INTRODUCTION: Studies about the profile of health professionals provide relevant information which allows health agencies, educational institutions and professional organizations to project educational and assistential actions. These actions and their evaluation have to take into account the profile of the available professionals, as well the macroeconomic context of the groups considered, according to the period and the region they are placed, in order to give success and quality on the planned activities. OBJECTIVE: To know the sociodemographic and professional profile of physical therapists who work in the city of Santa Maria, RS, and the origin of their conceptions of ethics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive and transversal study, with quantitative approach. Physical therapists working with professional and/or educational activities in the physical therapy field participated in the research. Data were collected through a semi-structured instrument construct for that purpose. The statistical package SAS (Statistical Analysis System), version 8.02, was used to process and analyze the data. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 167 physical therapists, most of them young adults, between 22 and 35 years old (60%) and 83% were women. They are predominantly self-employed, without working contract (52,4%), and also work in public (23,5%) and private (20,5%) services; they most often provide home care or work in private clinics and offices. They have competence in distinct levels and fields, being the musculoskeletal the one with higher request of their professional services. Consequently, this area is the most desired to do specialization. The predominant clientele are adults, women and the elderly. The origin of knowledge about ethics comes from the family and from the challenges imposed by the professional practice. CONCLUSION: Although there are many experienced and renowned physical therapists, the young ones predominate in the professional practice. Growing professional process is constant, not only in traditional fields but also in the emergent ones. Ethical issues must be more discussed not only during the formal academic course but also during the daily professional activities.
Physical therapy; Ethics professional; Human resources
