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Ernest Health
Bakersfield, California

Physical Therapist Per Diem

Physical TherapistIncludes weekendsPer Diem

Listed compensation

$70.00/Hr

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 56m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Physical Therapist - Per Diem - Bakersfield, California

Join our world-class team of driven, passionate healthcare professionals who are focused on service excellence and providing top quality care!

Weekday and Weekend PRN Hours Available

At Central California Rehabilitation Hospital we strive to attract, retain, develop, and empower our employees, supporting them in their professional growth with career advancement opportunities and a path to success within our organization.

We have a great full time opportunity for a Physical Therapist in California.

Central California Rehabilitation Hospital in Bakersfield, California is a state-of-the-art inpatient rehab hospital offering comprehensive rehabilitative services to patients in the Central Valley.

We specialize in helping individuals bounce back from life-altering health events such as strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, and complex orthopedic conditions.

Our dedicated team provides a full spectrum of therapies – physical, occupational, speech, and more – utilizing advanced technologies and evidence-based techniques to accelerate healing.

At Central California Rehabilitation Hospital, patients receive care in a comfortable, encouraging environment with private rooms and fully equipped therapy gyms. Accredited and honored among the nation’s top rehabilitation facilities, we are committed to exceptional patient outcomes and proudly serve as a center of hope and recovery for our community.

As a participating hospital of Ernest Health, we offer robust recognition, wellness, and retention programs. These programs focus on enhancing the employees’ work experience, recognizing, and celebrating achievements.

We also encourage employees to share their work experience through “My Ernest Journey” and through our Engagement Survey, where our approach is “You Spoke, We Listened”. These platforms provide additional avenues for employees to give feedback about their work experience and share what is important to them.

As a participating hospital of Ernest Health, we offer robust recognition, wellness, and retention programs. These programs focus to enhance the employees’ work experience, recognize, and celebrate achievements.

We also encourage employees to share their work experience through “My Ernest Journey” and through our Engagement Survey, where our approach is “You Spoke, We Listened”. These platforms provide additional avenues for employees to give feedback about their work experience and share what is important to them.

Qualifications

Required Skills

  • Current and valid licensure as a Physical Therapist required.
  • Basic Life Support/CPR Certification from an approved vendor required.
  • One year of direct patient care experience in a hospital setting preferred.

Additional Qualifications/Skills

  • Knowledge of clinical operations and procedures.
  • Demonstrates an understanding of treatment costs and financial support as they relate to quality and efficiency.
  • Demonstrates competency in the provision of care according to established standards
  • Demonstrates appropriate application of age specific standards, policies and procedures and guidelines in caring for pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients
  • Demonstrates general computer skills including: data entry, word processing, email, and record management.
  • Leadership skills in delegating, organizing, and educating coworkers and staff.
  • Effective organizational and time management skills.
  • Effective written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to maintain proper levels of confidentiality.
  • Ability to work closely and professionally with others.
  • Ability to maintain quality, safety, and/or infection control standards.

Responsibilities

Uses specialized knowledge and training in physical therapy medical services as well as independent judgment and discretion to develop and provides physical therapy medical services to patients that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients suffering from injuries or disease.

Independently examines patient's medical history, evaluates their physical abilities, determines their potential to respond to therapy, and develops treatment plans and then implements those treatment plans with full responsibility for preparation of related documentation and patient and other medical provider communication. Integrates the hospital’s mission and “Guiding Principles” into daily practice.

Posted Total Compensation

The wage range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience, education and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs.

It’s not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $

Minimum Salary

USD $70.00/Hr.

Maximum Salary

USD $70.00/Hr.

Qualifications

Education
Professional certificate or licensure

Certifications

BLS

Key Skills

Treatment planningSafety standardsDelegationPatient evaluation

Physical Therapist Career Context

Of the 50 active Physical Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 8% are remote, 38% have no call, 54% require no weekends.

In California, the Physical Therapy weighted monthly median benchmark on WeekdayDoc is ~$117k (974 salary observations; 3,697 listings), vs ~$94k nationally (10,179 salary observations; 55,302 listings). Monthly aggregates cover 2026-01-01 through 2026-10-01; 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)). 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top contract/1099 Physical Therapist Jobs

49 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution32 jobs · 29 employers

7
<$135k
8
$135k-150k
12
$150k-165k
5
$177k

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks30 jobs · 29 employers

401k / retirement match
77%
CME allowance
47%
Sign-on bonus
43%
Relocation assistance
23%
Visa sponsorship
7%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Home Health Physical TherapistPer Diem

Transition Care Telemetry · San Juan Capistrano, California

$80-$110/hr
#2

Home Care Physical Therapist- Independent Contractor (Union County)Contract

US Physical Therapy · Union County, New Jersey

$74-$95/hr
#3

Home Care Physical Therapist- Per Diem (Ocean County)

$72-$95/hr
#4

Physical Therapist Acute Care

$63.78-$89.28/hr
+ 47 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 22,587 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • Includes weekends

Living in Bakersfield

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$357k
Typical market rent
$1,858/mo
Residents’ average commute
24 min
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

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

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

Ernest Health logo

About Ernest Health

Hospitals and Health Care
Mesquite, Texas
501-1,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Robust recognition, wellness, and retention programs
Weekday and weekend PRN hours available