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Cedars-Sinai
Los Angeles, California

Physical Therapist (Per Diem) - Neuro Clinic

Physical TherapistPer Diem

Listed compensation

$49.11-$78.58/hr

The week · per this posting

Schedule not stated in this posting — no days, weekends, call or nights given.

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1mo ago

Job Description

The Cedars-Sinai Neurological Rehabilitation Clinic helps people with neurologic deficits resulting from stroke, central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease, neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and postsurgical brain and spinal cord injuries.

As a Physical Therapist in the Cedars-Sinai Neuro Clinic, you will primarily complete evaluations and provide appropriate treatment interventions per policies, complete required documentation accurately and thoroughly within expected timeframes, utilize validated and standardized outcome measures to establish goals and demonstrate progress and patient rehabilitation prognosis.

The physical therapist also monitors and modifies the progress of patients assigned to assistants and demonstrates effective communication skills with patients, families, and care team members.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

  • Performs evaluations appropriate to established procedures. Ensures there is a prescription/order for all evaluations and uses relevant test and standardized measures congruent to best practice. Develops a comprehensive plan of care that is supported by evaluation findings and prognosticate patient outcomes/progress integrating all relevant factors. Manages the physical therapy care of the patient and coordinates with others to ensure the patient receives the total care they need. Completes all required documentation in an accurate and thorough manner within the expected timeframes.
  • Utilizes treatment intervention and strategies within the scope of practice and supported by established plan of care and integration of evidence-based practice to maximize patient outcomes tailored to specific patient populations.
  • Provides patient education appropriate for patient population.
  • Identifies safety concerns regarding patient population and institutes appropriate measures to provide a safe environment, including protection of self and others. Reviews identified risks and benefits of therapy and obtains consent from patient and/or caregiver.
  • Identifies and facilitates patient discharge needs including documentation, communication with care team, and recommendation for follow-up services.
  • Provides individualized, patient-centered care with respect to personal, cultural, spiritual beliefs and preferences; age-related cognitive and psychosocial needs; social support needs; gender, sexual orientation, and economic background.
  • Contributes ideas and suggestions to continuously improve processes, procedures, methods and productivity, and utilizes quality principles for continuous performance improvement.
  • Participates in activities that promote professional identity within the clinical environment, the Cedars-Sinai environment and the community at large.
  • Participates in professional development through clinical education, formal mentoring programs, further development of clinical and professional competencies, involvement in research and scholarly work.
  • Effectively serves as a clinical instructor/mentor in accordance with specific discipline, regulatory and professional context.
  • Participates in continuous learning and professional development and documents evidence.

Qualifications

Education

  • Bachelor's Degree graduate of an accredited Physical Therapy program is required. Master's or Doctorate degree is preferred.

Licenses/Certifications

  • California State license for Physical Therapist (PT) is required.
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) certification required.

Experience and Skills

  • One (1) year experience as a practicing Physical Therapist is required.
  • Experience performing evaluations, designing and implementing treatment plans, and providing education in a manner appropriate to the age of the patient.
  • Experience with assessment and intervention techniques in a medical physical disability setting.
  • Experience in an acute care setting is also a plus.
  • Working knowledge of subject matter domain areas in clinical quality, patient safety, regulatory and reimbursement context.
  • Demonstrates ability to deliver safe, appropriate, ethical and evidence-based care in an effective, efficient and professional manner; incorporates feedback, self-reflection, sound clinical reasoning and problem solving to continuously improve quality of care and operational processes.
  • Demonstrates good decision-making/problem solving skills. Exhibits good clinical reasoning skills and judgments in managing patients.
  • Demonstrate standard computer skills, use of electronic health record, and office skills as relevant to duties.
  • Must possess a minimum computer competency comprised of a working knowledge of Windows or comparable system (specifically including keyboard and mouse skills). As applicable to individual job duties and expectations, employee must additionally possess a working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, presentation development, e-mail, browser and online reporting.
  • Ability to convey and/or receive written/verbal information to/from various audiences in formats.
  • Ability to demonstrate time management and priority setting skills.
  • Collaborates to problem solve and make decisions to achieve desired outcomes.
  • Establishes effective working relationships with cross-functional team(s).
  • Shares knowledge, time and expertise to assist other members of the team.
  • Ensures practices and procedures are inclusive of interpersonal and cultural diversity.
  • Cultivates and maintains strong customer relationships and rapport with stakeholders and/or client groups.

Cedars-Sinai is a leader in providing high-quality healthcare encompassing primary care, specialized medicine and research.

Since 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet the needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, setting standards in quality and innovative patient care, research, teaching and community service. Today, Cedars- Sinai is known for its national leadership in transforming healthcare for the benefit of patients.

Cedars-Sinai impacts the future of healthcare by developing new approaches to treatment and educating tomorrow's health professionals. Additionally, Cedars-Sinai demonstrates a commitment to the community through programs that improve the health of its most vulnerable residents.

Cedars-Sinai is one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centers in the U.S., with 915 licensed beds, 2,993 physicians, 4,700+ nurses and thousands of other healthcare professionals and staff. Choose this if you want to work in a fast-paced environment that offers the highest level of care to people in the Los Angeles that need our care the most.

Key Responsibilities

The Physical Therapist will perform neurological evaluations, develop comprehensive treatment plans, and provide evidence-based interventions for patients with complex neurological conditions. They are also responsible for documenting patient progress, coordinating care with the multidisciplinary team, and facilitating discharge planning.

Qualifications

Education
Bachelor degree
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

Patient evaluationTreatment planningInterdisciplinary collaborationSafety assessmentClinical instruction

Physical Therapist Career Context

In California, the Physical Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$116k (1,300 salary observations; 4,522 listings), vs ~$94k nationally (13,008 salary observations; 66,534 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-11-01; these are not the modal's selected comparable-job medians.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$133k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $120k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

What does the Physical Therapy market look like in California?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$102k–$163kPhysical Therapy median $120k (middle half $98k–$135k)962 comparable listings, Nov 2026
California vs national$116k median in California$94k nationally (+24%)1,300 state / 13,008 national salary observations
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$120k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Physical Therapy listings in California1,797 active22,002 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 2% remote · 44% no call · 58% no weekends45 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedCalifornia physical therapist listings (all specialties): 19% state a sign-on bonus (median $10k) · 8% offer loan repayment1,000 active listings, Nov 2026
New Physical Therapy listings7,905 in the last 30 days4,365 the 30 days before (+81%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Physical Therapy pay trend+1.6% vs prior quarter—through Oct 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top contract/1099 Physical Therapist Jobs

43 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

26 jobs
3
<$130k
8
$130k-145k
10
$145k-160k
4
$160k-175k
1
$196k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

24 jobs
401k / retirement match
88%
CME allowance
38%
Sign-on bonus
17%
Relocation assistance
13%
Loan repayment
8%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Home Health Physical Therapist-NEW GRADS WELCOMEPer Diem

Transition Care Telemetry · San Diego, California

$80-$120/hr
#2

Home Health Physical Therapist - Per DiemPer Diem

Transition Care Telemetry · San Diego, California

$80-$110/hr
#3

Physical Therapist II, Outpatient

$60.48-$84.66/hr
#4

Home Health Physical Therapist

$75-$80/hr
+ 41 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 4.8this job 3.0
Better work-life than 30% of Physical Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 22,012 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

Living in Los Angeles

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$922k
Typical market rent
$2,772/mo
Residents’ average commute
31 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
113.6
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.