Resume keywords & skills for a Physical Therapist
A physical therapist resume's keywords follow the full evaluate–treat–rehab–follow-up cycle: patient evaluation, treatment planning, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, rehabilitation, gait training, orthopedic / neurological rehab, patient education, and outcome measures. On credentials and systems, recruiters look for a DPT, a PT license, the NPTE, EHRs like WebPT, and ICD-10 / CPT coding. Paste your resume below to see which of this role's keywords you hit and miss — comparison only, nothing uploaded. Keywords align your clinical scope to the role; they don't fabricate it.
Hard skills
14Tools & tech
10Soft skills
5Check your resume against these Physical Therapist keywords
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Frequently asked questions
Core skills across the episode of care: patient evaluation, treatment planning, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, rehab progression, and outcome measures — plus the populations you're strong in (ortho / neuro / geriatric / sports). Add results (e.g. 'post-op knee patients hit ROM goals two weeks faster on average') — that's far more convincing than a string of technique names.
Put them up front and state them honestly: the DPT and PT license (note the state) are practice gates, and flag the NPTE as passed; if you hold a specialty cert like OCS / NCS (via ABPTS), list it separately for a boost. All are verifiable — keep it truthful, since faking one is a patient-safety red line.
Don't force in areas you weren't trained for and haven't worked. PT is highly specialized — outpatient ortho, inpatient neuro rehab, pediatrics, and sports differ a lot. Mark your real specialty honestly and aim at the matching setting; that's more credible than claiming to do it all, and a case-specific interview question will tell.
No. Keywords raise relevance, but PT hiring ultimately turns on your real clinical evaluation, treatment skill, and credentials. PolishCat helps align wording and spot gaps — but in healthcare, honesty always comes before any 'pass-the-screen' tactic.
Updated / PolishCat team