A method for analyzing the work in a department of physical therapy was devised and applied in a teaching hospital. Physical therapists, trained as observer-investigators, helped refine the coding system and were able to reliably record job behavior in the physical therapy department. The nature of the therapist's and aide's job was described and implications for physical therapy practice and academic preparation drawn. Therapists' judgments provided a basis for describing tasks which might readily be incorporated into the work of a trained physical therapy assistant. (Author)