• Diagnose and manage movement dysfunction and enhance physical and functional abilities.
• Restore, maintain, and promote not only optimal physical function but optimal wellness and fitness and optimal quality of life as it relates to movement and health.
• Prevent the onset, symptoms, and progression of impairments, functional limitations, and disabilities that may result from diseases, disorders, conditions, or injuries.

Differences Between Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapists help individuals achieve independence and improve one's ability to perform daily activities and self-care. For example, Occupational Therapists may help a patient learn to dress themselves, brush their teeth or comb their hair after a stroke or illness that has severely weakened their arms. Physical Therapists focus on the large motor skills that contribute to walking, reaching, standing and physical activities. They work on strength, balance, range of motion and swelling as well as pain to encourage independence. Physical Therapists typically work with patients that have or had an injury or impairment and work to try to restore the injury or impairment back to normal functioning, or as normal as possible so that they may continue to function within daily living.

Explore more about Physical Therapists through the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Explore more about Occupational Therapists through the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

Education for Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapy Track

Although not a requirement, if you are interested in graduating with a completed Associates degree from PPSC, you will want to pursue the Associate of Arts rather than the Associate of Science because the AA accommodates multiple social science courses required for the Doctorate of Physical Therapy.

• Science prerequisites for application to the graduate programs must be completed within 5-7 years of application.
• Students are encouraged to contact the individual programs to verify admission eligibility.
• Application to each program is unique to each institution.

Once you complete an AA degree at PPSC, you will need to transfer to a four-year college or university in an Allied Health Track or Physical Therapy Track program. Then you will need to apply to Occupational Therapy schools to earn a Master's or Doctorate degree and Physical Therapy schools to earn a Doctorate degree.

There is one institution that offers Occupational Therapy advanced degrees in Colorado. Review these degree requirements for Colorado State University-Fort Collins.

Two institutions in Colorado offer the Doctorate in Physical Therapy: University of Colorado – Denver and Regis University.

See the Medical School Resources page for more information on how to get into Medical School.