Physical Therapy Assistant Jobs And Employment Outlook

Physical therapy assistants or work under the direction of physical therapists to provide rehabilitative services to patients who are suffering from disabling diseases, injuries and those who are recovering from surgeries.

They main duties involve helping relieve the patients' pain as well as helping them restore their physical functions.

Some of the assistant duties include: observation of patients before and during the therapy sessions to gauge their improvement assisting the patients to do different therapy exercises, give them massages etc, to make a report on the responses made by the patients after treatments and to submit reports of patients to the physical therapist.

Qualities of good assistants

Compassion: most of the people having therapy will probably be in a lot of pain. The physical therapist is expected to understand this and show compassion to the patients.

Good interpersonal skills: this quality is important because you will be spending a lot of time with the patients and he/she should be able to interact with the patients in a friendly manner.

Attention to detail: when it comes to any kind of healthcare, the healthcare workers must be very keen on detail because sometimes that is what makes the difference between someone dying or living.

Assistants should be able to identify when the patient is overworking themselves and recommend rest to avoid further physical damage.

Physical fitness: the duties of a physical therapy assistant require them to almost always be on their fit. If you are not physically fit you may not be able to keep up with the duties that are required.

Jobs And Employment Outlook

The demand is expected to grow by 46% from 2010 to 2020. This makes it one of fastest growing jobs. This is huge growth means that there will be a demand for physical therapists and it is a good career to join.

This huge growth is brought about by the large number of retiring people, especially from the baby boom generation.

Most retired people will be joining retirement homes and nursing homes are one of the highest employers.One is assured to get a soft landing if he/she has had good training.

The growth will also be accelerated by the advancements in medical and technological advancements. Medical advancements will mean that the number of people surviving from accidents will increase and this means that more people who survive will be in need of physical therapy to get them back into their normal lives.

Some of the top employers include: hospitals (both private and state), ambulatory health care services and nursing homes.

Becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant

To become a assistant, you must attend accredited physical therapy assistant programs from a university or a community college. This program usually takes two years and one is issued with an associate degree upon graduation.

The program usually includes both formal class work as well as clinical experience. Physical therapy assistant schools class work will include learning about physiology, psychology and anatomy of the human body.

The clinical experience will involve learning first aid procedures like CPR as well as hands on training to give the student some experience.

After acquiring an associate degree, you must then be certified.To get the license, one must pass the National Physical Therapy Exam.

Some states may also require further exams before getting your license so it is important to check whether your state has any other exams or requirements apart from the national exam.

Specializing in certain practices means that the physical therapist assistant concentrates on gaining better knowledge on one particular area of practice.

Choosing to be a specialist gives individual better job placement opportunities. Some of the specializations include: orthopedics, neurology, geriatrics, pediatrics among others. Specialization requires further certification from the American physical therapy association.

Physical Therapy Assistant Jobs Salary

The salary will vary depending on a number of things for example: experience, employment facility, specialization as well as the number of hours of work that the assistant works, for full information on physical therapy assistant salary

For those who are full time physiotherapist assistants, the median salary is around $50,000 annually. The highest paid physical therapist will receive amounts above $68,000 while those in the lower bracket will earn around $31,000 highly paid physical therapy assistant jobs are available while training be sure to look into this.