At a small rural hospital, the physical therapist gets inpatients moving after surgery or illness and runs the rehab swing bed patients come for. They also treat outpatients in the hospital gym. What the PT sees as a patient walks and transfers shapes the team's choice: home, home with help, or another facility.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
We're hiring a physical therapist to treat inpatients, swing bed patients and outpatients. Many swing bed patients come to us from larger hospitals to work on strength and mobility before going home, and therapy shapes their discharge plan. You'll evaluate, set goals, treat, supervise assistants and aides, and document in [your EHR].
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Evaluate patients, set goals and write plans of care for inpatient, swing bed and outpatient physical therapy.
Treat patients with exercise, gait and balance training, transfer training and manual therapy within your state's scope of practice.
Recommend discharge needs to case management, such as equipment, home health or outpatient therapy.
Supervise physical therapist assistants and rehab aides as your state allows.
Teach nurses and aides safe transfer and mobility methods for each patient.
Document evaluations, daily notes and progress reports, following Medicare rules for outpatient and swing bed therapy.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review new orders, swing bed admissions and the outpatient schedule.
Treat inpatients and swing bed patients, then see scheduled outpatients.
Join the discharge huddle and update the team on each patient's mobility.
Finish notes and charges the same day.
Check gait belts, walkers and other equipment, and report what needs repair.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Evaluations completed within your standard: [your target].
Same-day documentation: [your target].
Outpatient visits per day: [your target].
Outpatient cancellation and no-show rate: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) or a master's in physical therapy from an accredited program.
Active [State] physical therapist license, or a compact privilege through the PT Compact if your state is a member.
BLS certification.
Clinical experience or rotations in acute care, rehab or outpatient orthopedics.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience treating swing bed patients in a critical access or rural hospital.
ABPTS board certification, such as orthopedic (OCS) or geriatric (GCS) specialist.
Vestibular, lymphedema or [other specialty] training.
[1+] years of practice experience.
7. Physical Requirements
Stand, walk, kneel and squat for most of the day.
Guard and assist patients during transfers and walking, supporting up to [50] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Weekday schedule: [hours], with weekend swing bed coverage on a rotation.
Work in patient rooms, hallways and an outpatient gym.
Exposure to infectious disease, with PPE provided.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new physical therapist gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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What changes for a physical therapist in a critical access hospital
At a big hospital a PT usually sticks to one setting. Here one therapist may see an inpatient with pneumonia, a swing bed patient learning stairs again and an outpatient after knee surgery, all before lunch.
Swing bed patients come for rehab
Many swing bed patients arrive from larger hospitals to rebuild strength before going home. Federal swing bed rules bring along the nursing home rule on rehab. If the care plan calls for physical therapy, the hospital provides it or arranges it, and it is given by qualified staff under a physician's written order. Expect the PT's daily notes to drive the team's talks about discharge. Source: 42 CFR 483.65: Specialized rehabilitative services (Cornell LII).
A plan before the first treatment
Medicare's critical access rules tie therapy to a plan that is set before treatment begins. A physician, an NP, a clinical nurse specialist, a PA or the PT may write it. The plan names the type, amount, frequency and length of therapy, plus the diagnosis and goals. State law decides who counts as qualified therapy staff, so check your board's rules for assistants and aides. Source: 42 CFR 409.17: Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology plans (Cornell LII).
Outpatient plans need a signature, or proof
For Medicare outpatients, a physician, NP, PA or clinical nurse specialist certifies the PT's plan and recertifies it at least every 90 days. There is one shortcut for the first one. If a written order or referral is in the chart and the PT can show the plan went to that practitioner within 30 days of the evaluation, no signature is needed. Track both dates in the EHR. Source: 42 CFR 424.24: Requirements for medical and other health services (Cornell LII).
Three caseloads in one day
Inpatients usually come first, since the team needs mobility advice before a discharge. Swing bed patients need daily sessions toward set goals. Outpatients fill booked slots, and a late inpatient referral can push them back. A PT here plans the day around all three and warns the front desk early when the outpatient schedule has to move.
Discharge plans account for distance
Patients may live an hour from the nearest outpatient clinic, on a farm, or in a house with steep steps and no rail. The PT tells case management what the patient needs before going home. That covers equipment, whether the patient can make the drive back for outpatient visits, and what a family member must learn first.
How much hospital physical therapists make
Physical therapists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $51.39 an hour ($106,890 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $102,760 median for physical therapists in all industries. About 61,520 of the 267,330 physical therapists in that survey work for general hospitals.
Salaried or hourly. Say how weekend swing bed shifts are paid, whether inside the salary or at an hourly rate on top.
General hospitals
$106,890$106,890 median Middle half $99,890–$123,910 10th–90th $83,990–$134,780
All industries
$102,760$102,760 median Middle half $86,160–$121,160 10th–90th $77,140–$135,140
$70k$80k$90k$100k$110k$120k$130k$140k$150k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
General hospitals
$83,990
$99,890
$106,890
$123,910
$134,780
All industries
$77,140
$86,160
$102,760
$121,160
$135,140
These figures cover general medical and surgical hospitals of every size. Rural hospitals often pay less than city hospitals. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Evaluates acute, swing bed and outpatient patients with no senior PT to ask
Guards a patient's first walk after surgery calmly and safely
Writes plans of care with measurable goals that hold up to Medicare's rules
Explains mobility needs to nurses, case managers and families in plain words
Rebuilds a full day's schedule when an urgent referral comes in
Teach these on the job
Your EHR's therapy notes and charge entry
Swing bed paperwork and your discharge huddle
Tracking outpatient Medicare certifications
Your gym equipment and modalities
Your lift equipment and safe patient handling policy
PTs here chart in the hospital EHR and work with gait belts, walkers, parallel bars, a recumbent stepper and modalities such as electrical stimulation and ultrasound. If the unit has a ceiling lift or sit-to-stand device, mention it; therapists from short-staffed hospitals notice.
Hospital physical therapist interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Fill in the blueprint's targets after a quarter of EHR therapy reports. Keep inpatient and outpatient numbers apart when you compare.
Evaluations completed within your standard
Time from a new PT order to the signed evaluation, from EHR order and note times. Track inpatient, swing bed and outpatient orders apart, since each has its own standard.
Same-day documentation
Notes and charges signed on the day of the visit, from the EHR's open-note report. Read the misses by weekday; a pattern often points to an overbooked outpatient day.
Outpatient visits per day
Completed outpatient visits divided by days the PT worked the outpatient schedule. Read it next to the inpatient load, since a heavy inpatient day lowers it for good reason.
Outpatient cancellation and no-show rate
Cancelled and missed visits divided by all booked outpatient visits, from the scheduling system. Ask patients who cancel often about the drive, the weather or a ride, and offer reminder calls.
Career path
PT student on clinical rotationSpends an acute care or outpatient rotation in a rural hospital.
Physical TherapistTreats inpatients, swing bed patients and outpatients.
Board-certified specialistEarns an ABPTS certification and builds an outpatient specialty, such as orthopedics.
Rehab services directorRuns physical, occupational and speech therapy for the hospital and its clinics.
Does a patient need a referral to see a physical therapist?
The answer varies by state and by payer. APTA says all 50 states, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands allow direct access to a PT in either provisional or unrestricted form, though some states still limit treatment without a referral. Medicare outpatients still need the plan certified by a physician, NP, PA or clinical nurse specialist. Write your intake rules to match both.
How much does a hospital physical therapist make?
Physical therapists who work for general medical and surgical hospitals earned a median of $51.39 an hour ($106,890 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $99,890 and $123,910 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Can we hire a PT who lives across the state line?
Possibly, through the PT Compact. A PT's home state is the one that issued their driver's license, and it has to be an active compact state. If your state takes part, they buy a compact privilege for it and pass any jurisprudence exam your state requires. If they move to your state, the privilege works there for only 60 days after the move.
What do OCS and GCS mean on a resume?
They are ABPTS board certifications: OCS in orthopaedics and GCS in geriatrics. A licensed PT qualifies for the exam with direct care hours in that specialty or an accredited residency in it. ABPTS sets the hours for each specialty, so check its current rules before you make one a requirement. Both fit here: orthopaedics for the outpatient gym, geriatrics for swing beds.
Can a new graduate PT handle this job?
Yes, with support. A new PT here may be the only therapist in the building. Line up a mentor at a larger hospital or in your network, keep the first weeks to inpatients and swing beds while they learn your notes, and review their plans of care together before you hand them a full outpatient schedule.
