According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Document examination results, treatment plans, and patients' outcomes. | 94% |
| Examine patients to assess mobility, strength, communication, or cognition. | 93% |
| Assess characteristics of patients' pain, such as intensity, location, or duration, using standardized clinical measures. | 91% |
| Provide inpatient or outpatient medical management of neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal trauma, acute and chronic pain, deformity or amputation, cardiac or pulmonary disease, or other disabling conditions. | 91% |
| Monitor effectiveness of pain management interventions, such as medication or spinal injections. | 89% |
| Develop comprehensive plans for immediate and long-term rehabilitation, including therapeutic exercise, speech and occupational therapy, counseling, cognitive retraining, patient, family or caregiver education, or community reintegration. | 89% |
| Coordinate physical medicine and rehabilitation services with other medical activities. | 87% |
| Perform electrodiagnosis, including electromyography, nerve conduction studies, or somatosensory evoked potentials of neuromuscular disorders or damage. | 86% |
| Prescribe physical therapy to relax the muscles and improve strength. | 86% |
| Consult or coordinate with other rehabilitative professionals, including physical and occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, speech pathologists, neuropsychologists, behavioral psychologists, social workers, or medical technicians. | 85% |
| Prescribe therapy services, such as electrotherapy, ultrasonography, heat or cold therapy, hydrotherapy, debridement, short-wave or microwave diathermy, and infrared or ultraviolet radiation, to enhance rehabilitation. | 84% |
| Instruct interns and residents in the diagnosis and treatment of temporary or permanent physically disabling conditions. | 83% |
| Diagnose or treat performance-related conditions, such as sports injuries or repetitive-motion injuries. | 82% |
| Prescribe orthotic and prosthetic applications and adaptive equipment, such as wheelchairs, bracing, or communication devices, to maximize patient function and self-sufficiency. | 78% |
| Conduct physical tests, such as functional capacity evaluations, to determine injured workers' capabilities to perform the physical demands of their jobs. | 76% |
