do physical therapists make more money than RNs?

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I was just curious...thanks!

that is very true. nurses are way underpaid. i think pt's are valuble but not as much as RNs. we should be paid more :icon_roll

While nurses should be paid more, it's unfair to say PT's (or anyone in healthcare really) are not as valuable. A nurse can do a lot of things, but they can't work with someone badly injured to help them walk again. Everyone has a role.

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Entry level in my neck of the woods is now a clinical doctorate.

So, based on how much time they spend in school, they deserve to get paid more than a career where you can be entry level with an associates.

Not to say that I don't think RNs deserve more money than we get. ;)

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Specializes in Acute rehab/geriatrics/cardiac rehab.
I know in the Uk that PT's are very highly trained and have to study as much anatomy as a doctor

I had a PT tell me once that she had to study (dissect) cadavers like the medical students in school (though she said that she believes at the school she went to this is no longer required of PT students. I also believe that PTs in some parts of the U.S. usually have to have a DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) now to practice. This is similar to the Pharmacists now having a PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy).

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Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
For those of you responding saying that the PT's are making much more than the RN's .... What are the educational requirements of the PT's? and of the RN's?

llg

And this would make a point for moving toward making the entry level into nursing what?

;)

Not that I either agree or disagree. But it is a point.

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Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
I had a PT tell me once that she had to study (dissect) cadavers like the medical students in school

I did this in my A&P for nursing school as well.

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I think I went into the wrong area of study.

If I had it in me I would be a PT. Only drawback, though, a nurse does things to make a person feel better, but when the physical therapist shows up it usually means a lot of pain and discomfort.

I really feel devalued now, like bottom of the barrell.

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yes, they are Master's prepared.

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There is a national movement to make all PT's doctorate level. Most programs only have a few master level credit hours difference between a masters and phd.

I'm sorry, but a lot of nursing duties don't bring comfort. We offer plenty of pain and discomfort to our patients as well ie foley, IV insertion, phlebotomy, dressing changes etc.

Both have their place, both are necessary to get "our" patients well enough to get them out the door so they don't require our help anymore, that is the goal even with discomfort.

Nurses undervalued, yes, but we honestly shouldn't be making as much as a profession that is in the medical field requiring a doctorate.

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Entry level in my neck of the woods is now a clinical doctorate.

So, based on how much time they spend in school, they deserve to get paid more than a career where you can be entry level with an associates.

Not to say that I don't think RNs deserve more money than we get. ;)

Then why do nurses who earn BSNs not deserve more money than nurses who only have Associates Degrees and Diplomas? Why does nursing still have Associates Degree and Diplomas as an entry into practice? All other health care professionals have increased their entry into practice except nursing Nurses still fight for their God Given Right to remain under- educated.

In the REAL WORLD WITH A REAL JOB, individuals who have extended themselves to earn a higher degree, and higher work specialty qualifications,(ex. CCRN), are rewarded with higher pay, regardless what the entry into practice is.

Unfortunately, in the REAL WORLD OF NURSING, there are still too many nurses who do not value higher education, only want to do the minimum time in school, and are threatened by nurses who achieve above what "the average bear" achieves". The only way to validate their self worth and self importance, is to deny higher pay to nurses who earn the higher college degrees and the specialty certifications. Why do nurses remain with such a low entry into practice? It is because it is easier for the hospitals to control us, and continue to deskill, and de professionize nursing. And the more that nurses fight the change to increase the entry into a practice to a BSN, the harder it is to make it a reality. And the ANA is only to happy to accomodate them, and make the hospitals, the hospital associations, MDs and the AMA, happy. They pay the ANA more than nurses do anyway.

$$$, by the way, is the reason that nurses who earn BSNs don't stay in bedside nursing. Why should they? When they can go outside of the hospital

and earn more money and have better working conditions and more respect. That is why I left and went into Legal Nursing.

It is really a shame that nurses can agree, respect, and accept, that Physical Therapists earn more money than they do. "because they went to school longer than we do". I went to school with these people. They are not geniuses. They have the same pre- requisites for their program that nurses do, as well as PE Majors. I was told point blank by these people, that the reason that Physical Therapists decided to increase their entry into practice, was to keep their numbers low, keep themselves in demand. And maintain control of their profession. And of course, earn more money.

Nursing programs are difficult as well. They are nothing to be taken lightly, and have a high drop out rate. And lets not forget, who is at the patient's bedside 24 and 7? It is not the Physical Therapists. Here in low paying Spokane, Physical Therapist make over $80,000 a year in a hospital, as do Occupational Therapists. Nurses average about $45,000. Does anyone really believe that the work that a hospital nurse does is not worth at least what a Physical Therapist earns? If you really believe that, than I know why nursing is such a low paying profession. Our own peers think even think that we are not worth far more than we are paid, and should, by virtue of the low entry into practice, should remain underpaid. Unbelievable. JMHO.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

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Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.
Then why do nurses who earn BSNs not deserve more money than nurses who only have Associates Degrees and Diplomas?

Is this a rhetorical question?

We ALL enter into nursing at the exact same place regardless of our education. NCLEX.

But yet you're ripping on nurses who do not have a BSN?

How is this their fault except for being so "self-important??"

Wow.

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lindarn, I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me or arguing with me.

I do think that higher degrees and certifications should be paid more money. That's how it is in the rest of the world, as you pointed out, and I completely agree. Never said otherwise.

In case you misunderstood me, I do believe nurses should be paid more. I am in no way saying we should remain underpaid. But that wasn't the point of this thread.

I don't necessarily believe that PTs should be paid more than RNs based on their duties alone. But a higher degree should be rewarded higher pay, should it not?

Therefore, I think MS/PhD/DrNP should be compensated just as much as a PT doctorate, PharmD, etc.

If I go to NP school, I will expect to make more money, because I spent more time in school. If I go to law school, I will expect to make more money because I spent more time in school. If I became a high school teacher, I would not expect to make more money because it's another BS degree, until I went on to obtain my masters.

Edited to add: And, no, I am not saying that BSNs are better than ASNs are better than Diplomas are better than etc ad nauseum, before that dead horse gets beaten to a further pulp. ;)

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Specializes in NICU.

Yes, physical therapists need at least a Master's degree, if not a PhD in some places to start working in the field. Most programs take 6 years, but sometimes you can get into a program as a college freshman where you get your Bachelor's and Master's in 5 years. This includes summer co-ops, though (like nursing clinicals or internships), so it's year-round for 5 years. Both my sister-in-law and a friend of mine did these programs, one in Boston and one in Milwaukee. They both started out making more money than I did as an RN and worked Monday-Friday, daytime hours. On paper, PT is a much more "normal" job and has lots of benefits that nurses don't have - like a normal schedule!

HOWEVER...

I personally know two PTs. Neither is happy.

My sister-in-law has only been practicing for a year now. She already hates her job as a neuro rehab PT and is trying to get into an Early Childhood Intervention or hospital pediatrics program instead. Her days are very very structured. She has a strict schedule of half-hour sessions that she has to keep on track and she gets bored with the monotony of it all, especially because she doesn't really have much interest the adult neuro population. She's enjoying the money but would rather find a lower-paying job that she likes better, thus her desire to work for Early Intervention - neo/peds is her niche.

My friend also hated the strict half-hour schedule and felt that she was working for a business more than she was helping people. Everything was about patients being billed for this or that, so she felt it was more about money than caring. She gave it 7 years, then went back to school for an Accelerated BSN program, and she is on month 12 of 13 right now, with graduation around the corner. She knows she will make less money as an RN but she is much more excited about this field. Right now she is going to go into ICU for a few years because she enjoys the technology and challenges found there, plus she looks forward to focusing on 1-2 patients for her whole shift instead of having to rush through each patient in only 30 minutes. She eventually wants to get involved with some sort of community health center, educating the masses. She feels she has many many more options with her BSN than she did with her Master's in PT.

Another downfall of PT is that there are are only so many jobs out there. Take my sister-in-law for example. She really would love to be a PT that only works in the NICU - but it's so hard to come by! My unit has ONE PT that works just with our babies - yet we have over 130 nurses on staff! If NICU was her true passion, my sister-in-law would have had a MUCH MUCH better chance of working with this population as an RN rather than as a PT.

I say someone interested in both fields might want to shadow and RN and a PT for a day and see what their jobs entail before making a decision. It's not always about money in the end.

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