What is a director of rehabilitation and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

A Director of Rehabilitation is in charge of the overall supervision of the department activities. He/she ensures the competency of physical therapists attending to patients. They are also responsible for maintaining improved performance activities and reviewing reports of individual patients.

The director is expected to follow the philosophy of the hospital in administering department services. A Director of Rehabilitation collaborates with patients, physicians, and other healthcare providers to develop a comprehensive therapy focus. He/she can get employed by hospitals, private clinics, rehabilitation clinics, or nursing homes.

A successful director of rehabilitation must have technical skills as well as strong leadership skills, communication skills, and analytical skills. Directors of rehabilitations mostly work in healthcare facilities that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They usually work 12-hour shifts since their attention is needed most of the time.

ScoreDirector Of RehabilitationUS Average
Salary
7.0

Avg. Salary $88,965

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
7.1

Growth Rate 28%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.72%

Asian 8.03%

Black or African American 11.00%

Hispanic or Latino 14.47%

Unknown 4.27%

White 61.51%

Gender

female 63.95%

male 36.05%

Age - 47
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47
Stress Level
7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
4.9

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Director Of Rehabilitation career paths

Key steps to become a director of rehabilitation

  1. Explore director of rehabilitation education requirements

    Most common director of rehabilitation degrees

    Bachelor's

    47.2 %

    Master's

    25.3 %

    Associate

    18.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific director of rehabilitation skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Rehabilitation17.66%
    Patients14.65%
    Occupational Therapy7.17%
    Physical Therapy7.16%
    Healthcare7.09%
  3. Complete relevant director of rehabilitation training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New directors of rehabilitation learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a director of rehabilitation based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real director of rehabilitation resumes.
  4. Research director of rehabilitation duties and responsibilities

    • Create and lead facility-wide in-service training in ROM technique and proper use of orthotics and prosthetics devices.
    • Manage PPS details efficiently to ensure high quality clinical care while maximizing reimbursement for the facility.
    • Provide COTA services in accordance to MD orders and treatment plan establish by the OTR.
    • Schedule PSR staff members to facilitate groups base on individual strengths.
  5. Get director of rehabilitation experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a director of rehabilitation. The most common roles before becoming a director of rehabilitation include physical therapist, occupational therapist team lead and speech language pathologist.
  6. Prepare your director of rehabilitation resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your director of rehabilitation resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a director of rehabilitation resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Director Of Rehabilitation Resume templates

    Build a professional Director Of Rehabilitation resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Director Of Rehabilitation resume.
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
    Director Of Rehabilitation Resume
  7. Apply for director of rehabilitation jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a director of rehabilitation job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Director Of Rehabilitation Job

Zippi

Are you a Director Of Rehabilitation?

Share your story for a free salary report.

Average director of rehabilitation salary

The average Director Of Rehabilitation salary in the United States is $88,965 per year or $43 per hour. Director of rehabilitation salaries range between $61,000 and $128,000 per year.

Average Director Of Rehabilitation Salary
$88,965 Yearly
$42.77 hourly

What Am I Worth?

Loading...
salary-calculator

How do directors of rehabilitation rate their job?

3/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Director Of Rehabilitation reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

Seeing and facilitating the growth of the staff and department


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

Interacting with Peers and clients and having full range of creativity

Cons

I love everything about the job


profile
3.0
A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

Job stability during industry changes. The variety of responsibility throughout any given workday.

Cons

Repetition of quelling anger of dissatisfied people with answers that they don't want to hear. Unattainable goals set by coorporate based on only highest capacity numbers


Working as a Director Of Rehabilitation? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Browse executive management jobs