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Air Force AFSC · Medical

42BX Physical Therapist

Current service use not established

This code is listed in the directory. Inclusion alone does not confirm current service use.

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Overview

A Physical Therapist identifies motor function problems caused by illness or injury and develops and implements patient care plans. They work with patients to restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and support a return to healthy, active lifestyles.

Core Skills

  • Injury prevention and human performance programming
  • Neuromusculoskeletal care in operational environments
  • Physical therapy research planning and direction

Civilian Career Paths

Career associations are editorial assessments of the cited evidence, not an official crosswalk unless the evidence explicitly says so. O*NET supplies civilian occupation information, not proof of a military match. Related experience does not confer civilian qualifications. Tasks and tools below describe civilian work, not military training.

Physical Therapists

Military experience examining, diagnosing, treating, and managing neuromusculoskeletal disorders directly supports civilian physical therapy assessment and treatment.

How to prepare: Check the destination state's physical therapy board requirements against your education and current license status. Entrants need a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, and all states require licensure that includes a qualifying exam, with additional requirements varying by state.

What the civilian work involves
  • Plan, prepare, or carry out individually designed programs of physical treatment to maintain, improve, or restore physical functioning, alleviate pain, or prevent physical dysfunction in patients.
  • Perform and document an initial exam, evaluating data to identify problems and determine a diagnosis prior to intervention.
  • Evaluate effects of treatment at various stages and adjust treatments to achieve maximum benefit.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
  • eClinicalWorks EHR software
  • Advantage Software Physical Therapy Advantage

Notes & Sources

Evidence for this guidance (3 documents)
  1. DAFOCD, 30 Apr 26: PHYSICAL THERAPIST (42BX)

    [1] Specialty Summary section "PHYSICAL THERAPIST"; normalized cached text lines 5951-5973; family-level section (42B4, 42B3, 42B1)

    Supports: Injury prevention and human performance programming, Neuromusculoskeletal care in operational environments, Physical therapy research planning and direction, Physical Therapists (O*NET 29-1123.00)

  2. O*NET: Physical Therapists

    [2] O*NET 30.3 occupational data

    Supports: Physical Therapists (O*NET 29-1123.00)

  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics: physical therapists

    [3] How to Become One; retrieved 23 September 2026

    Supports: Physical Therapists (O*NET 29-1123.00)

Defense contractor jobs for 42BX

Descriptions may be summarized for clarity. Verify all information with your branch career counselor or official military documentation before making career decisions.

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