qualifications and skills section is often the reason for an email inbox stuffed full of unfit applicants’ resumes. You want to tailor the requirements in this section so they clearly identify the skills candidates need to perform the job well without overwhelming or discouraging qualified jobseekers from applying.
You can get a good idea of these essential skills by talking with both senior managers and the employees who will report to the new director. This will open your options in writing your physical therapy director job description since you’ll have a clearer picture of what they need and so will jobseekers. Once you understand what the position requires, you can divide the list of skills into firm requirements and preferred qualifications.
We’ve provided a few examples of well-written physical therapy director job specifications here:
- Doctoral or professional degree in exercise science or physical therapy
- At least 5 years’ experience in physical therapy and management
- Exceptional interpersonal communications skills, especially written and oral
- Excellent understanding of counseling and guidance principles