Resume Examples

Physical Therapist resume examples,
by career stage

Three real physical therapist resumes, one per career stage, each with the templates that actually suit it and why.

Daniel Okafor, PT, DPT
Richmond, VA (555) 340-1187 daniel.okafor.dpt@email.com linkedin.com/in/danielokafordpt
PHYSICAL THERAPIST, OUTPATIENT ORTHOPEDICS

Professional Summary

Doctor of Physical Therapy with one year of outpatient orthopedic experience, following a 12-week clinical internship at the same practice. Manage a full daily caseload of post-surgical and sports injury patients and am building toward orthopedic specialty certification.

Areas of Expertise

Manual Therapy  | Therapeutic Exercise Prescription  | Post-Surgical Rehabilitation  | Sports Injury Rehabilitation  | Gait & Movement Analysis  | Patient Education  | WebPT EMR  | Outcome Measures (FOTO)

Experience

Physical TherapistAugust 2025 - Present
James River Orthopedic & Sports Rehab - Richmond, VA
  • Manage a daily caseload of 12-14 outpatient orthopedic patients, developing and progressing individualized treatment plans for post-surgical, sports injury and chronic pain cases.
  • Track outcomes through FOTO functional scores, with the clinic’s post-op knee patients averaging discharge scores above the national benchmark through the first two quarters on staff.
  • Educate patients on home exercise programs and pain management strategies, using patient handout materials built during clinical rotations.
DPT Clinical InternMay 2024 - August 2024
James River Orthopedic & Sports Rehab - Richmond, VA
  • Completed a 12-week Level II clinical internship, co-treating a caseload of outpatient orthopedic patients under a licensed PT’s supervision.

Education

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)May 2025
Virginia Commonwealth University - Richmond, VA
  • Clinical rotations in outpatient orthopedics, inpatient acute care and pediatric rehabilitation.

Certifications

Physical Therapist License, Virginia, Virginia Board of Physical Therapy2025
CPR/BLS for Healthcare Providers, American Heart Association2025

Technical Skills

WebPT, Manual Therapy Techniques, Therapeutic Exercise Prescription, Dry Needling (introductory training)

Awards

  • James River Orthopedic & Sports Rehab, Clinical Excellence Award for New Graduates, 2025

Recommended for physical therapists at this stage

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What actually makes a physical therapist resume strong

Lead with functional outcomes, not a list of treated conditions

Every outpatient PT treats post-surgical knees and shoulders. What separates a strong resume is evidence the treatment worked: a FOTO or other standardized outcome score, a return-to-sport or return-to-work timeline, a caseload size and complexity. If you are early in practice and do not track scores yet, caseload volume and the range of diagnoses you manage independently still tell the story.

Certifications belong in one dated block, and a specialty certification should sit near the top

Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, dry needling certification, manual therapy certification: list them together with the certifying body and the year. A clinic director scanning for a specific credential should not have to read your full work history to confirm you hold it.

Name your EMR and documentation platform

WebPT, Clinicient and Raintree are not interchangeable to a practice planning your onboarding and productivity ramp-up. If a posting names a specific system, say directly whether you have used it.

A common mistake: describing modalities instead of naming the population you treat

Phrases like "performed therapeutic exercise and manual therapy" describe every PT’s daily task list. A resume that names the actual population and diagnosis mix, post-op ortho, sports, pelvic health, neuro, tells a hiring manager exactly what kind of caseload you are ready to take on.

Questions people ask

How long should a physical therapist resume be?add

One page for a new DPT graduate or anyone with under roughly seven years of clinical experience. Two pages becomes reasonable once you have clinic leadership experience, a specialty certification like OCS, or a career history long enough that trimming it would lose real information.

Should I list my PT license number?add

List the license type and state, for example "Physical Therapist License, Idaho," but leave the number off a resume you are sending to multiple employers or posting on a job board. It gets verified directly during hiring.

What if I do not have outcome scores or hard numbers yet?add

Caseload size, the range of diagnoses you manage independently, and any mentoring or precepting you have done are all real evidence. A specific detail like a "14-patient daily caseload including post-op ACL and rotator cuff repairs" tells a hiring manager more than a vague claim about being a "dedicated" clinician.

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