<p>It is still a long time ahead of me, but I am trying to consider my future options as I pick up electives for next upcoming semesters. I know that jobs in biomedical engineering with bachelors are scarce so I need to decide on some options. One option that I am looking at is to become a physical therapist, if possible. If I decide to take classes with the emphasis of rehab and biomechanics it seems like it’s a good way to get into PT. I just need some information and confirmation that it is possible to do that without falling behind in graduation. I found some information at different colleges but they said that they want previous physical therapy experience before they can accept you, so i am not sure how i can have any of it if I am a recent graduate for example.</p>
<p>You really need to research what type of degree one needs to practice PT. I believe students now need a doctorate. </p>
<p>I imagine some students come in to PT programs with a prior degree but you would need to find one that would give you as much credit for your prior classes as possible.</p>
<p>hmm yeah seems like to get a masters or doctorate in PT you need to have prior work experience, along with a letter of recommendation from a physical therapist.</p>
<p>matase: You really need to contact a couple of programs and get specific information. i became a PT before there ever was an entry level masters or Phd. I would expect that the work experience would not need to be a real job but rather volunteer experience so you have a clear image of what a PT does before you enter the program. You can probably get recs from the PT’s at the facility you are volunteering at. Back when I applied to a program there were specific prerequisite courses that were not the same for every program. I would expect there are similar requirements for masters/Phd level programs, again a reason to contact some specific schools. It would seem that a biomedical engineering and PT combination could be interesting but initially I would also expect that your education would be focused and making you a competent clinician and initially you would not very likely have opportunities to combine the two. My point is, look into PT as a career if you want to be a PT. PT can enhance your understanding of engineering needs through your work in the field but I expect that it would be difficult to find a job that would combine your skill sets right away when you graduate as a PT. Working in rehab is a great thought. There are times when I worked in rehab that i wish I had the knowledge to design equipment that I aw a need for.</p>
<p>I registered for an account today just so I could reply to this question. I received my BME from Iowa in 2010, and started classes in Rocky Mountain University’s DPT program in May of this year. (There are no MPT programs anymore- we become Doctors now.) The overlap between these two fields are incredible, and I wouldn’t want to be studying anything else in preparation for a life-long career. When I was enrolling for Undergrad, the BME/med school track had been established as an option, but I’m disappointed to see relatively few others taking the path I am on. Feel free to contact me with specific questions. Also, Northwestern recently developed a program where you leave with a Phd in BME and a DPT. If I was even 2 or 3 years into my engineering degree right now, I would be doing everything I could to transfer schools and get into that program. Feel free to contact me with questions, and good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for this advice and my bad for taking a long time to check back at my thread.</p>
<p>nchamley,
My name is Xiao, I am going to study Biomedical Engineering next spring and need some insight from you: When you said “The overlap between these two fields are incredible”, is that because an BME need study the need of PT in order to design the tool? Does BME study more Biology, Chemistry, or Physics?</p>
<p>My email is chenxiaodeng@********** =D</p>
<p>Xiaodeng, you misunderstood. The overlap being discussed above was between Masters in Physical Therapy and a Doctorate in Physical therapy, not BME.</p>
<p>BME and PT only overlap as they are both patient oriented in finding solutions to improve their health.</p>
<p>I would say that differently. There have been times back in the days when hospital stays weren’t severely limited and productivity wasn’t measured for every minute of work that having a background in engineering would have been very helpful to me as a therapist as I tried to come up with adaptive equipment and splints for a population that didn’t fit an off the rack mold. There are often times in the clinic I have wished for a piece of equipment that would zero in on a particular problem. And then there is the whole field of prosthetics and orthotics. If you have an understanding of both the problem and the development of equipment and devices that will better solve the problems that patient’s have then the two fields are complementary. So a PT that became a biomedical engineer would have insight into needs that probably most engineers don’t have. Unfortunately the bottom line to all things is funding. I don’t know of settings where you could combine two and get paid for it. The opportunities may be out there and I can see where knowledge of both would be useful. Nchamley or Northwestern could probably tell you better about how fields can overlap in the real world…But don’t put your email out there in a public forum, CC wont let you and it could be dangerous! You could try a private message.</p>
<p>spectrum2, you could also have had training as an orthotist or a pedorthic and had extra tools. As a matter of fact Univ of Washington has that as a masters program which probably would be more useful as a practicing PT than a BME degree.</p>
<p>Prosthetics & Orthotics Degree Program
Master of Prosthetics & Orthotics (MPO)</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://rehab.washington.edu/education/degree/po/]P&O[/url”>P&O]P&O[/url</a>]</p>